ABSTRACT
In Pompeii, the study of the Villa of Diomedes (2012–2020) revealed a concrete horizontal floor with a corresponding highly original coffered ceiling. A few rare examples of this type are preserved in other Roman sites, although no other examples have been identified in the cities of Vesuvius at the current stage of research. This concrete floor and its terraced roofing were built during one of the final stages of construction of the Villa of Diomedes, just after the large earthquake that hit Pompeii in 62/63 AD. The ingenuity of the system lies in both its masonry structure and coffering decoration, which would have permitted its rapid completion while other work quickly ensued to restore the numerous damaged elements of the villa. This innovation has the particular feature of being executed in the urgency of post-seismic reconstruction.
