The complex originally called Villa B (“of Lucius Crassius Tertius”) located in present day Torre Annunziata, Italy, was not a villa but rather a kind of emporium focused on the handling of wine and perhaps other agricultural products. If Villa A, located on a high cliff 300 meters to the west, was, at the time of the eruption, an abandoned seaside estate filled with the ghosts of an army of slaves and hordes of elegant guests, Oplontis B was very much alive. Its proximity to the sea, its unusual architecture, and its abundant artifacts and organic remains have much to tell about those human beings who lived and died there and the commodities they handled. Following the initial excavation of the site by the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompeii (1974-1991), the Oplontis Project has, since 2012, conducted a series of explorations, including geoprospection, conventional trenches beneath the CE 79 levels, analysis of the organic remains, and study of the old finds. This paper presents our findings to date in order to frame Oplontis B in relation to the Vesuvian territory as well as the commercialization of its regional agricultural products.
