| Transcript |
| 0:01 | · | on the Main Street of this ancient Roman |
| 0:03 | · | city is the remains of a grand house |
| 0:06 | · | with black Mosaic flooring and black |
| 0:09 | · | painted |
| 0:10 | · | walls it had a series of shops built |
| 0:13 | · | into its facade with a uniquely well |
| 0:16 | · | preserved shop sign and an extraordinary |
| 0:19 | · | metal worker shop with metal ingots |
| 0:22 | · | still on its |
| 0:23 | · | countertop inside the house a rare |
| 0:25 | · | bundle of tablets was found giving us |
| 0:28 | · | the story of the life of the |
| 0:31 | · | occupant this is James from history |
| 0:33 | · | victorium join us as we explore the |
| 0:36 | · | house of the black Hall in the city of |
| 0:44 | · | herculanum the House of the black Hall |
| 0:47 | · | also called The House of the black room |
| 0:49 | · | or black Salon is located on the Eastern |
| 0:52 | · | side of the excavated part of the city |
| 0:54 | · | of |
| 0:55 | · | herculanum its main doorway opened onto |
| 0:58 | · | a wide street called the decumanus |
| 1:01 | · | Maximus the largest and most important |
| 1:03 | · | Street in the |
| 1:05 | · | city this was Prime real estate and many |
| 1:08 | · | of the houses on this street were among |
| 1:10 | · | the largest in the |
| 1:12 | · | city houses like this one often had |
| 1:15 | · | shops built into the facade to provide |
| 1:17 | · | additional income to the |
| 1:19 | · | house these shops could be owned by the |
| 1:22 | · | occupant or rented out and there were |
| 1:24 | · | three shops built into this house on the |
| 1:27 | · | corner of the house is probably my |
| 1:29 | · | favorite Roman shop anywhere this metal |
| 1:32 | · | worker shop or Tinker |
| 1:35 | · | Workshop a statue was left here at the |
| 1:37 | · | time of the eruption waiting for repair |
| 1:40 | · | along with a fine candleabra which would |
| 1:43 | · | have held oil lamps both of these have |
| 1:46 | · | been moved to the Museum of herculanum |
| 1:48 | · | and have been replaced by replicas in |
| 1:50 | · | this shop this statue is of the god of |
| 1:53 | · | wine bakus holding a leopard skin with a |
| 1:57 | · | panther at its feet it was made of |
| 2:00 | · | bronze and also adorned in places with |
| 2:03 | · | copper and silver such as in the eyes |
| 2:07 | · | the statue was in the workshop because |
| 2:09 | · | it needed to be reattached to its |
| 2:11 | · | base there was also a fine bronze candal |
| 2:14 | · | Opa with a marble base which was being |
| 2:17 | · | worked on at the time this one was in |
| 2:20 | · | the shop because it needed one of its |
| 2:22 | · | arms to be reattached to the |
| 2:24 | · | center these items show the quality of |
| 2:27 | · | workmanship of the shopkeeper and give |
| 2:30 | · | us some examples of the fine bronze |
| 2:32 | · | items that were once owned by the people |
| 2:34 | · | of |
| 2:35 | · | herculanum scrap metal and metal working |
| 2:38 | · | tools were also found in the workshop |
| 2:41 | · | and a crucible was discovered which is a |
| 2:43 | · | container for heating metals on the |
| 2:46 | · | floor here are weights of various sizes |
| 2:49 | · | these may have been used to determine |
| 2:51 | · | the weight of metal ingots the two lead |
| 2:53 | · | ingots that were found in the shop were |
| 2:55 | · | inscribed with their actual weight along |
| 2:58 | · | with the expected standard |
| 3:01 | · | weight on the other side of the entrance |
| 3:03 | · | to the house were two more shops all of |
| 3:06 | · | the items of this first shop were |
| 3:08 | · | removed by early tunnelers but on the |
| 3:11 | · | left side of the shop near the entrance |
| 3:13 | · | to the house we can still see this |
| 3:15 | · | uniquely well preserved shop sign which |
| 3:17 | · | seems to transport us back to a time |
| 3:20 | · | before the |
| 3:21 | · | eruption these colored jars represent |
| 3:24 | · | different types of wine available for |
| 3:26 | · | sale the prices are shown in copper |
| 3:29 | · | coins called asses here are some |
| 3:31 | · | examples of what these coins look like |
| 3:33 | · | in Roman |
| 3:35 | · | times the most expensive one is this one |
| 3:38 | · | on the left which is listed at four |
| 3:40 | · | assays per six tarus which is a unit of |
| 3:43 | · | measure around a half liter the sarus is |
| 3:46 | · | represented by this symbol which looks |
| 3:48 | · | like a crossed s the next type of wine |
| 3:51 | · | is priced at three assay per |
| 3:53 | · | sarus and this is followed by one |
| 3:56 | · | costing four assays for 1 and a half |
| 3:58 | · | sexus which comes out to a bit cheaper |
| 4:01 | · | than the previous wine and the cheapest |
| 4:03 | · | wine is this one on the right which is |
| 4:05 | · | just two essays per |
| 4:07 | · | sarus above these is the name of the |
| 4:10 | · | former shop and a painted figure with a |
| 4:14 | · | Garland on his head this is believed to |
| 4:16 | · | be the Roman god sanus who is associated |
| 4:20 | · | with keeping Oaths which we would |
| 4:22 | · | imagine would be important for business |
| 4:24 | · | person another large sign was found here |
| 4:27 | · | during excavation showing the name of of |
| 4:29 | · | the town of Nola which is about 20 M |
| 4:32 | · | away from |
| 4:33 | · | herculanum based on other signs and |
| 4:36 | · | graffiti mentioning NOA this is |
| 4:38 | · | identified as an advertisement for a |
| 4:40 | · | gladiatorial contest at the amphitheater |
| 4:43 | · | of |
| 4:44 | · | Nola one rare detail was found in |
| 4:46 | · | between the last two letters l and a the |
| 4:50 | · | actual signature of the sign writer was |
| 4:52 | · | found who was apparently a professional |
| 4:55 | · | painter of these types of |
| 4:57 | · | advertisements these shops were |
| 4:59 | · | originally rooms of the house itself but |
| 5:02 | · | the doors to the shops were blocked up |
| 5:04 | · | at some point some of the former doors |
| 5:06 | · | can be seen here from inside the |
| 5:09 | · | house this final shop on the right still |
| 5:12 | · | maintains somewhat of a connection to |
| 5:13 | · | the house a well was found which |
| 5:16 | · | collected water from the house sistern |
| 5:19 | · | not much remains of this final shop but |
| 5:21 | · | we can see a display case with some |
| 5:24 | · | charred rope and also the remains of |
| 5:26 | · | beams of the upper story which has been |
| 5:29 | · | somewhat reconstructed above the |
| 5:31 | · | original |
| 5:32 | · | beams the ancient Roman shopkeepers at |
| 5:35 | · | times lived and slept within the shop |
| 5:38 | · | and this upper story may be the remains |
| 5:40 | · | of a small living |
| 5:42 | · | area preserved wood is much more common |
| 5:45 | · | in herculanum than in Pompei and some |
| 5:48 | · | carbonized wooden elements can be seen |
| 5:50 | · | in these shops including some shelving |
| 5:53 | · | and support beams in the doors and |
| 5:56 | · | windows these imposing wooden beams here |
| 6:00 | · | really help us to get an idea of the |
| 6:02 | · | former Grandeur of the wide main |
| 6:04 | · | entrance to the |
| 6:06 | · | house the house itself was an impressive |
| 6:09 | · | residence it had a traditional layout of |
| 6:12 | · | a large Roman |
| 6:14 | · | house visitors entering into the house |
| 6:16 | · | today pass into the atrium and still |
| 6:20 | · | walk upon its original flooring which |
| 6:22 | · | has some small marble inserts the marble |
| 6:26 | · | pool in the center is well preserved |
| 6:29 | · | this would collect water for the sistern |
| 6:31 | · | below and the water could be accessed |
| 6:33 | · | using this well here which is in the |
| 6:35 | · | shape of a small fluted |
| 6:38 | · | colum this area is surrounded by various |
| 6:41 | · | rooms which were mostly destroyed by the |
| 6:44 | · | eruption these rooms included a kitchen |
| 6:47 | · | and most notably this unusually large |
| 6:50 | · | rectangular room called the tablinum |
| 6:52 | · | which is where the owner would normally |
| 6:54 | · | receive visitors and clients some of the |
| 6:57 | · | flooring remains with fairly large |
| 7:00 | · | pieces of expensive marble and some of |
| 7:02 | · | the well-crafted architectural |
| 7:04 | · | decoration is still visible on the |
| 7:07 | · | walls Beyond this room was a garden |
| 7:10 | · | surrounded by a colonade which is called |
| 7:13 | · | the |
| 7:13 | · | peristyle the most prestigious rooms of |
| 7:16 | · | the house were located in this area |
| 7:18 | · | including the great black Hall as we can |
| 7:22 | · | see here the partially destroyed columns |
| 7:25 | · | surrounding the garden were made from |
| 7:27 | · | brick covered with fluted stucco |
| 7:30 | · | these columns are interrupted here so |
| 7:32 | · | that a visitor entering into the house |
| 7:34 | · | would have a clear view into the |
| 7:37 | · | garden this peristyle area has elegant |
| 7:40 | · | black and white Mosaic flooring which is |
| 7:43 | · | fairly well preserved today like the |
| 7:45 | · | black Hall it also once had black |
| 7:48 | · | painted |
| 7:49 | · | walls some of the original decoration |
| 7:52 | · | can still be seen the upper portion of |
| 7:55 | · | the walls once had a freeze showing |
| 7:57 | · | Griffins and decorative pots |
| 8:02 | · | these two rooms here have large windows |
| 8:05 | · | with marble Sills That Base the garden |
| 8:08 | · | one of them had access to a small |
| 8:10 | · | outdoor |
| 8:11 | · | Shrine the ceilings had a beautifully |
| 8:14 | · | complex structure to them and are |
| 8:16 | · | partially vaed no one knows why they |
| 8:19 | · | were designed this way but it may have |
| 8:21 | · | made more sense with the furniture that |
| 8:22 | · | was formerly here much of the ceiling |
| 8:26 | · | decoration is preserved and on the |
| 8:28 | · | ceiling here we can just make out the |
| 8:30 | · | Trident of Neptune or Poseidon who was |
| 8:34 | · | originally shown in a chariot pulled by |
| 8:36 | · | sea |
| 8:37 | · | horses the decoration of these two rooms |
| 8:40 | · | is particularly wellmade there are thin |
| 8:43 | · | lines and miniature figures typical of |
| 8:45 | · | the third style of Roman wall painting I |
| 8:48 | · | was impressed by these miniature |
| 8:50 | · | swans but what is notable in these rooms |
| 8:53 | · | is that we can just see the |
| 8:54 | · | three-dimensional perspective of the |
| 8:56 | · | later fourth style such as in in this |
| 8:59 | · | semicircular metallic looking structure |
| 9:02 | · | with perched eagles on top this style of |
| 9:06 | · | decoration blending the third and fourth |
| 9:08 | · | style is similar to that of the great |
| 9:10 | · | palace of Rome under Nero the domus Arya |
| 9:14 | · | The House of the black Hall is the |
| 9:16 | · | earliest house in all of herculanum to |
| 9:19 | · | adopt this style of wall painting nearby |
| 9:22 | · | was the room that gives the house its |
| 9:24 | · | name the great black Hall with striking |
| 9:27 | · | black walls and a black SE |
| 9:29 | · | ceiling the room could be entered via |
| 9:32 | · | two entrances with marble |
| 9:34 | · | thresholds these entrances also helped |
| 9:37 | · | to give lighting to the room with its D |
| 9:39 | · | ceiling it reached an impressive height |
| 9:42 | · | of nearly 19 ft it was tall enough to |
| 9:45 | · | have a small window on the South Wall |
| 9:48 | · | which rose above the height of the house |
| 9:50 | · | next door the decoration is more towards |
| 9:53 | · | the fourth style of Roman wall painting |
| 9:56 | · | and here we can see remnants of a |
| 9:58 | · | multistory architectural scene with red |
| 10:01 | · | hanging |
| 10:03 | · | curtains nearby we can see some |
| 10:06 | · | incisions in the wall Beneath The |
| 10:08 | · | partially destroyed wall |
| 10:09 | · | painting before the wall was painted |
| 10:12 | · | incisions were normally made into the |
| 10:15 | · | plaster to help guide the artist much of |
| 10:18 | · | which survive here and we could imagine |
| 10:20 | · | what this would have looked like when it |
| 10:22 | · | was fully |
| 10:23 | · | painted in this Hall a wooden Shrine was |
| 10:26 | · | found in the shape of a small Temple and |
| 10:29 | · | it it is now on display in a nearby |
| 10:31 | · | museum that is recently opened the upper |
| 10:34 | · | story of this house could be accessed |
| 10:35 | · | from a staircase near this side door in |
| 10:39 | · | one of the rooms on the Upper Floor a |
| 10:41 | · | bundle of 39 tablets was found on a red |
| 10:45 | · | painted shelf this was larger than any |
| 10:47 | · | bundle of tablets found in Pompei these |
| 10:51 | · | were important documents for the family |
| 10:52 | · | of the house we know from these tablets |
| 10:56 | · | that the occupant was a fredman or |
| 10:58 | · | former slave named El venius anus and |
| 11:02 | · | the tablets describe various events in |
| 11:04 | · | his life including business transactions |
| 11:07 | · | and the birth of his daughter perhaps |
| 11:10 | · | the most important of these tablets is |
| 11:12 | · | this one which shows that he and his |
| 11:15 | · | family had become Roman |
| 11:17 | · | citizens according to Roman law at the |
| 11:20 | · | time the family became eligible after |
| 11:22 | · | his daughter reached Oney |
| 11:25 | · | old before finding these tablets the |
| 11:28 | · | exact process of granting citizenship in |
| 11:30 | · | a town like this was not known from the |
| 11:33 | · | tablets we know that there was a meeting |
| 11:35 | · | of the local officials in the city and |
| 11:38 | · | also a delegation sent to Rome the |
| 11:41 | · | tablets record that the decision to |
| 11:43 | · | Grant citizenship was confirmed in Rome |
| 11:46 | · | here in the Forum of |
| 11:48 | · | Augustus other tablets have records of |
| 11:51 | · | loans and business transactions and in |
| 11:53 | · | one of them it was recorded that anus |
| 11:56 | · | also was able to join a religious order |
| 11:58 | · | called the a |
| 11:59 | · | Galis it's possible that anus had owned |
| 12:02 | · | this entire property or only occupied |
| 12:05 | · | the upstairs portion there's no record |
| 12:08 | · | of skeletons found in the house and it |
| 12:11 | · | is not known what happened to the family |
| 12:13 | · | or why the records were left here at the |
| 12:15 | · | time of the eruption but the tablets |
| 12:18 | · | tell us an important story of a former |
| 12:21 | · | slave that had been freed and become a |
| 12:23 | · | successful businessman eventually became |
| 12:26 | · | a Roman citizen with his family and |
| 12:29 | · | lived in this large and prestigious |
| 12:31 | · | Roman |
| 12:32 | · | house hope you enjoyed this if you have |
| 12:35 | · | anything else to add let us know in the |
| 12:36 | · | comments and thanks for watching |
