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Regio V - Insula V - Caseggiato dell'Invidioso (V,V,1)
(House of the Jealous One)

This unit is in the south-west corner of block V,V. It was built during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Modifications and the floor mosaics have been dated to the first half of the third century. During excavations in 1970 several coins were found in the layer supporting the mosaic, the latest of Septimius Severus.

Behind a porticus are two shops, a large hall, and two staircases. On the floor of the corner shop is a black-and-white floor mosaic with a marine scene: animals, a man fishing in a boat, a human figure holding a rectangular object, a boy making a gesture with his hands, and the text:

INBIDIOSOS

Inbidiosus = invidiosus, meaning "jealous one". For more information about this theme see the Shops of the Fishmongers (IV,V,1). In the centre of the mosaic is a marble basin, a later addition. Both the theme of the mosaic and the basin indicate that fish was sold here. Wooden counters may have been placed on black rectangles at the west and north end of the mosaic.



Plan of the shops. After SO I.

Photos



The building seen from the south-west.
Photo: Klaus Heese.



The corner shop seen from the west. Note the black rectangles, where wooden counters may have been standing.
Photo: Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica.



The mosaic seen from the north. SO IV, Tav. CLXIII.


Detail of the mosaic. Photo: Klaus Heese.


[jthb - 9-May-2022]