The House of Orion is one of the most important domus brought to light during the recent excavations in Regio V, undertaken as part of the Great Pompeii Project to stabilise the excavation fronts bordering the city’s still-unexcavated area.
The house takes its name from an exceptional floor mosaic depicting the myth of Orion. The composition presents a rare iconography connected with the transformation, or catasterism, of the mythological hero into the constellation that bears his name.
A second mosaic found in the house features a complex geometric figure that has been linked to the instruments and knowledge of ancient Roman land surveyors. This interpretation remains under study and, on the evidence currently available, does not allow the owner’s profession to be identified with certainty.
The house also preserves important First Style wall decoration, in which coloured stucco imitates large blocks and slabs of precious stone. These elements belong to an earlier phase of the residence and testify to the building’s long history.
At the time of the eruption of AD 79, some rooms were also being used to store furniture, containers, and domestic objects, enabling archaeologists to reconstruct tangible aspects of the daily lives of the house’s final occupants.
The House of Orion is particularly important because it combines evidence from the earliest phases of Pompeii with discoveries made only in recent years, showing how knowledge of the city continues to evolve.
