ABSTRACT
Most of the Pompeian human skeletal remains have been stored in two buildings, which date to the original occupation of the site. The tradition of removing skeletons after excavation and storing the co-mingled remains in a building on site, designated as a ‘bone house’, can be traced back, at least, to the second half of the nineteenth century.1 Nonetheless, some skeletons and a number of casts are still in situ, especially in houses excavated from the time of the directorship of Maiuri and beyond. The environment in which the bones are stored is as romantic as the
novels that have served to popularize the site. The majority of the human skeletons have been stored in an ancient bath building, the Terme del Sarno (VII, ii, 17). This structure is situated to the south of the Forum. The Sarno Bath complex was first used as a repository for ancient bones and casts in the early 1930s when modern stone walls were incorporated into the structure and iron bars were inserted to deny access through doors and windows. It was also used to house fragments of marble statues, terracottas, carbonized rope, baskets and fishing nets as well as ferrous implements. The objects deposited in this building are largely unprovenanced but were apparently brought to the baths from all over Pompeii.2
