The Ideal House

Pompeii and Herculaneum offer us an exceptional insight into Roman life in the first century AD, no more so than what it tells us about the houses the inhabitants lived in. Both towns have many examples of the 'domus', the one family home, as it was between the fourth century BC and the first century AD.

The basic layout was established by the Samnites and was plainly the outcome of previous experience. This was the 'domus italica', a house with a series of service areas off a central axis. Thus the areas for sleeping, cooking and eating were alongside areas used for family and social life.

The latter areas were almost completely covered, like the atrium, or completely open, as in the peristyled garden, while between the atrium and the peristyle was the family's most sacred room, the tablinum. Light and air for the rest of the house usually came from these central spaces alone, very rarely from the exterior.

The 3D view on the left shows the layout of a typical atrium house. The main points of note are:
..
..................1. Vestibulum
..................2. Tabernae
..................3. Atrium
..................4. Impluvium
..................5. Tablinum
..................6. Triclinium
..................7. Alae
..................8. Cubiculum
..................9. Culina
..........l.....10. Posticum
..........l.....11. Peristyle
..........l.....12. Piscina
..........l.....13. Exedra
..
This model stood the test of time and varied little in its basic layout.
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Variations included a covered atrium, the addition of a second floor and more recreational areas - perhaps a second peristyle or private baths. The atrium roof often had supporting columns.

The architectural orders used in the buildings were the classical ones, identified by their capitals; Doric, Ionic, Corinthian or Composite, a combination of Ionic and Corinthian. In Pompeii and Herculaneum the orders have some characteristics of their own, rooted, in particular, in the Samnite tradition.

The decoration of the walls of the houses are of four distinct styles and are based on the definitions of the styles described in Pompeii. The four styles are First (incrustation or structural), Second (Architectural), Third (Ornamental) and Fourth (Illusionist).

The Samnite House (Ins V, 1)

The Samnite House in Herculaneum displays many of the attributes discussed above. The house, which dates from the 2nd century BC, is one of the oldest buildings in the town.

The entrance hall is decorated with frescoes in the First Style imitating polychrome marble.

The hall in turn leads into the atrium, which has a gallery with Ionic columns closed off with a stucco-lined tracery screen.

The photograph in the right shows the first style frescoes in the entrance hall (foreground), the atrium complete with impluvium, the andron and in the rear of the picture, the tablinum.

Earning a Living

Whilst Pompeii was more industrialised and Herculaneum residential, citizens in both towns still had to earn a living.

The propertied classes

Some of the estates around Pompeii and Herculaneum were country retreats for wealthy Roman citizens. Others were working estates, cultivating the fertile slopes of Vesuvius, where cereals and vegetables were grown between rows of vines and olive trees. The rearing of animals also flourished. The money earned through the land was concentrated in the hands of a few important families who, through this, gained both economic and political power.

Basic Foodstuffs

Basic foodstuffs were mainly produced by small tradesmen but, occasionally, they were also produced by wealthy landowners.

Bread was produced daily in local bakeries. The Pistrinum on Cardo V in Herculaneum is a fine example of a bakery, in which the whole cycle of breadmaking from milling to baking the bread was performed. After baking, bread was then generally sold in an adjoining shop.

As both Pompeii and Herculaneum were on the sea, fishing will have provided a source of income for many of its inhabitants, not only in the provision of fish for direct consumption, but also as the main constituent in garum.

Garum, a favourite of the Roman palate, was a strong smelling fish sauce made from dried fish, with salt added as a preservative. Its quality depended very much on the type of fish used; tuna and mackerel for the more expensive varieties, and anchovies for the not so refined.

Spinners, fullers and dyers

The production of wool and woollen goods employed any number of artisans. The raw wool, supplied by local landowners, was processed in very much the same way as it is today, initially being washed, degreased and then carded.

Spinning and weaving the wool was often carried out by the female slaves of a household. The finished cloth would then be sent on to the final process - fulling and dyeing. The cloth would be subjected to a pounding in a large vat of fuller's earth mixed with potash, soda and urine. Having rinsed and dried the cloth it could then be bleached white by sulphur fumes, or dyed, before being put up for sale.

Shopkeepers, Small-traders, Employees and Slaves

At the Forum, along the pavements, in open spaces, there would have been a host of smalltraders, hawking their wares, be they shoes or fabrics or pottery. Doctors, musicians, teachers, et al could be found there too, providing their services to the passing public.

There would also be employment for general labourers, freedmen or slaves on the land or in town (especially in the building trade where re-construction of the fabric of the town was still continuing after the earthquake of 62AD).

The Cost of Living

However money was earned, it was a necessary evil in order to buy goods and merchandise. The Roman currency was comprised wholly of coins which included asses (copper), dupondii (bronze), sestertii (bronze), denarii (silver) and aurei (gold) where, at the time of the eruption:


Other denominations used at various times were the quadrans,the quinarius argenteus and the quinarius aureus.

The cost of living in Pompeii seems to have been relatively low. Judging by the sums of money found on the bodies of its inhabitants (over 25 carried between 3,000 and 10,000 sestertii while 60 others carried in the order of 200 sestertii) Pompeii had some plainly wealthy citizens.


Some examples of basic costs are: