Three of the small rooms toward the rear were sleeping rooms (_V-V_).
In another (_X_) was found a hand mill. At the end of the passageway
was a double room containing the appliances for making oil, a press
(in _Y_) and a crusher (in _Z_). The press was like the wine press
described above, only much smaller, with a raised floor (1), a
standard for the press beam (2), a pit for bracing the standard of the
press beam (3), two posts at the ends of the windlass (4, 4), a pit
from which a crosspiece connecting these posts could be reached, and a
vat (6) at one side for receiving the oil. This vat, for some reason
not understood, was divided into two parts by a partition in the
middle.
[Illustration: Fig. 186.--Olive crusher.]
The olive crusher, _trapetum_, now in the Museum at Pompeii mentioned
above, is shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 186). It was
designed to separate the pulp of the olives from the stones, which
were thought to impair the flavor of the oil. It consists of a deep
circular basin of lava, so hollowed out as to leave in the centre a
strong standard of the stone, _miliarium_. In the top of this standard
was set an iron pin, on which was fitted a revolving wooden crosspiece
(shown in Fig. 186, restored). This carried two wheels of lava, having
the shape of half a lens, which travelled in the basin. The wheels
were carefully balanced so that they would not press against the side
of the basin and crush the stones of the olives.
In the long room _S_ remains of bean straw and parts of a wagon were
found. South of it is the threshing floor (_T_), the surface of which
is raised above the ground and covered with Signia pavement. The water
that fell upon the threshing floor was conducted to a small open
cistern (_U_).
For at least a part of the year the proprietor of the villa probably
lived in it. So elaborate a bath would not have been built for the use
of slaves; and in the second story was a modest but comfortable series
of apartments (over _V_, _W_, _X_, and part of _Q_), apparently
designed for the master's use, as was also the dining room (_N_) with
_K_ and _L_.
[Illustration: Fig. 187.--Silver patera with a representation of the
city of Alexandria in high relief. From the Boscoreale treasure.]
In a place where such a find would least have been anticipated--the
cistern in the room of the wine presses--was made a remarkable
discovery of treasure. Here a man had taken refuge, and with his
skeleton were found about a thousand gold coins, four gold bracelets,
ear-rings, a gold chain, and the beautiful collection of silver ware
(p. 380) afterwards presented by Baron Rothschild to the Louvre.
CHAPTER XLVI
_HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE_
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