Roman Housing Vocab

• Domus


  A large Roman private house in a city or a town.
• Insula (pl. Insulae)


  The Roman name for a block of flats.
• Mezzanine


  A floor imbetween the ground and first floor.
• Latrina 


  Toilets
• Atrium


  The main room of the Roman Domus; the most public and formal part of the house, designed to welcome and impress visitors.
• Peristyle


  A colonnaded garden within a Roman domus; often ornately decorated with a rich variety of flowers, shrubs and trees, as well as fountains and statues.
• Impluvium


  The pool in the centre of the atrium of a Roman domus that gathered rainwater.
• Compluvium


  An opening in the roof of the atrium to allow rainwater to fall into the impluvium.
• ala (pl. alae)


  'Wing', T-shaped recess opening off the atrium.
• Taberna (pl. Tabernae)


  External rooms of a house, particularly at the front were often turned into shops or workshops, either to be rented out to local tradesmen or be managed by the family itself.
• Fauces


  'Throat', Narrow entrance passage from front door, heading into the Atrium.
• Triclinium


  A dining room in a Roman domus.
• Tablinium


  A reception room in a Roman Domus, often used as the master's study or main bedroom. Typically located between the atrium and peristyle.
• Culina


  Kitchen, often quite small and cramped with a cooking hearth.
• Cubiculum


  Private rooms or bedrooms, could be used for sleeping and private meetings. Only big enough for a bed and chair.
• Terracota


  Clay tiles
• Cistern


  A space excaveted in soil or rock for catching and storing rainwater.
• Fresco (pl. frescos)


  A painting done on freshly laid plaster
• Mosaic


  An image made of small or irregular pieces of coloured stone, glass or ceramic.
• Carbonised


  The conversion of organic matters like plants and dead animal remains into carbon. Much of Herculaneum was carbonised by the pyroclastic flow from Mt. Vesuvius.
• Pergola


  An outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway or passageway .
• Acanthus


  A spiky plant, running down the sides of the canal in the House of OQ.