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

weathering after their excavation, leading to the disappearance of any painted plaster they once
may have had.
There are certain exceptions to the lack of decoration in cooking areas. First, it appears in
kitchens that were converted from use as another type of room, often a cubiculum. Pre-existing
decoration is usually ignored; appliances, installations and new walls are cut into the pattern
without regard for its integrity when the kitchen is installed. 97 The second exception is painted
shrines that appear in the kitchen (see below for further consideration of the relationship between
cooking, dining, and ritual). 98 A third exception is the presence of cooking installations or
portable cooking devices in rooms or areas that enjoy a wider use, such as atria, peristyles and
gardens. In these cases, cooking is done in the presence of adornment designed for the larger
space, not designed to complement the cooking. 99 Finally, cooking facilities built into the
counters of eating establishments exist in the context of the decoration of the room -- counters
clad in painted stucco or marble revetment, wall paintings, and sometimes painted shrines. 100
Kitchens in the largest houses are no better decorated than kitchens in the smallest
houses. Walls were coated with plain white plaster to preserve them and allow them to be
cleaned. Floors were either of cocciopesto or beaten earth; both surfaces are ideal for enduring
endless spills and messes. There was no sense in decorating a kitchen in fine fashion, only to
have it sullied by black smoke, blood, food remains, and waste water.
Dining area amenities
Dining area types and evidence
This discussion concentrates on the dimensions and number of dining areas, as well as
the various pieces of evidence that suggest dining was actually carried out in these locations (i.e.
couch niches, floor or wall decoration that indicates the placement of couches, evidence of the
couches themselves, or vessels and utensils for serving, eating and drinking). 101
97 Examples include I.6.15 (i), where the third style decoration of a cubiculum survives, and I.9.1-2 (6), where
the patterned cocciopesto floor and second style wall decoration of a previous cubiculum can still be seen.
98 Examples include: I.7.18 (e), I.8.18 (8), I.10.4 (52), I.10.7 (11), I.10.11 (16), I.10.18 (9).
99 Examples include: I.4.5+25 (21), I.7.2-3 (g), I.9.1-2 (2), I.9.13-14 (b, o), I.10.4 (c), I.10.11 (9).
100 Examples include: I.4.27 (a), I.6.5-6; I.7.8 (a); I.8.1-2 (12), I.8.8 (1), I.8.15 (1), I.9.11 (1), I.10.2-3 (2), I.10.13.
101 Floor decoration may be mosaic or opus sectile emblemata around which couches could be placed, or the
actual delineation of couch positions with tesserae. Bipartite wall decoration distinguishes a smaller serving
area at the front of the room from a larger area for couches at the back of the room (see chapter two, pp. 106-
107).
140