3.1 Roman Housing

• Consul

  Highest elected Roman official
• 753-509BC

  Rome was a monarchy
• 509-27BC

  Rome was a republic
• 27-476 AD

  Roma was an empire
• What is Romes social hierarchy?

  Top- Emperor

  Consuls

  Senate

  Patricians

  Equestrians

  Plebians

  Freedmen

  Bottom- Slaves
• What are the pros and cons of being in the army?

  pros- could pay well

  cons- had to sign up for 20 years, you werent allowed to marry, could be sent anywhere in the empire
• Some of the things Romans built

  roads

  aqueducts

  baths

  plumbing
• Where did Romes grain primarily come from?

  Egypt
• Why dont we have much evidence about slaves or people in the plebian classes?

  they were mainly illiterate and didnt have money for monuments or graves
• Insula


  a block of flats or apartments
• How many insulae were there in Rome?

  more than 40,000
• Why were there more insulae than large houses?

  Large population so insulae could holf more people in less space
• Cenaculum


  upper floor or attic rooms
• Mezzanine

  Intermediate floor of a building, open to the floor below
• Tabernae


  shops
• How tall were insulae and why?

  most 3-5 storeys, some 6-7. Augustus passed a law forbidding them to be built higher than 18m
• What were the insulae usually built out of?

  Brick faced concrete, roofs made out of wooden beams with flat terracota tiles
• Why were the apartments higher up less expensive and impressive?

  The conditions higher up were worse - no running water or toilet, fire was a huge hazard
• Why did people buy insulae?

  they were cheaper than houses
• Why was fire such a huge hazard?

  the houses were really close together, contained a lot of flammable things
• How did the Romans deal with the fires?

  They had a fire engine and a fire brigade
• Why did all households need to keep a certain amount of water with them?

  in case of a fire the bucket chain was organised
• Who was the blanket man?

  the man that carried around a blanket soaked in vinegar to smother small fires
• Who were the mattressmen?

  men who carried around mattresses to soften falls of people jumping out of buildings
• When was the insula of Diana built?

  150 AD
• Where is the insula of Diana?

  Ostia
• How many storeys are there in the insula of Diana?

  4
• What is the significance of the insula of Diana?

  it is one of the best examples of a Roman insula
• Mithraeum

  a temple or shrine dedicated to the God Mithras
• Ground floor of the insulae of Diana

  39 x 23m

  south + west walls faced onto street with shops opening onto the street

  north + east walls faced onto other buildings

  each shop had a mezzanine

  communal toilets

  central roofless courtyard contained cistern with water for inhabitants

  3 staircases - 2 external 1 internal
• First floor of the insula of Diana

  only lowest few cm of walls survived

  south + west sides had large 4 roomed apartments

  north + east sides has small rooms and a communal living area
• why did a lot of people rent apartments in Ostia for short periods of time

  for trading as Ostia is close to Rome
• domus

  a Roman house
• Faucus

  the entry passage into the domus
• Atrium

  grandest room in the domus
• Impluvium

  rectangular pool in the atrium that collected the rainwater that fell from the compluvium
• Cubiculum

  small private rooms that may could be used as bedrooms or for private meetings
• Ala

  small room that stored the wax masks of the families ancestors or shrines to the Gods
• Tablinum

  may have been used as the masters study or main bedroom
• Triclinium

  The dining room