Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

And one thing that fascinated me was, you know, the tourist wants to go into the big houses with the famous frescoes and lovely mosaic floors and even statues and so on and large impressive rooms. Yeah, but what about the little ones? And the thing that was striking me was that it's not just the big ones that have frescoes and mosaics and so on.

Really quite modest little houses have their fancy little bits and the sort of language that they use, the things that make a house seem impressive. One thing is you look in from the door and you get a vista.

Really quite modest little houses have their fancy little bits and the sort of language that they use, the things that make a house seem impressive. One thing is you look in from the door and you get a vista.

Really quite modest little houses have their fancy little bits and the sort of language that they use, the things that make a house seem impressive. One thing is you look in from the door and you get a vista.

And in the big houses, you get a vista through the doorway, through the entrance hall of the atrium, through the tablinum, the public reception space beyond it, through into the garden beyond. And you get an infinitely receding vista in the grand houses. in the little houses. You could have a vista too. You can look through the door. My favourite is the house of Neptune and Amphitrite.

And in the big houses, you get a vista through the doorway, through the entrance hall of the atrium, through the tablinum, the public reception space beyond it, through into the garden beyond. And you get an infinitely receding vista in the grand houses. in the little houses. You could have a vista too. You can look through the door. My favourite is the house of Neptune and Amphitrite.

And in the big houses, you get a vista through the doorway, through the entrance hall of the atrium, through the tablinum, the public reception space beyond it, through into the garden beyond. And you get an infinitely receding vista in the grand houses. in the little houses. You could have a vista too. You can look through the door. My favourite is the house of Neptune and Amphitrite.

And you look through the door, you look through the rather little entrance hall, the rather little, to blind them there, and there in the back is the tiny little garden. And on the back wall of the garden, they've made a glorious mosaic that gives the house its name. The god Neptune with his trident and his wife Amphitrite. That bright blue and yellow one, which is so striking.

And you look through the door, you look through the rather little entrance hall, the rather little, to blind them there, and there in the back is the tiny little garden. And on the back wall of the garden, they've made a glorious mosaic that gives the house its name. The god Neptune with his trident and his wife Amphitrite. That bright blue and yellow one, which is so striking.

And you look through the door, you look through the rather little entrance hall, the rather little, to blind them there, and there in the back is the tiny little garden. And on the back wall of the garden, they've made a glorious mosaic that gives the house its name. The god Neptune with his trident and his wife Amphitrite. That bright blue and yellow one, which is so striking.

It is one of the most... It's striking images in all Herculaneum. And it's in a very modest house. I didn't know that. I didn't know it wasn't in a villa. And it really sells it, doesn't it? You think, wow, these people had money. And then you think, come on, measure it up. This is not big. That little garden has to serve a double function because it's the outdoor dining room at the same time.

It is one of the most... It's striking images in all Herculaneum. And it's in a very modest house. I didn't know that. I didn't know it wasn't in a villa. And it really sells it, doesn't it? You think, wow, these people had money. And then you think, come on, measure it up. This is not big. That little garden has to serve a double function because it's the outdoor dining room at the same time.

It is one of the most... It's striking images in all Herculaneum. And it's in a very modest house. I didn't know that. I didn't know it wasn't in a villa. And it really sells it, doesn't it? You think, wow, these people had money. And then you think, come on, measure it up. This is not big. That little garden has to serve a double function because it's the outdoor dining room at the same time.

And they've got a triclinium, a space with three pouches where you can lie just under the mosaic. But it's only... It's not even 10 meters wide. It's just crammed in. And I love the way that they all have a slice of the good life. And of course, there are those who have zero slice of the good life.

And they've got a triclinium, a space with three pouches where you can lie just under the mosaic. But it's only... It's not even 10 meters wide. It's just crammed in. And I love the way that they all have a slice of the good life. And of course, there are those who have zero slice of the good life.

And they've got a triclinium, a space with three pouches where you can lie just under the mosaic. But it's only... It's not even 10 meters wide. It's just crammed in. And I love the way that they all have a slice of the good life. And of course, there are those who have zero slice of the good life.

But very often that can be explained by the fact they didn't even own the houses because there are a lot of tenants there. They're really rich. They own little shops, little flats, and so on. They may have farms in the countryside that bring them in income, but they have properties in the town. Very often, around the big house, there is this sort of penumbra of little places that

But very often that can be explained by the fact they didn't even own the houses because there are a lot of tenants there. They're really rich. They own little shops, little flats, and so on. They may have farms in the countryside that bring them in income, but they have properties in the town. Very often, around the big house, there is this sort of penumbra of little places that

But very often that can be explained by the fact they didn't even own the houses because there are a lot of tenants there. They're really rich. They own little shops, little flats, and so on. They may have farms in the countryside that bring them in income, but they have properties in the town. Very often, around the big house, there is this sort of penumbra of little places that

which they make good money out of. We know that even Cicero made money out of flats. He said, even the rats are deserting my flats. They're in such a bad condition. So this is why the smallest places may have the least decoration. It's because the owner has decided, I'm not going to pay for decoration here.