56. Oplontis. Villa rustica di Lucius Crassius Tertius.

or Villa di L. Crasso Terzio, Oplonti or Oplontis Villa B.

Excavated 1974 to 1991, and from 2010 onwards by the Oplontis Project.

Part 4: Ori/Gold      Part 1      Part 2      Part 3: Jashemski Photos      Plan

I ritrovamenti, oro, gioielli.

The finds, gold, jewellery.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. December 2019. Strongbox, found in the portico.

On display in exhibition “Pompei e Santorini” in Rome, 2019. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

The inscription crediting three Greek artisans with its creation dates from between the First and Third Centuries BCE, so it was already at least 200 years old when Vesuvius erupted.

The artisans embellished the strongbox with an elaborate inlaid silver and copper head of the satyr Silenus surrounded by twisting vines, as well as with several sculptural elements – bronze dogs’ heads and a duck, among others – that would together have contributed to a complex locking system, requiring specialized knowledge to undo.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Found in the peristyle, Strongbox with inscription.

According to a Soprintendenza information stand at Oplontis, this chest was found empty.

It must, however, have been intended for precious items in view of the complex locking mechanism it had.

According to the Oplontis Project, the strongbox, found in the peristyle, may have fallen from the upper floor. 

It had a wooden framework plated with iron leaves and was inscribed “Pythonymos, Pytheas, and Nikokrates, the workers of Herakleides, made [this].”

Its exquisite decoration consists of inlay designs and figural bosses in silver, copper, and gilded bronze typical of late Hellenistic decorative design. 

Furthermore, its intricate locking system was so advanced that similar mechanisms continued in use until the nineteenth century.

See Oplontis Project Paragraph 133

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. December 2019. Strongbox, detail of bronze dogs, duck’s head, handle and bust from left side of lid.

On display in exhibition “Pompei e Santorini” in Rome, 2019. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. December 2019. Strongbox, detail of lid with female protome, bronze dog from right side, and the lion’s head and cupids on the front.

On display in exhibition “Pompei e Santorini” in Rome, 2019. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

The owner first had to move the female head in the centre of the lid that concealed the lock.

The inner iron bars were pushed outwards by pulling the lion's head, and the safe was definitively opened only after turning the head of a cupid.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. December 2019. Strongbox decoration of inlaid silver and copper head of the satyr Silenus surrounded by twisting vines in centre.

On display in exhibition “Pompei e Santorini” in Rome, 2019. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. December 2019. Information card. 

From exhibition “Pompei e Santorini” in Rome, 2019. Photo courtesy of Giuseppe Ciaramella.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Bronze seal of Lucius Crassius Tertius.

The seal ring bears the inscription L. CRAS. TERT. Such rings created seals for business dealings. 

It is on the basis of this seal that the owner of Villa B has been said to be Lucius Crassius Tertius.

Alternatively, he could have been the administrator (procurator) rather than owner.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Bronze seal of Lucius Crassius Tertius, bottom view.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Bronze seal of Lucius Crassius Tertius, top view.

The top stamp appears to be a vase or similar container for liquid.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Drawing of imprint of seal of Lucius Crassius Tertius.

Gli Ori di Oplontis

Nella villa di " Lucius Crassius", nel 1984, è stata trovata una cassa in legno contenente 170 monete, alcuni gioielli in oro ed argento, una serie di unguentari, stecche in osso e piastrine di vetro per la cosmesi. In un altro ambiente, indosso a cadaveri morti durante l'eruzione, sono stati trovati monili in oro, consistenti in vari tipi di orecchini, collane, braccialetti e anelli.

In the villa of "Lucius Crassius", in 1984, was found a wooden box containing 170 coins, some jewellery in gold and silver, a series of perfume bottles, bone splints and glass plates for cosmetics. In another room, on the skeletons of people killed during the eruption, were found, gold jewellery consisting of various types of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.

See Gli Ori di Oplontis: Soprintendenza web site

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. In October 1984, in room 10, 54 skeletons were found.

According to the Oplontis Project web site, the most important find, and one that—properly studied—can shed light on pressing questions, is the discovery of the skeletons of 54 individuals in room 10, one of the large ground-floor rooms that opened onto the southern portico.  These were people who had gathered in this room to escape the eruption, and presumably to await rescue from the sea, overcome by the hot gas and poisonous fumes of the first pyroclastic flow that hit Villa B.  They are a gruesome reminder of the human toll taken by Vesuvius.  Because they were found in two distinct groups, some scholars attempt to distinguish the skeletons in terms of social status.  Those at the rear of the space, bearing no money or jewellery, would be said to be servants and slaves, whereas the group near the entrance to the space would be elites—this because some of them were found with considerable wealth in the form of coins and jewellery.

See Oplontis Project Villa B

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Gold bracelet.

SAP inventory number 72536.

Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum. September 2009.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Necklace found in room 10, in 1984, under the head of skeleton no. 14.

It comprised of 16 green stones alternated with 18 small spheres with gold foil.

It has a pendant of a small crescent moon.

See D’Ambrosio A., 1987. Rivista di Studi Pompeiana I, p. 176, fig. 45.

Oplontis inventory number 3307.

See D’Ambrosio, A., 2001. Women and Beauty in Pompeii. Roma: Bretschneider, p. 56, fig. 20.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Gold and emerald pendant.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Gold and emerald armlet found on a skeleton in 1984.

According to D’Ambrosio,

“Oltremodo ricco di monili d’oro il n.27; tra questi un’armilla con il castone decorato a rilievo con una Venere ed amorino, 3 anelli, 2 coppia di orecchini, una collana con vaghi ovali in lamina d’oro alternati a prismi di smeraldo, una collana d’oro”.

(translation: Skeleton no. 27 was extremely rich in gold jewellery; among them one ring with the bezel decorated in relief with a Venus and Cupid, 3 rings, 2 pair of earrings, a necklace with vague oval in gold foil alternating with prisms of emerald, a gold necklace.)

See D’Ambrosio A., 1987. Rivista di Studi Pompeiana I, p. 176.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Two pairs of gold earrings.

Gold semi-spherical earrings (Right). SAP inventory number 72534-5.

Pair of close embossed spherical segment gold ear rings (left). SAP inventory number 72996.

Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum. September 2009.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Pair of spherical segment gold ear rings.

According to D’Ambrosio, the body is decorated with close-embossed dotting imitating the more refined technique of granulation.

SAP inventory number 72996.

See D’Ambrosio, A., 2001. Women and Beauty in Pompeii. Roma: Bretschneider, p. 52, fig. 7.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Room 10. Pair of gold ear rings with quartz inserts.

These were recovered in a leather bag containing amongst other things gold coins, a silver spoon, several glass bottles (unguentarium) and the remains of a gold hair net.

See D’Ambrosio A., 1987. Rivista di Studi Pompeiana I, p. 175-6, fig. 43, fig. 47.

According to D’Ambrosio, these were a rare variant of a basket ear ring with 26 small sheet gold bezels welded together to form a hemi-spherical shape into which quartzes have been inserted.

See D’Ambrosio, A., 2001. Women and Beauty in Pompeii. Roma: Bretschneider, p. 54, fig. 14.

SAP inventory number 73326.

Oplontis, Villa of Lucius Crassius Tertius. Pair of gold and pearl ear rings.

SAP inventory number 73407.

Part 4: Ori/Gold      Part 1      Part 2      Part 3: Jashemski Photos      Plan