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Pompeii and Herculaneum: Housing5. Housing and differing housing styles in Pompeii and Herculaneum, including the changes in houses over time and use as commercial premises.

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The houses found in Pompeii and Herculaneum are perhaps the greatest and

most informative forms of architectural evidence found in these ancient cities.

They provide the basis for our understanding of the commonly accepted Roman

domus1 and attribute an extensive wealth of knowledge into the ancient minds in

how they lived their lives.

One thing that should first be established is the fallacy of labeling theories of

the ancient world as an absolute truth, as nothing of this previous time can be

known for certain. It is this limitation that allows for many constantly changing

theories and interpretations of housing in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The

information that is contained in this research paper is what is commonly

accepted as the truth at this point in time.

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill in his work Houses and Society in Pompeii

and Herculaneum (1994) has meticulously studied the many aspects of the

Pompeii and Herculaneum, in particular the houses of these ancient towns.

Based on this he categorised housing into four types to allow for an

understanding of the complexity and variety in the evolution of the Pompeian

house. These categories are; shops and workshops, larger workshop residences,

the average Pompeian house, and the largest houses (villa urbana2).

WHAT IS THE ‘ROMAN’ HOUSE? – THE VETRUVIUS MODEL

Traditionally the guidelines of a Roman/Pompeian House, or as it is known

as; domus italica, were extrapolated from the works of Vitruvius, a 1st century

architect who wrote De Architectura. This manual written during the time of

Augustus3 detailed intricate architectural Roman building methods, including

things such as the appearance of Roman houses and what took place in certain

rooms; it was “an ideal Roman house plan”4. These guidelines were initially

applied to housing in Pompeii and Herculaneum, but have since been mostly

1 Domus is the Latin term meaning house or home.2 According to Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century CE, “the villa urbana, was a country seat that could easily be reached from Rome or another city for a night or two”3 Augustus reign begun in 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.4 Diana E. E. Kleiner, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii

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disproven through the works of historians such as Andrew Wallace-Hadrill and

large amounts of archaeological evidence that didn’t correspond.

As the work of Elanor Winsor Leach cautions, one must be wary of applying

very specific names to the rooms of houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum. She

denotes the faults in often seeing Pompeii as an adjunct to Rome, and therefore

applying texts such as De Architectura inappropriately. As seen in Appendix A1,

Wallace-Hadrill takes a similar approach. Reasons for this include the fact that

many houses built in Pompeii and Herculaneum were built before these towns

came under Roman rule, many constructed during the Samnite Period5. Also it is

now believed that rooms may have served multi-purposes, and quite possibly

room uses would of changed over time to respond to differing needs. It is this

fact that makes models such as ‘the ideal model’ developed by August Mau6 in the

nineteenth century far too schematic.

With this said, despite the changing interpretations of archaeological evidence,

Vitruvius’ rules may be applied to Pompeian and Herculaneum houses as mere

guidelines, employing these traditional labels in light of the cautions detailed

above.

AN AVERAGE POMPEIAN HOUSE

Based on archaeological evidence, ancient literary sources, and the work of

modern historians we can establish the ‘average Pompeian house’. The elements

commonly associated with the average house are seen throughout Pompeii and

Herculaneum, in houses and villas alike (though in villas we tend to see more

variation.) Whilst many of the grandiose houses that tend to appeal to the public

today appear to differ vastly from this ‘ideal’ plan of Vetruvius, it can still be

often found in the core of the house, before wealthy owners constructed

multifarious renovations. Variations of these town houses littered the streets of

Pompeii (and Herculaneum), as Historian Phil Sheppard describes, “No two

5 Also know as the ‘Pre-Roman Period’, the Samnite period in Pompeii is approximately 4th Century BC – 3rd Century BC 6 August Mau (1840 – 1909) was a prominent German art historian and archaeologist who first divided Roman paintings into the four Pompeian Styles still used as a classification. He based his design of the ‘ideal house’ on the work of Vitruvius

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houses were the same, and varied in size from 50 room mansions to modest

homes.” The main core features of these town houses were:

Vestibulum and/or fauces : These were the entrance space leading into the

house, and often quite important.7

Atrium : Consisting of a compluvium and impluvium the atrium was a very

important part of the house for domestic activity, ceremonial and sacred

activity, and even commercial activity. A place for the pater familias to

greet clients.

Lararium : Family shrines dedicated to the household deities, often located

in the atrium or alae.

Tablinum : Main reception room of the house where daily business was

conducted.

Alae ; ‘wings’: Multi-purpose rooms opening into the atrium.

Triclinum : Roman dining room.

Cubicula : Smaller rooms that may have had many uses, but are generally

thought to have been rooms for sleeping.

Hortus (later peristylium ): Enclosed garden located inside the perimeters

of the house.

Taberna : Quite possibly adapted from Greece, these were shops at the

front of houses on the street side that were either rented out by the

owners of the house or utilised by the owners themselves.

For an example of the plan of the idealised Pompeian/Roman house, refer to

Appendix A1. An actual close example of this is the House of the Tragic Poet in

Pompeii, as seen in Appendix A2.

The main conceptual and design features that can be seen in these earlier

built houses that have not undergone major renovation is that of axiality8,

symmetry, enclosure, and facing inwards. As seen in the House of the Surgeon

(Appendix A3) and in the plan of the domus italica (Appendix A1) symmetry was

very important in the building of these earlier houses. Long lines of sight as seen

7 Vitruvius wrote ‘buildings having magnificent interiors’ should also have ‘elegant entrance courts to correspond: for there will be no propriety in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low, mean entrance.’ – Vitruvius, De architectura, VI. 3.18 Yale Professor Diana E. E. Kleiner professes the importance of axiality in her lecture ‘5. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii’

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in Appendix A4 were very common in these houses, vertically and horizontally

across the axes of the house, and often looking from the entrance all the way

towards the hortus or peristylium.

The fact that almost all houses built in this early period contained these

design features, and then there was a seemingly uniform progression across

many houses at once is very informative in our understanding of this ancient

society. It is revealing of the superficiality of the Pompeian’s and the importance

that they placed on image, as shown through constantly following and keeping

up to date in the ‘trends’ of their houses which can be seen as a reflection or

extension of themselves.

VARIATIONS THROUGH TIME AND PURPOSE – THE EVOLUTION

These concepts of symmetry, axiality, and facing inwards appear to devolve

as Roman society evolves, and we see the influence of other cultures comes into

effect. Parallel to shifts and changes in art, commerce, and religion, Pompeian

architecture altered in style under the influence of foreign cultures, and we saw

the birth of the Hellenised9 domus, taking on many architectural conventions and

styles from the Greeks. These changes occurred notably in the 2nd century BC,

and out of necessity to adhere to these trends of the time the ‘classical’ distinct

concepts of symmetry, axiality and others had to be often disregarded.

Importantly, it should be taken note of the fact that Pompeii did originally have

Greek links through their Estrucan and Oscan roots, pre-Roman influence. After

all, it was Hippodamus10 himself that laid out the grid pattern for the streets and

houses of Pompeii.

In this transition generally the core of the house stayed the same, with

occasionally some rooms losing their traditional value or purpose. The most

prominent and distinct feature incorporated into the ‘new’ style homes, adapted

from the Greeks was the additional of columns around the home. The addition of

columns could most commonly be found in the garden, which became a

9 Hellenised represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC, in this instance in specific reference to housing.10 Hippodamus of Miletos (498 BC — 408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect, urban planner, physician, mathematician, meteorologist and philosopher and is considered to be the “father” of urban planning.

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peristylium (replacing the hortus). Displays of culture and education such as this

where clear motifs to make a symbolic statement of status as a citizen of Pompeii

or Herculaneum.

Similar to this, there is also evidence of Hellenisation of the atrium as seen in

Appendix A4, at the House of the Silver Wedding, with columns being

implemented in renovations11. This specific type of atrium became known as a

tetrastyle atrium, and as Wallace Haddrill describes, “columns, whether in an

atrium or a peristyle or within a room, have the effect of marking out space as

prestigious”.12

It is the undergoing of these renovations, which is what led to the loss of

more traditional design features. As wealthy house owners purchased

surrounding properties in order to expand and renovate, naturally features such

as symmetry had to be discarded. An example of this is shown in Appendix B1,

which is the House of the Faun. Following the outline of the aforementioned

transition, the House of the Faun was originally constructed in the 2nd Century

AD following the traditional domus plan, and then in the following centuries

underwent extensive renovation and mass expansion. The extent of this

expansion is so large that it occupied the whole insulae13, and at the time of the

eruption of 79AD it included 2 atrium and 2 peristylium. At this time it then was a

clear example of the Hellenised domus, and due to this expansion, traditional

features of symmetry and axiality were neglected. Another interesting element of

the House of the Faun was rather then importing expensive marble for the

columns, stucco has been used to give the illusion of marble, projecting an image

of wealth and cultivation of culture, and perhaps enhancing their social status, at

a more affordable price.

Another evolution that can be seen in many of the developing town houses,

such as the House of the Vetti, was the loss of the tablinum, as it morphed into

pretty much a basic passageway. With this change there was a clear shift of

importance from the atrium of the house to the peristyle. This is summed up in a

passage from the article The House of Menander, Pompeii as seen in Appendix B2;

11 These renovations occurred in either 1st century BC or 1st century AD (This is controversial with no definitive evidence).12 A. Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pomepian and Herculaneum, p.2213 Each block of buildings bordering the streets was known as an insulae.

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detailing the underlying motives and reasoning behind these conceptual and

symbolic shifts. Also the developing houses tended to gain a lot more open space

to the outside world, similar to a Greek design.

Commercial shops and workshops where commonly found in the taberna of

a house with residence space behind them, but as well as these there were many

buildings completely designed and designated as commercial premises.

Examples of these public buildings flood the streets of Pompeii, and in particular

the forum. They are another example of the differing housing styles that we have

uncovered in Pompeii.

This article attempts to explore what is an intensely deep and knowledge

rich topic in the excavation and understanding of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Quite possibly the major ideal to take from this article is the massive variety of

houses reflecting the massive variety in the lives of these ancient people, which

on a basic level is quite comparable to society today.

Appendix A1

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The world of the metropolitan Roman elite to whom we owe our literary sources might be ill-matched with that of a second-rate Italian town of local landowners and traders. Indeed, it quite normal for the basic structures of Pompeian houses… to date back to the period conventionally termed “Samnite” when Pompeii was an independent town, not “Roman”. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pomepian and Herculaneum, p.15

Appendix B1

Image taken from source:http://educanogalte.wordpress.com/ambito-social/historia-2/roma/la-casa-romana/

Appendix B2

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Image taken from source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_plan_of_the_House_of_the_Tragic_Poet,_Pompeii.jpg

Appendix B3

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Image taken from source: http://archaeologystudent.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/roman-jigsaw-puzzles/

Appendix B4

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This picture shows the line of sight in the House of the Silver Wedding, clearly depicting the axiality that was an integral inclusion of the house design. Notable also is the presence of a tetrastyle atrium.Image taken from source: http://www.lessing-photo.com/search.asp?a=L&lc=202020204A30&co=&ci=&ln=Archaeological+Site%2C+Pompeii%2C+Italy&p=8&ipp=6

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Appendix C1

Image depicts Plan of the House of the Faun, taken from source: http://archaeology.about.com/od/archaeologicalsi3/ss/pompeii_faun_2.htm

Appendix C2

The peristyle garden had by now become the visual nexus of the house, a link between the public and private. It ended the public fauces-atrium-tablinum axis but it was also the focal point for views emphasizing status from the dining and reception rooms that surrounded it. For example, from the summer triclinium, the focus was the ancestral shrine. This view was again framed with columns. By highlighting the shrine in such a way, the viewer was being reminded of their host’s long and illustrious pedigree. Even friends and invited guests needed reminding of their place within the social hierarchy. Natasha Sheldon, The House of Menander, Pompei, Jan 27 2008, http://suite101.com/article/the-house-of-menander-a42406

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