Question

re HSAR 252. Re. the use of columns in Pompeiian architecture: It's very clear that the Romans regarded stone columns as a valuable commodity - as Prof. Kleiner mentions, Roman conquerors demolished significant structures in order to re-use the columns in their own buildings. I'm intruiged by the use of substantial columns in tetrastyle atria and perisytle colonades. Many of these exhibit stuccoed lower sections which 'protect' fluted surfaces beneath. As the carving of flutes must be a skilled and expensive process, does this suggest that these columns were often 'recycled' items?