Along the street that traversed the ancient settlement from east to west stood a residence today known as the Domus del Caduceo. Its name derives from the decoration of its reception rooms, located on the right side of the atrium. One room featured a cocciopesto floor decorated with white tesserae, forming a rosette with diamonds inscribed in a square. Another had a cementitious floor, adorned with a depiction of a caduceus. The caduceus is a rare motif in mid-Republican cocciopesto floors, as it evokes the Punic goddess Tanit. Its presence in Norba may be linked to the city’s role at the end of the Second Punic War, when the Senate designated it as a residence for Carthaginian hostages. Alternatively, the symbol may reflect a different meaning: in the Roman world, the caduceus was linked to Hermes-Mercury, representing prosperity, peace, sacred protection, and divine favour.
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