Area 4, viewed from the exterior.

Key characteristics

The most notable feature of area 4 is its asymmetric profile. The western end of the repair area rises at a gentle slope, while the eastern end abuts the corner only slightly higher than the lowermost point of the scooping curve. This asymmetric pattern appears to be the result of an asymmetric support condition. With the exception of W51.50, all of the shop walls have second floor framing attached from both sides; W51.50 had framing from one side only, because there was almost certainly no second floor framing above the south gate area, space 51. The second floor framing provided some out-of-plane bracing for the shop walls, but much less so for the end wall W51.50, since it could pull away into the south entry space. It is likely that W51.50 failed out-of-plane first, thus reducing the height of the out-of-plane buttressing for the south wall at that point, creating an asymmetric support condition, leading to the currently visible asymmetric failure pattern.

The repair area is much more difficult to distinguish from the north side, and more difficult to photograph clearly since the walls are north facing. It appears that W49.50 bonds with the repair, while the repair seam goes cuts just above the existing top of W48.49.

Selected Photographs

Area 4, viewed from the exterior.

Area 4, viewed from the exterior.

Seam at south wall, viewed from exterior.

Overall view from interior.

Detail of interior: W49.50 and W48.49. The seam of the repair intersects W49.50 near the level of the beam pockets, and cuts just above the existing top of W48.49.

Space 50: W50.51 and W49.50, W51.39 in background.

Space 49: W49.50 and W48.49, W49.50 in background.

Detail of juncture of W49.50 with south wall. It appears that W49.50 bonds with the repair material, and may have a bond scar above, where protruding stones seem to match the wall profile.

Space 48: W48.49 and W47.48, W49.50 in background.

Detail of juncture of W48.49 with south wall. Although W48.49 does not intersect the repair material, there may be a bond scar in the repair material, where protruding stones seem to match the profile of the wall.

Detail of interior: W49.50 and W48.49. Note the ancient plaster on the near end of W49.50. The plaster is mounted on brick, which bonds with the opus incertum of W49.50. The incertum, in turn, seems to bond with the repair material at the other end of W49.50. Thus there seems to be a continuous chain from plaster to brick to incertum to repair. If so, then it can be concluded that the repair is ancient, probably repair of 62 earthquake damage, which means that most of the south wall pre-dates the 62 earthquake.