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Insula III lies across Cardo III from Insula II and is bound by Cardo IV to the south and the lower decumanus to the north. It contains several interesting buildings of which the following are the more notable.
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House of the Skeleton (Ins III, 3)
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Across Cardo III from the House of the Genius is the House of the Skeleton. This building, probably the aggregation of three smaller buildings, derives its name from the discovery of human remains in a second floor in 1831. This was the first body to be found in the town which had assumed to have been abandoned when the eruption began. Further bodies have since come to light down by the waterfront.
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Only the ground floor of this two storey building still remains. The roofed atrium, without the usual impluvium, has no floor. To the left, at the far end of the atrium, there were once two nymphaea; one overlooking the triclinium and another with an ornamental sacellum to provide light for the apsed hall.
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House of the Inn (Ins III, 1 and 9)
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Next to the House of the Skeleton lies the House of the Inn, which is set in a excellent waterfront location. Although named the House of the Inn, the building was a private house, probably being thought to be otherwise because of its size, as the floor plan here illustrates.
It is in a poor state of repair not only due to the effects of the eruption, but also to the tunnels and passageways dug in the course of early excavations.
Built some time in the first century B.C., it consists of numerous rooms radiating from the atrium, a private thermae decorated with frescoes in the Second Style (the
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only private thermae to be found in Herculaneum), a porticoed terrace and a large
peristyle with a sunken garden.
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House of the Bronze Herma (Ins III, 16)
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North of the exit from the House of the Inn on Cardo IV lies the House of the Bronze Herma. This is a narrow building, and is a typical example of a Samnite house.
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The Herma, after which the house was named is in the tablinium. It is most likely a portrait of the owner.
The House of the Bronze Herma is on the left of the photograph. Beyond it, on the same side of Cardo IV, is the House of the Opus Craticium.
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