ROMAN HOUSING
Introduction
• If the Orientals built huts of clay and stone, and the Celts built houses of
wood, reeds or twigs, the Greeks and Romans invented the concept of
"modern" housing built of various materials. Any ideal home should
provide shelter and comfort and have various rooms dedicated to specific
activities. As in modern society today, Roman homes were built according
to hierarchy.
• To the Romans, any dwelling was a temple dedicated to the goddess
Vesta. As the empire expanded and prospered, Roman homes became
more elegant and luxurious. Some of the big innovations have been the
introduction of glass windows or the use of cement.
Types of housing:
• Castellum
• Insula
• Domus
• Villa and rustic Villa
Castellum
• Castellum is a small, independent Roman fortification, which was
usually occupied by auxiliary units and used as a logistical base for
Roman legions, according to Vegetius. Its main role was as a
watchtower located along the Roman roads. The construction was
made of wood or stone and its base was square in shape, resembling
the towers within the Roman camps. In Latin, the word castellum is
the diminutive of the noun castrum ("camp").
• On the Romanian territory, such a fortification was discovered on the
territory of Bădeni locality from Harghita county.
Insula
• The commoners (lower and middle class Romans), but also members
of the equestrian classes lived in urban collective housing, apartment
blocks called the Island. These dwellings consisted of two parts: the
lower part which was used as a warehouse / tabernae where
commercial and business activities took place, and the upper part
which served as housing. The houses had access to water. They were
built of wood, clay bricks and cement, but were vulnerable to fires
and earthquakes. In a single island with 7 apartments, 40 Romans
could live on 330 m2. An island could reach a height of 17-20 meters.
Domus
• Domusera was an individual urban dwelling specific to the upper classes and traditional elites. The domusera consisted
of several rooms, courtyards, gardens and walls with meticulously made paintings. The houses were built of wood,
cement and bricks. The roof was made of tiles. He had access to water brought through underground pipes. The
entrance hall (vestibulum) led to a central room (atrium), which was the focal point of any domus and led to the
bedrooms (cubicle), dining room (triclinium), study living room (tablinum), kitchen (kitchen). ) and the warehouse
overlooking the street (tabernae). In the atrium was the statue / altar dedicated to the god of the house, and on the
walls were placed the mortuary masks of the ancestors. In the master bedroom was a wooden bed and a sofa. There
were three sofas around a table in the dining room. In the study room they studied or did business, being located
offices. Customers and guests were greeted in the atrium. Here is expensive furniture to impress guests and give the
feeling of sophistication. Above was an opening in the roof (compluvium), which provided natural light, and on rainy
days rainwater fell through the opening, filling the drainage basin (impluvium) made of marble decorated with mosaic.
• The kitchen was dark because there was no chimney. Only the slaves who prepared the food worked here. Each domus
also had a secret exit (posticum) through which family members could leave the house without being noticed.
Villa and rustic Villa
• The villa was the specific home of patricians and senators. There were two types of villa: the urban villa
which was located near the town and Villa Rustica, a farm inhabited by servants and slaves. The owners
came there only to supervise their agricultural production and commercial activities or to relax. The villa
was the most elegant type of Roman house, built of several materials: cement, bricks, marble. The
floors were covered with mosaics, and the walls were decorated with frescoes, and the roof was
supported by marble columns. The villa included painted idols, gardens and statues. A villa complex
consisted of the "pars urbana", where the master and his family lived, the "pars rustica", where the
head of the slaves and servants who carried out their activities lived (it also included animal stables)
and the "villa fructuaria" (warehouses). and warehouses). A villa could include offices, a small temple,
bathrooms, baths, dining rooms and a kitchen and was equipped with a hypocaust-underfloor heating
system for the baths. The display of sophistication and luxurious lifestyle was necessary for any patrician
because it ensured his prestige and influence locally.
Bibliography
• https://ro.wikipedia.org/
• https://www.historia.ro/
