The construction of the house, with its elegant wall decoration, was part of a complicated series of events, often separated or joined with the adjacent House of the Lararium of Achilles for more than three centuries following the alternation of the owners, by doors and passages being closed.
 At the end of the courtyard, where one finds the lararium, there are two staircases that lead to the two different floors of the house; the ascending ramp leads to the triclinium used for banquets, and to the kitchen found under the porch, where the victims of the eruption are found. The descending ramp leads to a large indoor corridor, the cryptoporticus, after which the house is named, decorated with frescoes of Satyrs and Maenads and a frieze, which unravels like an illustrated scroll, depicting scenes from the Trojan War, a very popular theme following the publication of the Aeneid, the epic poem by Virgil. The vault is decorated with wreaths and floral and geometric motifs in stucco. The room was used as a cellar during the last period of life of the house. The bath complex opens up in front of the staircase, one of the few private baths documented in Pompeii; four rooms are left with rich stucco decoration.

Date of excavation: 1911-1929.