''Cavaedium'' or atrium are

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

names for the principal room of an ancient Roman house, which usually had a central opening in the roof (''

compluvium ''Cavaedium'' or atrium are Latin names for the principal room of an Domus, ancient Roman house, which usually had a central opening in the roof (''compluvium'') and a rainwater pool (''impluvium'') beneath it. The ''cavaedium'' passively collec ...

'') and a rainwater pool (''

impluvium The ''impluvium'' (: ''impluvia'') is a water-catchment pool system meant to capture rain-water flowing from the ''compluvium'', an area of roof. Often placed in a courtyard, under an opening in the roof, and thus "inside", instead of "outside ...

'') beneath it. The ''cavaedium'' passively collected, filtered, stored, and cooled

rainwater Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Eart ...

. It also daylit, passively cooled and passively ventilated the house. The atrium was the most important room of the ancient Roman house. The main entrance led into it; patrones received their clientes there, and

marriages Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

funerals A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

, and other ceremonies were conducted there. In earlier and more modest homes, the atrium was the common room used for most household activities; in richer homes, it became mainly a reception room, with private life moving deeper into the (larger) house. The atrium was generally the most elaborate room, with the finest finishings, wall paintings, and furnishings. The atrium was entered either through a shop or by a straight, narrow passage from the street. The smaller, open room behind the atrium was the ''

tablinum In Roman architecture, a (or , from , board, picture) was a room in a ''domus'' (house) generally situated on one side of the atrium and opposite to the entrance; it opened in the rear onto the peristyle, with either a large window or only an a ...

'', usually the study of the master of the house. Behind it was a garden; temperature differences between the atrium and the garden drove a draft through the ''tablinum'', making it the coolest room in the house. Unless curtains or movable partitions of the ''tablinum'' were closed, a visitor in the passage could see through the atrium and ''tablinum'' into the garden; care was taken to make this view impressive. Ideally, rooms off the atrium were arranged symmetrically, or at least to give the impression of symmetry. Bedrooms (''

cubiculum A ''cubiculum'' (: ''cubicula'') was a private room in a ''domus'', an ancient Roman house occupied by a high-status family. It usually led directly from the atrium, but in later periods it was sometimes adjacent to the peristyle. It was used f ...

'') and (the "wings" of the atrium, alcoves separated by a lintel but not a wall) typically opened off the sides of the atrium. Small rural Roman buildings did not need atria; they were lit by windows and drew water from wells or watercourses. An urban house (''

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

''), on the other hand, had to be built on a small, narrow lot, as urban land was expensive and street frontage was even more expensive. Theft was also a concern. Urban houses thus came to look inwards onto cortiles, enclosed courts, and light and water were brought in from above. Sometimes urban houses retained a walled garden at the rear, which later often became a

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

, a sort of cloister surrounded by rooms. Large rural properties were sometimes built around large enclosed farmyards, but the

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

or country seat mimicked the city residence from which the wealthy owner generally came, and often had an atrium (or several). In later Roman history the atrium was sometimes also replaced by a peristyle, and rain-gathering with piped water from an aqueduct. The urban houses of poorer Romans might lack atriums entirely; but from (mainly Pompeiian) survey data, atriums, peristyles, or both are found in almost all Roman homes over 350 square meters in size, most over 170 square meters, and some over 50 square meters.

Etymology

The etymology of "''cavaedium''", "''cavum aedium''", and "atrium" is debated. These terms are thought by many to be synonymous; others have argued that one term includes the ''impluvium'' and the other does not, but are not agreed upon which.

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

gives classical

etymologies Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

: "The hollow of the house (''cavum ædium'') is a covered place within the walls, left open to the common use of all. It is called Tuscan, from the Tuscans, after the Romans began to imitate their ''cavædium''. The word atrium is derived from the Atriates, a people of Tuscany, from whom the pattern of it was taken." For more modern etymologies, see :Wiktionary:atrium.

Uses

Light, water, air and cooling

Roman townhouses rarely had windows, as they often had very little exterior wall. Where present, windows were placed above eye-level, and they were small and contained '' clathri'', window lattices. The ''compluvium'' provided most or all of the light to the atrium, its '' alae'', and the adjacent ''cubiculums''. The doorways of the cubicli were usually arranged to maximize the light, and when present, the ''alae'' were often needed to let light into the rooms flanking the ''tablinum''. Traditionally, the atrium collected rainwater. Most atria had ''compluvium'' roofs, which sloped inwards towards the hole in the center of the roof; these shed rain water into the ''

'' ("pool") underneath (the ''impluvium'' was usually the same size and shape as the ''compluvium'' hole). The water in the ''impluvium'' then slowly seeped through the porous bottom of the ''impluvium'' into a water storage

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

below. Water for household use could be drawn up in buckets via the puteal (a lidded cylinder set over a hole in the top of the cistern as a wellhead). In dry weather, water drawn from the cistern could be thrown into the ''impluvium'' to evaporatively cool the cistern and the house, and drive a draft. In wet weather, ''impluvium'' overflow would generally run out the front door into the street, which was much lower than the interior floor. The atrium might also contain a fountain, which piped in drinking water from an aqueduct (riverwater and well water was preferred for drinking). Reliable piped water made the rain-collecting function dispensable, and Late-Empire domi often replace atria with peristyle gardens, which could also be made larger.

Ceremonial uses

After a birth, a bed for Juno and a table for

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

were set up in the atrium. The '' tollere liberum'' (ceremony for a newborn), dedication of the bulla at

Liberalia In ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the Roman people, people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans t ...

(coming-of-age, male), and ''

confarreatio In ancient Rome, was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin ''far'' or ''panis farreus'', hence the rite's name. ''Far'' is often translated as "spelt", which i ...

'' marriage were described as conducted in the atrium, in front of the ''

lararium Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...

''. The wedding couch or bed, the ''lectus genialis'', was placed in the atrium, on the side opposite the door or in one of the ''alae''. The ''lectus funebris'', or funeral couch, was placed in the atrium, and the body of the deceased was laid in state upon it with feet facing the door.

Everyday uses

The ''cavaedium'' was a communal space.

says it is "left open to the common use of all".

Vitruvius Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...

describes it as a room which "any of the people have a perfect right to enter, even without an invitation".Vitruvius'

De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Ancient Rome, Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesa ...

(''On Engineering''), :Wikisource:Ten Books on Architecture/Book VI, Chapter III (translated by Morris Hicky Morgan; public-domain fulltext link) Quote: The private rooms are those into which nobody has the right to enter without an invitation, such as bedrooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, and all others used for the like purposes. The common are those which any of the people have a perfect right to enter, even without an invitation: that is, entrance courts, cavaedia, peristyles, and all intended for the like purpose. It was thus a sort of living-room. Spinning and weaving, major household tasks, were traditionally done in the atrium, as were other domestic occupations. Toys, flutes, writing materials, cutlery, and crockery have all been found in atria. Historically, the atrium was probably used for cooking, with the ''compluvium'' serving as a smoke-hole. This probably continued in poorer households, but richer ones developed a separate kitchen. Similarly, historically the household slept in the cubicles opening off the atrium, but as townhouses became deeper family tended to live deeper in the house, and these became guest rooms (unless the house has dedicated guest rooms, a ''hospitium''). Slaves and servants might sleep in the entrance to their master's ''cubiculum''. Richer Romans received visitors in the mornings, as their ''clientes'' gathered in the atrium for the '' salutatio''. The patron often greeted them from the ''tablinum''. The atrium was generally the most elaborate room, with the finest artworks, wall paintings, imported marble wall-linings, and marble or mosaic floors (mosaics being even more expensive than imported marble slabs). The homes of the richest Romans became more ostentatious as increasing wealth inequality increased

housing inequality Housing inequality is a disparity in the quality of housing in a society which is a form of economic inequality. The right to housing is recognized by many national constitutions, and the lack of adequate housing can have adverse consequences for a ...

, and as it became less socially important to display ''frugalitas'' and ''abundentia'', and more important to display '' tryphé''. This patron-class use as a reception-room made the atrium a semi-public space, and it came to be known as the ''pars urbanan'', the city part of the house. The more private space behind the ''tablinum'' was the ''pars rusticana'', the rural part. The ''pars rusticana'' was centered around a

; it did not exist in early Roman houses. Greek culture was high-status in Roman culture (see

Hellenization Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the ...

). The peristyle was borrowed from Greek architecture and became popular, eventually sometimes replacing the atrium. As a result, the names for the ''pars urbanan'' are in Latin, while the names for the ''pars rusticana'' are Greek loan-words. In the countryside the order was sometimes reversed; the ''pars urbana'' cortile, which one entered from the main street entrance, was a peristyle. The atrium was then buried in the depths of the house, often near a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

(an outwards-looking colonnade on one or more outside walls) with a view of the landscape.Vitruvius'

(''On Engineering''), :Wikisource:Ten Books on Architecture/Book VI, Chapter VI (translated by Morris Hicky Morgan); public-domain fulltext link. "The rules on these points will hold not only for houses in town, but also for those in the country, except that in town atriums are usually next to the front door, while in country seats peristyles come first, and then atriums surrounded by paved colonnades opening upon palaestrae and walks."

The atrium often contained a small chapel to the ancestral spirits (''

''). The household

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...

(''arca'') was also kept in the atrium; it contained family treasures and important documents. The room might contain portraits of ancestors, or a bust of the master of the house. In wealthier houses, furniture included an oblong marble ''cartibulum'' (table), supported by ''trapezophoros'' pedestals depicting mythological creatures like winged griffins.John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss, The World of Pompeii, Routledge Press, 2007. . A puteal, a low cylindrical covered wellhead through which water could be drawn from the cistern below, was often present. There would also be works of art, especially statuary, which was set beside the ''impluvium'', on tables, in niches, on walls, etc. For night, there might be oil-lamp-stands. Curtains or partitions might close off the ''tablinum''; ''alae'' might also have been curtained at times. Interior doorways might have doors or curtains.

''Compluvium''

The roof is framed so as to leave an open space in the center, known as the ''compluvium''. The rain from the roof was usually collected in gutters around the ''compluvium'', and discharged thence into the ''

''. The roof around the ''compluvium'' was edged with a row of highly ornamented tiles, called

antefix In architecture, an antefix () is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof (see imbrex and tegula, monk and nun). It also serves to protect the join from the elements. In grand buildings, the face of e ...

es, on which a mask or some other figure was moulded. At the corners there were usually spouts, in the form of lions' or dogs' heads, or any fantastical device which the architect might fancy. The spouts carried the rain-water clear out into the ''impluvium'', rather than letting it run down the walls and pillars, which would damage them. Seeping through the bottom of the ''impluvium'', the water passed into cisterns, from which it was drawn for household purposes. The compluvial opening might be shaded by a coloured veil, probably of an open, airy weave.

Roof structure

Five structural types of ''cavaedia'' (or atria) are described by the architect

: # The ''atrium tuscanicum'' has no pillars; beams span the entire room, framing a rectangular hole in the center and supporting the roof (commonest) # The ''atrium corinthium'' has (more than four) pillars along the edges of the roof opening (newly fashionable in Vitruvius' time) # The ''atrium tetrastylum'' has four pillars at the corners of the roof opening (not common) # The ''atrium displuviatum'' has outwards-sloping roofs that do not collect water, like most modern roofs (rare) # The ''atrium testudinatum'' was fully roofed-over, with another floor on top instead of an opening to the sky (very rare) The full original description, in his sixth book on engineering, is fairly succinct:

Tuscan ''cavaedium''

The Tuscan atrium seems to be the most common type in Pompeii. The Tuscan type has the advantage that the walls and pillars are very well-protected from the elements. For a smaller ''cavaedium'', it is a simple, light structure. In a larger ''cavaedium'', though, it requires very massive timber beams. The Tuscan structure requires two wooden beams that span the entire atrium, running horizontally from wall to wall (see image). Since the atrium is usually longer than it is wide (Vitruvius advises width:length ratios of 3:5, 2:3, or 1:√2), the beams usually run across the width of the atrium. The ends of the beams are typically encastrated (set in a socket in the wall). The beams must be thick enough not to bend excessively under the weight of the roof. As the atrium gets wider, the span gets larger, until it is impractical or unaffordable to get beams which are big enough. The Tuscan style was therefore not used on very large atria. Since a large atrium was a status symbol, the more complex structures used for large atria were sometimes used in small atria which could have been covered with a simpler Tuscan roof. The main horizontal beams form two sides of the roof opening. The other two sides are formed by shorter horizontal cross-beams, laid across (or jointed into) the main beams. The four valley rafters slope down from the corners of the walls to the corners of the central roof opening. The upper ends of the valley rafters rest on the wall, and the bottom ends on the horizontal beams. The smaller rafters rest their upper ends on the wall, and their lower ends mostly on the beams and cross-beams; the short rafters in the mitered corners of the roof rest on the valley rafters. File:Casa di Sallustio 2.JPG, Tuscan atrium. ''Impluvium'' is mossy; behind, the main door is flanked by two shops. House of Sallust, Pompeii (

floorplan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to Scale (ratio), scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a struct ...

). File:Herculaneum Casa dell'Erma di Bronzo 04.jpg, Roof framing of the atrium of the small House of the Bronze Herm,

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

(

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

). The four large diagonal valley rafters and the smaller rafters all slope down from the top of the walls to the horizontal beams. File:Josef_Theodor_Hansen_-_Interiør_fra_Pompei_-_1905.png, ''Atrium tuscanicum'', no pillars. View towards the ''tablinum''. Note the ''cartibulum'' (stone table) with unusually simple legs, the ''impluvium'' (dry), and the circular (covered) hole giving access to the cistern, just to the right of the ''impluvium''. House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto, Pompeii ( another view).

Tetrastyle ''cavaedium''

In the ''atrium tetrastylum'' additional support was required in consequence of the dimensions of the hall; this was given by columns placed at the four angles of the ''impluvium''. This style is not common in Pompeii. These pillars support a beam, which supports a wall, which in turn supports the rafters in the middle of the atrium. There is no need for horizontal beams spanning the entire room; the rafters have shorter spans. This allows a larger room to be roofed. File:Villa San Marco 2.JPG, ''Atrium tetrastylum'', four pillars. Villa San Marco, Stabiae. In this image, the atrium is roofed by a white tarp, laced down at the eaves and supported by scaffolding. File:Il pozzo di luce.jpg, Same, but with a reconstructed roof. The lack of plaster shows how four horizontal beams, running between the four columns, support a short masonry wall (''

opus incertum ''Opus incertum'' ("irregular work") was an Ancient Rome, ancient Roman construction technique, using irregularly shaped and randomly placed uncut stones or fist-sized tuff blocks inserted in a core of ''opus caementicium''. Initially it consist ...

''), which in turn supports the rafters File:A Roman Interior by Luigi Bazzani, before 1927.jpg, The figure is leaning against the ''cartibulum'', the ''lararium'' is against the wall behind her, and the statue to her right is a small fountain cascading into a shallow trough and thence into the ''impluvium''. File:Gustave Boulanger - Répétition du "Joueur de flûte" et de la "Femme de Diomède" chez le prince Napoléon - Orsay RF 1550.jpg, ''Atrium tetrastylum'' (not a very accurate reconstruction)

Corinthian ''cavaedium''

File:Casa_del_Menandro_Pompeii_20_dodged.jpg, ''Atrium corinthium'', multiple pillars. Small atrium of the House of Menander, Pompeii. Note how the diagonal valley rafters, at the mitered corners, are set lower than the smaller orthogonal rafters. This atrium is smaller than the clear-span Tuscan main atrium in the same house ( floorplan model). File:MJK09199 Pompejanum.jpg, Pompejanum reconstruction (glass roof is an unrealistic modern addition), loosely based on the square atrium in the House of Castor and Pollux, Pompeii ( floorplans) File:Casa dell Atrio Corinzio (Herculaneum) 02.jpg, House of the Corinthian Atrium, in

. The six pillars are stuccoed tufa, repaired with brick. This atrium is halfway to being a

; planters flank a grassy area. The central marble fountain was fed by an aqueduct, making the original purpose of the atrium, a structure for gathering rainwater, superfluous. The original well remains, beside the nearest pillar (

). File:Sudika Rabat Domus Romana.jpg, 16-column peristyle atrium of the

Domvs Romana The Domus Romana (Latin for "Ancient Romans, Roman House"), stylized as the Domvs Romana (after Latin's lack of distinction between u and v), is a ruined Roman-era house located on the boundary between Mdina and Rabat, Malta, Rabat, Malta. It w ...

, in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

(1st century BC). Note puteal and overflow hole of ''impluvium''. File:Ancient Delos.jpg, Atrium with puteal, House of the Lake, Roman-era

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

. Delos was short on freshwater and atria there generally collected it. File:Delos_Haus_des_Hermes_01.jpg, Two stories of Corinthian atria/peristyles. House of the Hermes, Roman-era Delos. This style has a rectangle of pillars around the roof opening. It is like the tetrastyle, but with more than four pillars. It resembles a peristyle. If the lower layer was sufficiently robust, it could support a second story.

Displuvial ''cavaedium''

In this style, the roofs, instead of sloping down towards the ''compluvium'', sloped outwards from the ''compluvium'', the gutters being on the outer walls; there was still an opening in the roof, and an ''impluvium'' to catch the rain falling through (and presumably fed by the gutters). This species of roof, Vitruvius states, is constantly in want of repair, as the water does not easily run away, owing to the stoppage in the rainwater pipes. This type was rare; only one had been found in Pompeii, . File:Atrium impluviatumum.png, Impluviate atrium File:Atrium displuviatumum.png, Displuviate atrium (rare) File:Baigneux-les-Juifs - Lavoir 2.jpg, Functioning ''compluvium'' roof in the 1865 ''lavoir'' (public laundry-house), Baigneux-les-Juifs, France File:Vitteaux - Lavoir 1.jpg, Similar ''lavoir'' from outside

Testudinate ''cavaedium''

The ''atrium testudinatum'' was employed when the atrium was small and another floor was built over it. The name comes from the Latin word , which means a turtle or tortoise, and by transference a covered vault. The ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' said that no example of this type had been found at

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, . While narrow homes had atria that were not flanked by ''

s'' and ''alae'', and even atria where the ''impluvium'' was set against a wall or in a corner, homes smaller than 5 meters across are generally testudinate.

Proportions

continues by giving the correct proportions for an atrium (length:width ratios for the atrium, and their proportion to that of the opening in the roof, width:height ratios for the atrium, and the proportions (relative to the atrium) of the adjacent rooms that are alcoves open on the atrium side, the ''tablinum'' and ''alae''). It is worth noting that many extant atria do not follow his ideal rules. He also advises that the size of the atrium of ''cavaedium'' be appropriate to the purposes required by the owner's social station: "men of everyday fortune do not need entrance courts, ''tablina'', or atriums built in grand style, because such men are more apt to discharge their social obligations by going round to others than to have others come to them... For capitalists and farmers of the revenue, somewhat comfortable and showy apartments must be constructed, secure against robbery; for advocates and public speakers, handsomer and more roomy, to accommodate meetings; for men of rank who, from holding offices and magistracies, have social obligations to their fellow-citizens, lofty entrance courts in regal style, and most spacious atriums and peristyles, with plantations and walks of some extent in them, appropriate to their dignity." In many homes in Pompeii, the atrium's walls were placed halfway between the walls behind them and the edge of the ''impluvium''. This meant that the same proportions (almost always 1:√2 width:length) were used for the ''impluvium'' edge, the atrium walls, and the next layer of walls (those running outside the ''tabernae'', the cubicles and ''alae'', and the ''

'' with its flanking rooms). This arrangement would give the sloping rafters an equal span on each side of the atrium walls.

References

Sources

* {{EB1911 , wstitle=Cavaedium , volume=5 , page=560

External links

Video of a digital reconstruction
of the House of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, Pompeii, by th
Swedish Pompeii Project (Pompeji Projektet)
roof shown at 2:50. Narration in English; interior furnishings and wallpaintings are shown. *
Updated link to videos and 3D models
Ancient Roman architectural elements