Table of Content
Housing conditions varied considerably depending on financial status. Wealthy Romans languished in large, spacious villas, while the poorest members of society squashed into dark, dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Remarkably well-preserved remains in Pompeii and Herculaneum offer great insight into the way ancient Romans once lived.
We can thus see how the study of ancient Roman society allows us the deepest of insights into the factors impacting the development of housing and urbanisation. The locks were often tiny masterpieces in terms of both precision and design. The two pictures above show reconstructions of a pin tumbler lock and key from one of the earliest archeological digs in Pompeii. Romans mainly utilized the Greek classical orders, but also created a new Composite order, which was used in the Arch of Titus. Domes, vaults, aediculae and coffers were also popular elements of Classical and Imperial Roman architecture.
What Were Homes Like in Ancient Rome? (4 Types)
Villas were largely open to the air, and stone benches and tables were common. Wooden furniture has not survived, but bronze hardware for such furniture is well-known. A "villa ubana" was a villa that was fairly close to Rome and could be visited often.
A very good attempt at explaining the fort, but a bit disappointing in places, particularly for visitors who have been to Xanten. Because of safety issues and extra flights of stairs, the uppermost floors were the least desirable, and thus the cheapest to rent. Often those floors were without heating, running water or lavatories, which meant their occupants had to use Rome's extensive system of public restrooms . Despite prohibitions, residents would sometimes dump trash and human excrement out the windows and into the surrounding streets and alleys. There were no clearly defined separate spaces for slaves or for women.
Roman Sightseeing in Cologne
For those who were not quite as rich, there were apartment buildings, some quite nice ones, and there were shabby tenements for the poor. Narrow streets wound between the seven hills, lined with homes and businesses. In the master bedroom was a small wooden bed and couch which usually consisted of some slight padding. As the domus developed, the tablinum took on a role similar to that of the study. In each of the other bedrooms there was usually just a bed.
AAlaTwo rooms, opposite one another, facing onto theatrium. A rectangular basin in the ground corresponded to the opening above in order to collect rain water. Most Roman citizens lived in small apartments called insulae. These were often cramped and smelly as many people would live in them.
Roman House Layout
The vast majority of the people living in Roman cities lived in cramped apartment buildings called insulae. Insulae were generally three to five stories high and housed from 30 to 50 people. The individual apartments usually consisted of two small rooms. The Roman Empire was a military empire that was constantly expanding and therefore the Roman military remained mobile most of the time.
By the 4th century AD, as one of the tetrarchy, it was one of the largest cities in the Empire, and known as ‘the second Rome’. Trier also has some extremely well preserved Roman remains. These include a bridge over the Moselle, an amphitheatre, bath houses and the basilica built for Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century. Together with two medieval cathedrals these Roman monuments have been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The large central hall was known as an atrium and had beautifully painted walls, sculptures, and statues of ancestors and gods. The dining room was called ‘triclinium’ and consisted of couches where guests could recline and have dinner. Other parts of ancient Roman houses for the rich people included ‘cullina’ which was the Roman kitchen, ‘cubicula’ meaning bedrooms, and a ‘tablinum’ which was a living room or study. LPeristyliumA range ofcolumnsaround an area such as a garden. It could even be made of two floors.mmPiscinaPool/fountain in the centre of theperistyle/garden.nPosticumBack entrance to the house.oTabernaA couple of bedrooms, store rooms orshopwith directroadaccess.
Due to this reason, temporary residences were needed for the soldiers in the form of leather tents occupied by multiple soldiers at the same time. While in Rome, the soldiers lived in modest homes but generals had large houses just like the wealthy Romans. Most of the generals hailed from the aristocratic class and also possessed countryside villas.
This is more of a back garden area with peristyle, hence making it a piscina. An insulae consisted of six to eight three-storey apartment blocks, grouped around a central courtyard. The ground floors were used by shops and businesses while the upper floors were rented as living space. Insulae were made of wood and mud brick and often collapsed or caught fire.
There might be an oven for baking bread which could in some cases double up to heat water used for the underfloor heating system. The romans adopted the practice of eating in a lounging position from the Greeks. As we can see from numerous paintings of the time, reclining was generally reserved for men whilst women would sit. It wouldn’t be unnusual to have an image of a phallus over your front door as a luck charm to favour wellbeing, wealth and fertility in the home.
These early suburban villas, such as the one at Rome's Auditorium site or at Grottarossa in Rome, demonstrate the antiquity and heritage of the villa suburbana in Central Italy. It is possible that these early, suburban villas were also in fact the seats of power of regional strongmen or heads of important families . A third type of villa provided the organizational center of the large holdings called latifundia, that produced and exported agricultural produce; such villas might be lacking in luxuries. More detail of the Roman houses at ancient Pompeii have been assembled in the essay about thearchitecture of ancient Pompeii. The first has a simple garden whilst the second has a peristyle around a pool and various other extra rooms.
They were allowed to try on authentic garments and pose for pictures, which was special just for Family Day. I feel like we could have learned a lot more if we'd had a someone telling us exactly what we were looking at and why it was important. I think we did okay given our general knowledge of Roman culture, but a guided tour would have put this visit at 5 stars. Rome grew from an important city into a huge, crowded, noisy, smoky, dusty city, with beautiful temples and public buildings. The rich had gracious homes, each with an entrance atrium, which was the center of family life.
Hadrian's Villa was more like a palace, as Nero's palace, his Domus Aurea on the Palatine Hill in Rome, was disposed in groupings in a planned rustic landscape, more like a villa. Posticum A servants' entrance also used by family members wanting to leave the house unobserved. In the case of the elitist villa this would be to both show personal wealth, entertain and undertake personal business. The compluvium above the atrium might have terracotta decorations such as palmettes. It might be supported by columns – eg 4 columns would be known as a “tetrastyle atrium”.
Archaeologists have also studied less intact housing remains from all across the former Roman Empire. They have put together a vivid historical picture of what housing was once like for ancient Romans. Read on to find out the different types of housing that once dominated ancient Rome’s urban center, and the surrounding rural areas. It is worth noting that the insulae and the domus were in the same neighborhoods. There were no neighborhoods containing only rich houses similar to rich suburban neighborhoods today.
No comments:
Post a Comment