In terms of design, decoration, and social functioning, our knowledge of the Roman aristocratic house, or domus, is derived mainly through the study of the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum. These houses were not the dwellings of average Romans but rather of the elite. Pompeii is famous for having a very large number of lavish private homes and in this respect may not be typical of most Roman cities. Its location on the Bay of Naples may have made Pompeii the chosen dwelling place of a disproportionate number of wealthy Romans. Certainly the percentage of private homes as opposed to apartments was much higher at Pompeii than it was at Rome or Ostia. In addition to the large number of private dwellings found at Pompeii, their size and richness of decor illustrate that these were the mansions of the very wealthy and cannot be taken as indicative of an ordinary Roman's domestic experience.
The standard house design revolved around an open courtyard (the atrium), connected by a passageway to the street entrance. The atrium was typically surrounded by rooms, including a dining room (triclinium), small bedrooms (cubicula), and a kind of multipurpose reception hall (tablinum). Behind these might be the kitchen, slave or servant quarters, and additional cubicula. More elaborate houses featured a second courtyard lined with columns (a peristyle), sometimes enclosing a garden.
The most obvious and famous feature of these houses is the lavish decoration of the walls and floors. Much of the expense and effort that in a modem home might be spent on furniture and decorative objects the Romans directed toward ornamenting the structure itself. All four walls of many rooms were plastered over and then completely covered with elaborate wall paintings, while the floors were coated with intricate mosaics. The styles of wall paintings and mosaics have already been described earlier in the chapter on housing, but it is worth noting here that had it not been for the unique way in which the volcanic eruption preserved these delicate decorations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, our understanding of Roman interior decor would be far less complete. Many of the wall paintings have been removed and can now be seen in the archaeological museum in modern Naples, but numerous others remain in their original settings on the walls of Pompeii.
Not only did the floors and walls that made up Roman houses survive at Pompeii and Herculaneum, but much of the contents of these rooms was also preserved. By current standards, Roman houses would have appeared surprisingly empty. A great deal of the basic furniture was made of bronze. Romans could choose from an assortment of bronze chairs, stools, and sofas with varying numbers of legs to sit upon. Bronze chests and boxes are common finds, ranging from small jewelry cases with delicate designs to sturdy strongboxes to harbor the family wealth, some of which were found with their coin hoards intact—a further indication of the rapidity of the disaster. Several types of low, bronze braziers testify to attempts to provide heat to cold rooms in the winter. Marble was also employed for benches and tables, some of the more elegant examples of which feature elaborately carved legs and supports. In addition to furniture, smaller household objects that have been uncovered include a full set of pots and pans, eating utensils, wood and wax tablets to write on, and the ubiquitous olive oil-burning clay lamps that brought light to dark interiors.
In reconstructing home furnishings, the small seaside town of Herculaneum has proven to be a particularly fruitful site because, unlike Pompeii, which was buried in volcanic ash, Herculaneum was engulfed by hot volcanic mud. This substance eventually hardened to a rocklike consistency that, while it made excavation difficult, also preserved the wood in a carbonized state. This fortunate fluke of preservation has supplied information about a number of objects that would otherwise have remained mysterious to us. Herculaneum has yielded the remains of wooden chairs, cupboards, bed frames (within which a mattress would have been suspended), and folding wooden partitions that could have been used to subdivide rooms and that suggest how the inhabitants of crammed Roman apartments might have provided a modicum of privacy for themselves. Our image of Roman windows has been augmented by the discovery of wooden shutters, some solid and others exhibiting an intricate latticework pattern. Excavators even found the remnants of a small, wooden crib with raised sides to restrain the baby.
Figure 14.5 Wall painting from Pompeii depicting mythological scene.
Herculaneum's unique carbonized timber also informs our understanding of Roman construction techniques. One type of wall consisted of wooden frames filled with rubble, and the remains of wooden roof beams and trusses suggest how Roman roofs were built. Roof timbers seem to have often projected out into the street, providing shady overhangs or support for balconies and upper-story additions built hanging over the street. Also of interest are several wooden staircases and door frames.
Roman houses were oriented inward; external windows were small in size and few in number so that the courtyards brought both light and air into the house. Particularly inviting are the houses with substantial gardens either enclosed within the peristyle or attached at the back. The most elaborate gardens at Pompeii were adorned with sculptures, shaded by trees and vine-covered trellises, scented with flowers and herbs, enlivened by streams or pools of water, and cultivated to supply the household with fruits and vegetables.
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