The excavation undertaken in the NE corner of the taberna belonging to domus VII 15, 6 brought to light a large well connected to a channel by a small fistula. Inside the well were several foot-holds which suggest that it was of considerable depth. In a phase preceding the construction of the house it may have been a public well, given its roadside position and size. The channel was set into an opus signinum pavement, which constitutes the second floor level in the room as it underlies a simple beaten earth surface.
In the remaining part of the trench an earlier floor level emerged made up of very compact beaten earth below which the foundations of the north and east walls of the room were identified. Also present was a layer of earth containing pottery which had been used to level the natural surface below.
At the point where the foundations meet, just above the pozzolana bed rock, a lens of burning emerged containing 5 complete and several fragmentary miniature kylikes together with bones from small birds; a parallel find was uncovered at the western edge of the trench. These relate to the ritual consecration of the building works for the structure of the original taberna.
The natural was cut by the foundation trench of the walls mentioned above but also presented another peculiarity: it was crossed in an E-W direction by three long, narrow ditches which may be interpreted as robber trenches relating to the earlier buildings or may be the result of trenching carried out for the cultivation of vines. (Tiziano Cinaglia)