The Via Consolare Project focused its 2012 research on sub-surface excavation in the centre of Insula VII 6. Further analysis of standing structures, including topographic survey of the northern side of the Terme del Foro, was also undertaken, while Structure from Motion (SfM) based 3D surface capture was employed to produce a digital model of all excavated deposits and trench features. A trench measuring 11m by 5m (AA006) was opened in the north-western corner of the peristyle of the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus (VII 6, 28.19.20) where this property adjoined the Casa di Pamphilus Felix (VII 6, 38). This area is now nearly devoid of standing remains with the exception of two short lengths of wall, one of which is distinguished by traces of construction in opus africanum (type A). (1) Stratigraphic excavation proceeded to the level of natural soils in all areas available for excavation, producing 90 stratigraphic units (SUs) and completing investigations in AA006.

These investigations have revealed much regarding the development of the central area of Insula VII 6, especially concerning the interactions of three properties in the area: the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus, the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix, and the Casa della Diana, from its earliest identifiable human activities to the years immediately prior to the 79 AD eruption. The earliest traces of activity help to confirm the supposed antiquity of the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix and testify to an early presence in the area, possibly related to other ‘pappamonte’ phase features in the city. It is possible that these predate the final stage of interplinian eruptions, (2) which were also identified at depth in AA006. At the moment, precise dating of the opus africanum (type A) wall has also proven elusive, but excavation in 2012 clearly proved that this earlier phase in the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix was once much more extensive than had previously been thought, and further exploration may yet provide a solid date for its earliest surviving construction phase.

The most important discoveries of the 2012 field season were a suite of rooms underlying the later peristyle of the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus that, prior to the early 1st c. AD, had belonged to the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix, probably when it was also joined with the Casa della Diana. Preserved pavements and two phases of earlier wall plasters documented not only the initial addition of the rooms to the earlier property in the early 1st c. BC, but also subsequent modifications in the time of Augustus. The annexation of property from one house to another, likely early in the reign of Tiberius and contemporary with the separation of the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix and the Casa della Diana, documents a shift in financial primacy between the house owners in the Insula. This interconnects neatly with the sequence of development in the block (3) and may represent the tangible benefits of engagement in business and commerce.
Excavation also provided considerable data on changes that occurred throughout the 1st c. AD in the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus, possibly related to earthquake repairs or renovations in the house’s final years. Overall, the 2012 field season has provided an important and deeply-revealing glimpse into the development of Insula VII 6 and its building history. In turn, these changes inform observations that may be made about Pompeian society, economy, and social organisation from the 3rd c. BC until the 1st c. AD.