Roman+Shelter

By Dylan H.  In Rome, the type of home a Roman lived in depended on how much money they made. If you made a lot of money you were considered a patrician. If you did not make a lot of money you were considered a plebeian. Patricians lived a better life than a plebeian because patricians could live in a big house and they could buy what the needed and what they wanted. The plebeians could not do that because they did not make a lot of money.
 * __ Ancient Rome Home/ Shelter __** 

In the city of Rome, the Romans had limited space that they could use to live in. The housing was expensive and the homes were small and low quality. Plebeians lived in crowded tenements. Plebeians were citizens that were lower in the “social ladder.” Some Romans lived in big grand houses and some lived in a villa. A villa was a vacation home for patricians. Patricians were people that had a lot of money and were higher in the “social ladder.”

In the Roman households, the bedrooms were the most private rooms in the house. The bedrooms were a part of the house that guest didn’t go in unless, they were staying in the house or villa. If a house had two floors the bedrooms were always upstairs and if the house was one floor all the rooms were at the back of the house. Most of the bedrooms opened onto a garden.

The atrium was the center room of early Roman homes. One of the rooms in the atrium was called a hearth that was used for cooking, sleeping, and entertainment. In the atrium, there was a hole in the roof to let out smoke. Rain that fell in was caught in a marble basin or impluvium. The kitchen was in the atrium to avoid cooking smells and to prevent fires.

Patricians had large farm estates in the country that were big, and grand. Each home had a living room, a dining room, a bathroom, and several bedrooms. The houses had marble floors, columns, paintings, murals, and gold and silver decorations. The patricians wanted the main house to be as big as possible. The family lived in the main house. It had tile floors all through out the house. The properties were mostly around a central courtyard or a sitting room. The patrician’s villas were huge. They had orchards, farmland, and woodland. Villas were built to make most of the views outdoors. The patrician’s used villas for vacation. Many of the villas had a porch or a shady covered walkway that led from one part of the villa to another part of the villa. A large villa had a shrine that was used to pray to the gods. The villas were so big it was enough for the family and a few guests. There was a private house for the family. Villas were like a small farm used for vacationing. It had a store room for crops and farm equipment. The villa also had a barn for the animals. Most villas had slaves that took all the left over crops to the market and sold them so that they could buy bowls and pots. It also had rooms for the slaves and farm workers. Slaves and the farm workers lived in the villa all year long. They kept the house clean while the owners were gone. The farm workers took care of the animals and the crops.

The plebeians did not have private homes. The apartments buildings for plebeians were called insoles and they were so big that they could fill a whole block. The insoles were made of wood, cement, or brick. The Plebeians had one or two room apartments. The apartments had no running water, so they had to throw their waste out the window. When they were throwing their waste out, they had to watch out for people walking down the street so that those people wouldn’t get hit by it. Most of the apartment buildings were made of wood and that caused a lot of fires.

The patricians and the plebeians had different sized houses and had different styles. One type of home was a small town house that a patrician would live in. A plebeian would live in an apartment building or a small one room house. The patrician homes were often made of brick or stone and the plebeian homes were made of wood or concrete. The patricians had more land than the plebeians and more space. The plebeians had to live in small houses or apartments that were crowded with their family. The patricians also had more homes than the plebeians. In Rome the Romans homes were either big or small depending on how much money they made. If a Roman had a lot of money they were a patrician and if they didn’t have a lot of money they were a plebeian. Plebeians lived a life were they didn’t have freedom to speak at any meetings that were held and the patricians could. It was hard for the plebeians to buy what they needed for their family. Patricians could afford to buy what they needed and what they wanted.  **__ Works Cited __** “Atrium.” //World Book Encyclopedia.//2008. Gedacht, Daniel C. //Home Life in Ancient Rome__.__// New York: Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2004. Shuter, Jane. //Life in a Roman Villa.// Illinois: Reed Elsevier Inc., 2005

Shelter  By Colby G    Shelter for the rich and poor citizens of ancient Rome were very different. The rich could live in a domus or a villa. The poor had one choice, the insulae. The domus was located in the city while the villa was located in the country. The insulae was on almost every block in the city. The villa was a luxurious complex on the country side. Rich farmers and rich citizens lived in villas. The entire family lived in one villa, which included extended family. The villa did not have doors or windows facing the street to prevent robbery. The villa complex consisted of three parts: the villa rustica, the villa urban and the storage accommodation. The staff lived in the villa rustica, which had a little hospital and a little prison. The villa urban was a luxurious living quarter, which is where the storage accommodation was located. The storage accommodation stored grain, oil, and wine. The domus was located in the city. It was built around an atrium, which was a formal entrance hall. The atrium had no roof. The peristyle was a garden or courtyard. It was usually in the middle of the house or in the back. It had flowers, fountains, and statues. Windows faced the courtyard. The domus had a sewage system unlike the insulae. It also had a private bath and several bedrooms. The Romans thought it was important to keep clean so there was a bath almost every where. It was also a way to socialize. The domus was made from brick with a red tile roof. The size of the domus showed the wealth of the owner. Patricians living in the domus had slaves. They were cooks, maids, gardeners, cleaners, companions to the kids and also teachers. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">The insulaes were the Plebeian’s homes. The plebeians were the poor, lower class citizens of Rome. An insulae was on every block and was made from wood. They were supported by wooden beams and were poorly built. They were very dangerous because of the risk of fire and collapse. Living in an Insulae showed your lack of wealth. The entire family, including extended, lived in one room. There were no bathrooms or running water. They hauled in water from wells and used latrines (public toilets). Waste was sometimes dropped onto the streets. Light came through the windows and there was no glass in them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Ancient Roman shelter was interesting because it was built in many different ways and sizes. They were also built from different materials. The different types of housing were always decorated with murals on the walls of the villa and domus. The insulaes were poorly built and were a home for the poor. They usually collapsed because they were made from wood.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> "Ancient Roman Homes". //Archeolink.// November 2008. http://www.crystalinks.com/romanhomes "Ancient Rome: Houses and Shops." // Archeolink. // November 2008. [|http://library.thinkquest.com] //.// "Homes." //Archeolink//. November 2008. [|http://library.thinkquest.com]. "Houses." //Archeolink//. November 2008. [|http://www.geocities.com]. Macdonald, Fiona. //Houses// //Habitats// //&// //Home// //Life//. New York: Franklin watts, 1994. "Roman Apartments." //Archeolink//. November 2008. http://hadrians.com/rome/romans/homes/roman <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">apartments//.// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> " Roman Apartment Building. " //Archeolink//. November 2008 http://depthome.brooklin.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/romanlife/insulae. "Roman art and Architecture.” //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia//. 2008.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> "Roman Homes." //Nettlesworth// //Primary School//. November 2008.  []     "Roman Houses." //Archeolink//. November 2008.   http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/romanhouses .  "Roman Houses." //Think Quest Site//. November 2008. [|http://library.thinkquest.org].   "Roman Villas." //Archeolink//. November 2008.   http://www.aboutbritain.com/articles/roman-villas .   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> Shuter, Jane. //The Ancient Romans//. Chicago, Illinois: Reed Educational, 1998. Stewart, David. //Inside Ancient Rome//. New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2005.