Pompeii and Roman Urban Structures

What happened to Pompeii

After the volcanic eruption the entire city became covered in a layer of concrete by the volcanic ash

Most escaped but left everything behind

Pompeii city walls

High, strong

Had houses and shelter

Had graffiti

Pompeii walls and graffiti

Acted as a sort of message board almost

Latin was universal so high literary rate

Pompeii city layout

Grid layout based on four main streets

Roman stepping stones

Used to avoid gross street, used to cross as a crosswalk, makes person more visible as well, controls traffic

Pompeii streets and traffic stones

High levels of traffic present, created groves into the stone street between the stepping stones

Typical Roman Domus

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Atrium

Living room/lobby space for guests, has a small shallow pool to collect rainwater from an opening above to cool the house.

Colorful fresco paintings on walls

Family shield would be present and cult statues

Domus

private family residence of

modest to palatial proportions,

found primarily in ancient Rome

and Pompeii.

Typical Roman house windows

Not very open to the street, few windows and opening facing it, second inner sector of home houses the family and has more windows

Insula

(Latin: “island”), in

architecture, block of grouped but

separate buildings or a single

structure in ancient Rome.

High rise apartment building

Middle/lower class

Sometime shops at lower level

Typical Roman bathhouse

Separated by gender and temperature of water, and by whether for bathing or sport activities.

Was for socializing, workout/sports as well

Outside areas may be separate shops attached to the same building

Frigidarium

Fold room cold water house

Many had painted fresco walls

Arches, vaulted dome ceiling w/ oculus at top

Oculus

a round or eye-like opening

or design, such as a circular

window or an opening at the apex

of a dome-

Pompei forum

large open space in city

Sanctuary space, courtyard

Separated from urban

Pompeii forum plan

Has multiple temples, one to the emperor (temple of vespasian)

Voting,government building

Very organized

Important center for civic life

Often two stories (Pompeii was)

Doric order post and lintel system of colonnades

Pompeii basilica

Separated from rest of city

Peripteral design

Business purpose + meetings + trade negotiations + economic hub = civic hub