Caseggiato dei Dolii

Panel 50 - Location

The complex had a commercial function and was built at the same time as the nearby Insula dei Dipinti in the Hadrianic period (AD 117-138).

It had a row of shops opening onto the street with a vast space behind them: in the early 3rd century AD the latter was transformed into a storage area for large containers for liquids (oil, wine) that were in part set into the ground (dolia defossa).

Panel 50 - Figure 1Engraving with general view of the Complex of the Dolia
(P. Petri)

Some dolia still have numbers incised on them indicating their capacity in amphorae, a unit of measurement equivalent to about 26 litres.

Inside the dolia about 400 terracotta moulds, perhaps for cakes, were found, with mythological, theatrical, erotic and circus scenes; the cakes may have been handed out during public banquets or sold during shows.

Panel 50 - Figure 2Terracotta moulds for cakes and their casts

See also:

The Central Area and the Official Complexes