Transcript How were the houses in Pompeii?

How were the houses
in Pompeii?
By: Sabina Khan
Period 7
How do we know about the houses in
Pompeii?
The study of Roman houses was helped greatly
by a horrible tragedy. In the year 79, Mount
Vesuvius erupted and its ashes covered the
people of Pompeii and areas like Herculaneum.
Mount Vesuvius
Area around Vesuvius
How do we know about the houses in
Pompeii? (Cont’d)
One effect of the Vesuvius eruption was
that it preserved all the sites in the
condition that they were in at the time of
the eruption. Due to the accurate
preservation of the area, archeologists
and scholars are able to learn a lot about
Roman life, Roman houses and Roman
cities.
What influenced the layout of
Roman houses?
Modern scholars believe the most essential
influence on Roman residential architecture
came from the Etruscans. Etruscan houses
were built as a set of rooms around a
courtyard. Romans adopted this layout.
What kinds of houses were there in
Pompeii?
There are many records of the Roman house
in Pompeii,
• From the modest dwellings to the large and
magnificent villas with decorations
• From the simple workmen’s houses to the
elegant residences of the noble class
• From the homes of merchants, which were
built around their shops, to those with their
own vegetable garden and agricultural
plots of land
Layout of A House in Pompeii
A
atrium
formal entrance hall
Al
ala
"wings" opening from atrium
C
cubiculum
small room; bedroom
Cu
culina
kitchen
E
exedra
garden room
P
peristylium
colonnaded (had a walkway) garden
T
taberna
shop
Ta
tablinum
office; study
Tri
triclinium
dining room
V
vestibulum
entrance hall
What was the order of the rooms in a
house in Pompeii?
1.The entrance at street
2. The vestibulum (entrance hall)
3. The atrium (formal courtyard)
4. The alae (wings of atrium)
5. The cubicula (bedrooms/small rooms)
6. The tablinum (office/study)
7. The triclinium (dining room)
8. The culina (kitchen)
9. The peristylium (garden)
1. What was the entrance like?
The entrance had a gate, usually open
during daylight hours. The entrance
was narrow, and the outside of the
house was usually let out as shop space
(“tabernae”).
2. What was the vestibulum?
The vestibulum was the entrance hall area
where people were greeted and their
overcoats or cloaks were removed.
Roman House Entrance
Roman House Vestibulum
3. What was the atrium?
The atrium was one of the most important
rooms of the house. It was usually the
largest room as well. The roof of the
atrium had a rectangular hole, which was
called the compluvium (“rain hole”).
Directly under that was a basin called
the impluvium (“where the rain goes”).
Roman House Atrium
4. What were the alae?
The back of the atrium opened out into a couple of
rooms. Those rooms at the left and right were called the
alae (“wings”). These rooms served as reception rooms.
5. What were the cubicula?
To the sides of the atrium and in the back part of the
house were small rooms or bedrooms called the
cubicula. They may have been used for private
meetings, libraries, etc. They had wonderfully
detailed wall paintings designed to make the room
appear more open and spacious. Bedrooms usually had
no more than a sleeping couch and a small chest.
Roman House Cubiculum
6. What was the tablinum?
The tablinum was the office/study of the house.
Any person passing by the house could see
directly through the atrium to the owner’s
office/study. This room contained family
records and images of family members and/or
ancestors. This room’s rear wall opened to the
back half of the house.
7. What was the triclinium?
The triclinium was the dining room of the Roman
house. It was named after the three couches typically
found in the dining rooms of upper-class Romans.
The lectus, or couch, was usually made of wood with
bronze pieces, and had stuffed cushions. Different
sizes and shapes of lecti were used for sleeping,
conversing, and dining. A chair with a back
(cathedra), for example, was considered suitable only
for women or old men. Slaves served multi-course
meals while the diners reclined. It had beautifully
painted walls.
Roman House Triclinium
8. What was the culina?
The culina or kitchen was usually small, dark, and had
little ventilation. It was usually in a corner of the house.
Wealthy matronae did not prepare meals; that was the job
of their slaves, so it did not matter if the room was hot
and smoky. Baking was done in ovens, whose tops were
used to keep dishes warm.
9. What was the peristylium?
The peristylium was the garden that was ringed
by a covered colonnade (walkway). Sometimes the
center of it had a fishpond or a swimming pool.
Roman House Culina
Roman House Peristylium
Was there any other rooms?
All the way in the back, behind the bedrooms and
dining rooms, there would be the servants quarters
and the bathrooms.
Examples of Houses in
Pompeii
House of Vettii:
•One of the most beautiful and interesting houses
•Belonged to brothers, Aulus Vettius Restitutus
and Aulus Vettius Conviva
•Had “Priapus” at entrance,
a very famous figure in
Pompeian homes, which
symbolized fertility and
warded off evil influences
•Atrium decorated with two safes
•Paintings adorned mostly all
walls, with mythological scenes
•Magnificent peristylium
with vegetation
House of Pansa
•One of the biggest houses found in Pompeii
•Had many small rooms, because
the owners were land-owners
•Had a plot of land behind it
•Had a beautiful atrium
•Peristylium had a pool
in its center
•Had a vegetable garden
•Had extra rooms
for service purposes
Works Cited
• Gracco, Tiberio. “The Houses of Pompeii”. Pompeionline.net. April
10, 2007. <http://www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/
houses.htm>.
• McKay, Alexander G. Houses, Villas, and Palaces in the Roman
World. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore and
London, 1998.
• McManus, Barbara F. “Roman House”. The College of New
Rochelle. February 2007. April 10, 2007.
<http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/house.html>.
• “Pompeii, Houses: Lantern Slides of Classical Antiquity”. October
2000. April 10, 2007. <http://www.brynmawe.edu/Admins/
DMVRC/lanterns/pomphouse.html>.
• “The House of the Vettii”. April 10, 2007.
<http://clagnut.com/sandbox/dynamiclayout/>.
• “The Roman House; roman history, roman civilization”. CMS
206/History 206. April 10, 2007. <http://abacus.bates.edu/~
mimber/Rciv/house.htm>.
• Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Houses and Society in Pompeii and
Herculaneum. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New
Jersey, 1994.