In June and July of 2013, the Via Consolare Project conducted stratigraphic excavations in the garden of Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus (VII 6, 28.19.20) and in a shop (VII 6, 16) on the northern side of the so-called ‘Great Cistern.’

The first trench (AA007), measuring 11m by 5m, encompassed the southern half of the central garden space and the southeast corner of the colonnade of the peristyle of the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus (Room 4). The second (AA008) measured 9m by 3m and was placed against the northern wall of the ‘Great Cistern,’ exposing approximately half of the area of the shop associated with the northern side of this structure (Rooms 64, 65, 66). Excavation proceeded to the level of natural soils in both areas, producing 49 and 59 stratigraphic units (SU, US) respectively.

Though ancient pit cutting and modern bomb damage to AA007 meant that the original layout of the centre of the insula and the precise date of its first creation has remained elusive, it was nevertheless possible to hypothesize the probable location of a boundary wall in the area between two early properties. It was also possible to reconstruct much of the original decoration of this boundary wall, since the later pit cuts appear to have been filled with many elements from the features they destroyed. The date implied by this decorative plaster suggests that a transfer of space from the Casa di Cipius Pamphilus Felix and the Casa della Diana to the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus took place probably about a generation after the beginning of the reign of Tiberius. This also appears to have included elements from a now-invisible property that had once extended from the centre of the block to the Vicolo delle Terme, the eastern end of which was later truncated by the ‘Great Cistern.’

Recovery in AA008 of an earlier shop floor through which the ‘Great Cistern’ was cut may serve to explain this earlier property as one of a row of similar shops or row-houses that once faced the Vicolo delle Terme. The removal of these shops would have freed up space to the west that was taken over by the Casa di Secundus Tyrannus Fortunatus for the creation of a peristyle, triclinium, and a suite of service rooms. Although excavation in AA008 is not yet completed, it is clear that after the construction of the ‘Great Cistern,’ the area witnessed numerous transformations and alterations in use. Several phases of opus signinum floors were recovered overlying partially preserved cisterns or cess pits, which were themselves filled with primary fills from the eruption of AD 79.

Overall, the 2013 field season has done much to clarify one of the major phases of development in Insula VII 6 and to facilitate the participation of this block in the discussion of Pompeian public infrastructure, domestic economy, and urban organisation from the 3rd c. BC until the 1st c. AD.