A-C

Term	Definition
Aedicule	An opening, often ornamental, framed by columns or pilasters supporting a pediment.
Aedile	Town magistrate who managed the day to day administration.
Alae	Wings or alcoves opening to left and/or right of the atrium of a Roman house.
Amphora	Two handled earthenware vessel for liquids, mainly wine.
Andron	An access corridor. For example, the corridor that generally joins the atrium with the peristyle in a typical atrium house.
Atlantes	Supports in the form of carved male figures.
Apodyterium	A changing room of a Roman baths.
Atrium	The main hall of a traditional Roman house. It could be completely roofed (testudinate) or have an opening (compluvium) in the middle of its roof and a water tank (impluvium) in the floor beneath.
Basilica	Colonnaded public hall on the Forum, used for commercial transactions and dispensing of justice.
Belvedere	A roofed open-sided building which commands a view.
Caldarium	The hot room of a Roman baths.
Cardo	Town road running north/south.
Caupona	An inn or tavern where hot meals were served to diners seated around a table.
Cavae	Ima, media, summa - Lower, middle and upper sections of tiered seating in a theatre or amphitheatre.
Cella	The central room of a temple where the image of the deity was placed.
Comitium	Meeting place on the Forum where magistrates assembled for voting.
Compluvium	An opening in the middle of the roof of an atrium to allow rainwater to fall into a water tank (impluvium) in the floor beneath.
Corinthian Order	The richest of the three Greek Orders, recognizable by its acanthus capitals.
Cryptoporticus	A ground-level or semi-subterranean vaulted corridor ususlly lit by openings in the vault. Its primary purpose is normally to buttress an adjacent structure, and secondly to provide a shady place to walk or store goods.
Cubiculum	A bedroom.
Curia	Senate House on the Forum, where the decurion council met.
Culina	Kitchen, in some cases with Lararium for the Lares, the household gods.

D-G

Term	Definition
Decumanus	Town road running east/west.
Decurio	Councillors.
Diaetae	Day rooms for general purpose use.
Dolium	Large earthenware container of globular form, with a wide mouth.
Doric Order	The most austere of the three Greek Orders, distinguished by its plain capital and triglyph frieze.
Duovir	Two senior magistrates of the colony, elected annually, who presided over the decurion council.
Exedra	A recess, usually semi-circular or rectangular in shape.
First Style	Between 150-80 BC, sometimes called the 'incrustation' or 'structural' style, this style of fresco was characterised by paintings in imitation of architectural features and facings.
Fourth Style	From the end of the reign of Nero till 68 AD, this style of fresco was referred to as the 'ornamental style' and was marked by a taste for architectural vistas.
Frigidarium	The cold room of a Roman baths.

H-L

Term	Definition
Herma	A rectangular pillar of stone, terracotta, or bronze supporting a bust.
Impluvium	A water tank in the floor of an atrium that has, above it, an opening (compluvium) in the middle of its roof.
Ionic Order	One of the three Greek Orders, recognizable by its volute capitals.
Labrum	A basin used to contain water.
Laconicum	The hot, dry room of a Roman baths.
Lararium	A shrine to the household gods of a Roman house.

M-Q

Term	Definition
Macellum	Market.
Nymphaeum	A grotto with a natural water supply dedicated to the nymphs - later an artificial grotto or fountain building.
Oecus	The main living room of a Greek house, introduced to Roman architecture along with the peristyle. Often used for dining.
Opus Graticium	A quick and inexpensive form of wall construction having a wooden framework combined with Opus Incertum.
Opus Incertum	A form of wall construction having an irregular facing of small stones in-filled with small stones (caementa) overlain wtih mortar to form a cohesive mass.
Opus Reticulatum	A form of wall construction having a facing of small stones with a square face laid diagonally, in-filled with small stones (caementa) overlain wtih mortar to form a cohesive mass.
Opus Sectile	A geometric pattern of motifs in polychromed marble used to decorate floors and walls. Instead of being made up of lots of individual tesserae, shapes in a picture are made from larger, specially cut, pieces.
Opus signinum	A style of pavement marked by its use of a variety of materials, such as gravel, stone and terra cotta, arranged in limestone or clay. The pattern would be extremely rough, or no pattern would exist at all. The trend began in the 1st century BC, proliferating in private homes as well as public buildings.
Opus Tesselatum	A description of rows of tesserae laid in regular horizontal or vertical lines. This style of placement is generally used in backgrounds.
Opus Vermiculatum	A single row, or several rows, of tesserae following the outline of a feature in a mosaic. The effect is a little like a halo, highlighting the subject and providing contrast against a background with teserae laid in a different style. "Vermiculatum" means "worm-like" and is so called because it curves around the contours of the design.
Palaestra	An open area surrounded by covered porticoes used for wrestling and exercise, often forming part of a Roman bath complex.
Peristyle	An open courtyard or garden surrounded by a colonnade.
Podium	The raised platform on which the columns and cella of a Roman temple stand.
Posticum	A house's second, or tradesman's entrance.
Praefurnium	A boiler room, esp. for Roman baths.
Public Domain	A range of abstract materials – commonly referred to as intellectual property – which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore 'public property', and available for anyone to use for any purpose.

R-Z

Term	Definition
Sacellum	A small roofless shrine, a Roman religious enclosure.
Scaenae Frons	The monumental facade that forms a backdrop to the stage of a Roman theatre.
Second Style	Between 1st century BC and AD 62, this style emerged as an original expression of Roman art. Towards the end of the period, the wall space was decorated with mythological scenes and illusionistic spaces.
Strigil	Scraper made of horn or metal used by bathers to remove dirt from the skin.
Tablinum	The central room at the end of the atrium of a Roman house, originally the master bedroom, later used for storing records.
Tepidarium	The warm room of a Roman baths.
Thermopolium	The equivalent of a modern day cafe/bar. Hot and cold food was sold from what was usually an 'L' shaped masonry counter containing terracotta vessels.
Third Style	From the end of the reign of Augustus, a more delicate and colourful style of fresco. It was enriched by Egyptian art, and was later referred to as the Egyptian style.
Torcularium	An room/building for the production of wine
Triclinium	The dining-room of a Roman house, so-called because of the three banqueting couches (klinai) arranged around the walls.
Velarium	A cloth canopy used to protect spectators at a theatre or amphitheatre from sun and rain.
Vestibulum	An entrance hallway - hence vestibule.
Viridarium	An ornamental garden replete with statuary and fountains in the peristyle or courtyard of a house.

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