KITCHENS AND DINING ROOMS AT POMPEII ... - Get a Free Blog

Vitruvius no more than mentions the oecus tetrastylus, but on analogy to the tetrastyle
atria which he describes earlier, four columns can be reconstructed, one in each corner of the
room. 194 Room (4) in the Casa delle Nozze d'Argento (V.2.i) at Pompeii is probably an example
of this variation. The room, of nearly 2:1 proportions, is divided into two parts. 195 The forepart,
for service and entertainment, is exceptionally high and has a flat ceiling. The back section,
where the dining-couches would have been arranged, has four octagonal columns on high bases
holding up a cornice from which a vaulted ceiling springs (Fig. 2.34).
Aegyptius:
Vitruvius provides a more detailed description of the oecus Corinthius and oecus
There is this difference between a Corinthian and an Egyptian oecus. The
Corinthian has one row of columns placed either upon a stylobate or upon the
ground. Above, it is to have architraves and cornices either of fine joinery or
plaster, and above the cornices, curved ceilings rounded to a circular section. In
the Egyptian saloons, however, architraves are placed above the columns, and
floor joists are to be carried from the architraves to the walls opposite. On the
floor boards a pavement is to be laid that there may be a balcony in the open.
Then above the architrave, and perpendicularly above the lower columns,
columns one-fourth shorter are to be placed. Above their architraves and
ornaments they have paneled ceilings, and windows are placed between the
upper columns. Thus the Egyptian halls resemble basilicas rather than
Corinthian apartments. 196
The squarish Corinthian hall contains a row of columns which runs around the inside of the
room, leaving aisles free between the columns and the walls, and supporting a cornice that holds
the vaulted ceiling. The arrangement is very similar to the oecus tetrastylus, except there are more
columns, and the room is not divided into two parts. Two probable examples of this variation
have been located in Pompeii, room (24) in the Casa del Meleagro (VI.9.2) and room (43) in the
Casa del Labirinto (VI.11.10). Each has ten columns around the room and had a vaulted ceiling,
but have various differences in decoration (Figs. 2.35). 197
to extant archaeological remains of dining rooms include: Adam 1984, 335-336; De Albentiis 1990, 153-158;
Salza Prina Ricotti 1987, 125-126; Dunbabin 1991, 124; Förtsch 1993, 102-104; Bek 1983, 84-88.
194 Cava aedium tetrastyla: Vitr. 6.3.1.
195 Maiuri 1952, 2-3: 10.75 m. long and 5.28 m. wide.
196 Vitr. 6.3.9: Inter corinthios autem et aegyptios hoc erit discrimen corinthii simplices habent columnas aut in podio
positas aut aut in imo; supraque habeant epistylia et coronas aut ex intestino opere aut albario, praeterea supra coronas
curva lacunaria ad circinum delumbata. In aegyptiis autem supra columnas epistylia et ab epistyliis ad parietes, qui
sunt circa, inponenda est contignatio, supra coaxationem pavimentum, subdiu ut sit circumitus. Diende supra
epistylium ad perpendiculum inferiorum columnarum inponendae sunt minores quarta parte columnae. Supra earum
epistylia et ornamenta lacunariis ornantur, et inter columnas superiores fenestrae conlocantur; ita basilicarum ea
similitudo, non corinthiorum tricliniorum videtur esse (Loeb text and translation).
197 Maiuri 1952, 3-6; the Casa del Meleagro oecus measures 5.82 m. long by 6.57 m. wide; the Casa del
Labirinto oecus measures 6.7 m. long by 6.8 m. wide.
96