Architecture / Origin / Roman

actus: An ancient measure of length equal to 120 pedes (Roman feet); equivalent to 116.4 feet (35.49 m).
additus maximum: In an ancient Roman amphitheater, a main entrance.
aditus: In ancient classical architecture, the entrance or approach to a building.
aedes: In Roman antiquity, a building, as distinguished from a temple, set apart for worship without formal consecration by the augurs.
aedile: A Roman city officer, having special charge of public buildings and streets, and of municipal affairs generally.
aerarium: A public treasury in ancient Roman times.
agger: In ancient Roman work, a rampart of earth or a stonefaced embankment.
agger murorum: An embankment upon which the walls and towers of an ancient fortified Roman city were built, and which served as a rampart upon which the garrison was stationed to defend it.
agger viae: The central part of an ancient Roman highway which was paved with stones imbedded in cement laid upon several strata of broken rubble, and slightly raised in the center.
ahenum: A boiler system for supplying hot water for ancient Roman baths…
ala: In ancient Roman architecture, a small room, recess, or alcove adjoining a larger room.
alabastrites: In Roman archaeology, a semiprecious stone, probably the Oriental or calcareous alabaster.
albani stone: A pepper-colored stone used in buildings in ancient Rome before the introduction of marble.
albarius: Also see albarium opus.
album: In ancient Roman architecture, a space on the surface of a wall covered with white plaster, located in a public place, on which public announcements and records, etc., were written.
aleatorium: In ancient Roman architecture, a room in which dice games were played.
alectorium: In ancient Roman architecture, a room for dice players.
aleipterion: Also see alipterium.
Alexandrian work: Also see opus alexandrium.
Alexandrinum opus: The third division of the medieval mosaic art, from the time of Constantine to the 13th century.
alipterion: In ancient Roman architecture, a room used by bathers for anointing themselves.
alipterium: In ancient Roman architecture, a room used by bathers for anointing themselves.
altar of repose: In a Roman Catholic church, a side altar, repository, or storage niche where the Host is kept from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday.
alveus: In ancient Rome, a bath constructed in the floor of a room…
alvus: In the caldarium of Roman baths, a space left vacant for a walk between the schola and each alveus.
ambivium: An ancient Roman road or street that went around a site rather than through it.
ambrices: In ancient Roman construction, the cross laths inserted between the rafter and tiles of a roof.
ambulatio: Also see pteroma.
amphithalamos: In an ancient Roman house, a chamber opposite the main bedchamber and separated from it by a passageway.
amussis: A plane table of marble, used by the ancient Romans for testing the flatness of a surface.
amygdalatum opus: A type of opus reticulatum.
anacampteria: In ancient religious establishments, the apartments or lodgings of persons who sought the privilege of sanctuary.
anatarium: In ancient Rome, a house (and yard) for raising ducks.
angiportus: In ancient Rome, a narrow road passing between two houses or a row of houses, or an alley leading to a single house.
anserarium: In ancient Rome, a shelter for the raising of geese; consisted of a court surrounded by a high wall, with a portico inside.
antevanna: In ancient Roman construction, a boarded roof projecting over a window or opening.
antiparabema: One of two chapels at the entrance end of a Byzantine church.
antiquarium: The apartment of a Roman villa in which ancient vases, statues, and the like are kept.
antiquum opus: Also see opus incertum.
apsis: Same as apse. This form of the word follows the Latin original, but it has been mainly appropriated to astronomical nomenclature.
aqueduct: An artificial support and channel for a stream of water, as built for the supply of ancient Rome and many modern cities.
ara: Roman term for altar.
arca custodiae: In ancient Roman architecture, a type of cell for the confinement of prisoners.
arcae: In ancient Roman architecture, the gutters of the cavaedium.
arch order: In Roman architecture, arches enframed by engaged columns and entablatures. 2. In medieval architecture, successive vertical planes of arches and colonettes set one within another.
arcosolium: An arched niche in the catacombs of Rome.
arcuatio: In ancient Rome, a structure formed by means of arches or arcades and employed to support a construction of any kind, such as an aqueduct.
arcus: In ancient Roman construction, an arch. 2. A triumphal arch.
arcus ferreus: An ancient Roman method of plastering tiles laid on straight or curved iron bars.
arenaria: In ancient Rome, an amphitheater, cemetery, crypt, grave, sepulcher, or sandpit.
Argei: Certain sites in the ancient city of Rome (probably between 24 and 27 in number) with small chapels attached to them, consecrated by Numa for the performance of religious rites.
armarium: Same as ambry. 2. Originally a place for keeping arms; later a cupboard, in which were kept, not only arms, but also clothes, books, money, ornaments, and other articles of value. 3. A division in an ancient Roman library.
arrectarium: In ancient Roman construction, an upright pillar or post which is load-bearing.
arrowhead: The pointed tongue or dart between the oval in an egg and dart molding or ornament; especially in Roman architecture, in which it was commonly carved with barbs.
asarotum: A painted pavement used by the Romans before the use of mosaic surfaces.
aspersorium: Latin term for a stoup or holy water basin.
asser: In ancient carpentry: 1. A rib or bracket of an arched ceiling. 2. A purlin or a rafter of a roof. 3. A beam or joist.
assis: In ancient Roman construction, a flat board or plank.
assula: In ancient Roman construction, a chip of any type of material.
astula: In ancient Roman construction, a chip of any type of material.
asula: In ancient Roman construction, a chip of any type of material.
Athenaeum: A temple or place dedicated to Athene, or Minerva; specifically an institution founded at Rome by Hadrian for the promotion of literary and scientific studies, and imitated in the provinces.
atriolum: In ancient Rome, a small atrium. 2. In large ancient Roman mansions, a second or back atrium. 3. A small antechamber forming the entrance of a tomb.
atrribute: An object, as a weapon, a flower, or the like, considered as expressing the character or authority of a divinity; thus the dove is a recognized attribute of Venus in Roman and modern mythology.
aulaeum: On the ancient Roman stage, a curtain which portrayed a scene; it was lowered at the beginning of the play and raised when the play was over. 2. A hanging used in a temple to veil the statue of a divinity. 3. A hanging in a house, used as a tapestry, curtains, or (when hung from the ceiling) as a canopy. 4. A hanging on the outside of a house to close an open gallery. 5. A hanging stretched over colonnades to form a tent.
auvanna: In ancient Roman construction, a boarded roof projecting over a window or opening. Same as antevanna.
axicia: In ancient construction, the upright axis around which a door pivoted. 2. Same as assis.
Bacchic ornament: Associated with Bacchus, Roman deity of wine and fertility, among whose attributes are asses, grapevines, laurels, panthers, rams, serpents, and tigers, it was found in Antiquity, and from Renaissance times was used when associations with sensual pleasure were desired. Regarded as the opposite of Appoline decoration, it appeared in Neo-Classical designs.
balnea: Roman baths, usually the great public ones.
balnearium: In ancient Rome, a private bath.
balneum: Roman baths, usually the great public ones.
balustrum: A Latin term for a chancel screen.
baphium: In ancient Rome, an establishment for dyeing cloth.
basket capital: A capital having interlaced bands resembling the weave of a basket; used in Byzantine architecture.
baths: Public bathing facilities, a center of social life in ancient Rome.
bestiarium: The place where wild beasts were kept before they fought in the ancient Roman amphitheater.
bidental: A small Roman temple or shrine enclosing an altar, erected upon any spot which had been struck by lighting and consecrated by the official diviners (augurs).
biforis: In ancient Roman construction, a term applied to doors and windows which opened in two leaves instead of in one piece; similar to a folding door or French window. Also see biforis.
biforus: In ancient Roman construction, a term applied to doors and windows which opened in two leaves instead of in one piece; similar to a folding door or French window. Also see biforis.
biga: A chariot similar to a guadriga but drawn by two horses.
bipeda: An ancient Roman brick or thick tile which is two Roman feet long, one Roman foot wide, and one-third of a Roman foot thick; especially used for pavements.
bisellium: In ancient Rome, a seat of honor, or a state chair, reserved for persons of note or persons who had done special service for the state.
bucranium: A sculptured ornament representing the head or skull of an ox, often garlanded; frequently used on Roman Ionic and Corinthian friezes.
Bulgarian architecture: See Byzantine architecture.
bulla: A circular metal boss used by the ancient Romans as a decoration and for fastening parts of doors; often highly ornamented.
bustum: In ancient Rome, a vacant space of ground on which a funeral pyre was raised and the corpse burnt; especially such an area when contained within a sepulchral enclosure and contiguous to the tomb in which the ashes were afterwards deposited.
Byzantine: A style dating from the 5th century, characterized by masonry construction around a central plan, with domes on pendentives, typically depicting the figure of Christ; foliage patterns on stone capitals; and interiors decorated with mosaics and frescos.
Byzantine architecture: Architecture of a style chiefly developed in the domains and during the existence of the Byzantine Empire, from which it spread westward into Italy, whence its influence radiated into France and Germany; and northward into Russia…
Byzantine Revival Style: Architecture developed from the 5th century A.D. in the Byzantine Empire, characterized especially by massive domes with square bases and rounded arches and spires and much use of glass mosaics.
caementiciae structure: Concrete masonry walls constructed with caementa, of either of two types: opus incertum or opus reticulatum.
caementicium opus: See opus caementicium.
calcatorium: A raised platform of masonry in the cellar attached to an ancient Roman vineyard; ascended by two or three steps, it served as a passageway on a level with the tops of the large vessels in which wine was kept in bulk.
caldarium: The hottest room in a Roman bath.
calidarium camber: A chamber with hot baths in a Roman bathing establishment. The slightly curved rise of an otherwise horizontal structure to avoid the appearance of sagging. In road construction, the slight fall from the center to throw off water.
caliduct: A warm-air conduit used by the ancient Romans.
calotte: Interior of a small dome, so called from a skullcap worn by the Roman Catholic priest.
calyx: Ornament resembling a cup-like flower, as in the Corinthian capital, or on the neck of the Roman Doric capital.
camba: The late Latin term for a place where brewing and sometimes baking were done.
camera: In ancient architecture, an arched roof, ceiling, or covering; a vault. 2. A room having an arched ceiling; a vaulted room. 3. A small room, small hall, or chamber.
caminus: An ancient Roman smelting furnace. 2. A hearth or fireplace in a private house used for warmth.
campidoglio: At Rome, the Capitol, or Capitoline Hill. The small open place at the top of the Capitoline Hill, between the northern crest where the citadel once stood and the southern crest where stood the Temple of Jupiter, is called Piazza del Campidoglio…
cancellus: In Latin, usually in the plural, any barrier or screen formed with bars; particularly the bar between the court and spectators in a pagan basilica, and between the clergy, or clergy and choir, and the congregation in a Christian basilica, whence chancel. The cancelli of antiquity might be of bronze, iron, stone, or wood.
canterius: The principal rafter in an ancient Roman roof. Same as cantherius.
cantharus: In Roman antiquity, a two-handled cup; hence that part of a fountain which holds the water, or the upper basin only. 2. A basin or fountain of ablutions in the atrium of a mediaeval or early Christina basilica.
cantherius: The principal rafter in an ancient Roman roof.
capellaccio: A local tufa stone used for construction in ancient Rome.
capitolium: Originally, the site of the temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus at Rome. 2. Later extended to include the ancient citadel and the buildings within its precincts. 3. Still later, the entire hill was so designated. 4. The chapter or the chapter house in a monastery.
caprile: In ancient Rome, a structure to house goats.
carcer: A prison. 2. A starting stall in a Roman circus for horse or chariot races. 3. The dens for beasts in an amphitheater.
carcer rusticus: On ancient Roman farms, a private prison where slaves were made to work in chains. Same as ergastulum.
cardinales scapi: In ancient Roman joinery, the stiles of doors.
cardo: A hinge or pivot, used in ancient construction to hang a door. 2. Also the principal north-south street in an ancient Roman town or military camp (see decumanus).
carina: In Roman antiquity, a building in the form of a ship.
carnificina: In ancient Rome, a subterranean dungeon in which criminals were tortured and in many cases executed.
cartibulum: An oblong slab of marble supported on a single bracket or console, used as a table in the atrium of a Roman house.
castella: In ancient Roman architecture, a distributing reservoir at the discharge end of an aqueduct.
castellum privatum: A castellum, built by a number of individuals, living in the same neighborhood, who obtained a grant of water; the whole quantity allotted to them collectively was transmitted from the castellum publicum.
castellum publicum: A castellum which received water from a public duct to be distributed throughout the city for public purposes.
catabulum: A building or stable in which beasts of burden and carriages were kept for service in ancient times. 2. A shed or common room in which the early Christians officiated.
catacomb: A chambered cellar serving as a cemetery in, particularly, ancient Rome.
catacombs: A chambered cellar serving as a cemetery in, particularly, ancient Rome.
catadrome: An ancient racecourse of any type; for chariots, for horses, or for men.
catherii: Rafters in ancient Roman construction.
caulicoli: An ornament on the capital of the Corinthian order in the form of a curled fern shoot. (Latin for “little stalk.”)
caupona: In ancient Rome, a place where wine and provisions were sold. 2. A tavern, seldom frequented by any but the commonest people. 3. An inn for the accommodation of travelers.
cavea: The semicircular, tiered seating area of an ancient (esp. Roman) theatre. 2. The dens of wild beasts, which were confined under the seats of the ancient Roman amphitheaters, to be in readiness for the combats on the arena.
cellarino: In a Roman, Tuscan, or Doric capital, the necking between astragal and echinus. 2. In the Greek Doric capital, the necking or collarino.
cellula: In ancient Rome, a small sanctuary in the interior of a small temple. 2. Any small chamber or storeroom.
cenaculum: Also see coenaculum.
cenatio: In ancient Rome, the formal dining room in a house, sometimes even in a separate annex.
centuriation: The system of land division practiced in ancient Rome, with units large enough to contain one hundred traditional farms.
ceroma: A plaster, with wax as the principal ingredient. 2. A mixture of oil, wax, and earth, with which ancient Romans rubbed themselves before wrestling. 3. The place where the wrestlers were anointed with this mixture.
chalcidic: A portico, or hall supported by columns, or any addition of like character connected with any ancient basilica; hence a similar addition to a Christian church. 2. In a Christian basilica, the narthex. 3. In ancient Roman architecture, a building for judicial functions.
chalcidicum: A portico, or hall supported by columns, or any addition of like character connected with any ancient basilica; hence a similar addition to a Christian church. 2. In a Christian basilica, the narthex. 3. In ancient Roman architecture, a building for judicial functions.
chalcidium: A term used by Vitruvius to denote a large building for the administering of justice.
chenoboscion: An ancient term for a goose yard; placed near a running stream or a pond, with a good supply of herbage.
chorus: The group of actors in ancient Greece that served as major participants in or commentators on the main action of the drama. 2. The Latin term for a course in regular masonry.
circus: In ancient Rome, a large, open-top enclosure in which sport contests were held before an audience seated in tiers, these tiers being rounded at one end.
clathri: Bars of iron or wood used in ancient Rome to secure doors or windows.
claustra: The fastenings of an ancient Roman door; commonly consisted of bars or bolts which could be slid or rotated into position to secure the door. See repagula.
clavus: In ancient Roman construction, a nail.
clipeus: An apparatus employed to regulate the temperature of a laconicum or ancient Roman vapor bath; consisted of a hemispherical metal plate suspended by chains under an opening in the dome of the ceiling at the circular end of the caldarium; by raising or lowering of the plate, the amount of cold air permitted to enter was controlled, thus regulating the temperature. 2. An ornamental disk of marble or other material, in the shape of a shield, often sculptured in relief, hung in the intercolumniations of the atria of Roman dwellings.
cloaca: An underground conduit for drainage; a sewer, especially in ancient Rome.
cloaca maxima: The great sewer of Rome, built about 600 B.C. and used continuously since.
clypeus: An apparatus employed to regulate the temperature of a laconicum or ancient Roman vapor bath; consisted of a hemispherical metal plate suspended by chains under an opening in the dome of the ceiling at the circular end of the caldarium; by raising or lowering of the plate, the amount of cold air permitted to enter was controlled, thus regulating the temperature. 2. An ornamental disk of marble or other material, in the shape of a shield, often sculptured in relief, hung in the intercolumniations of the atria of Roman dwellings. Same as clipeus.
coassatio: In ancient Roman construction, anything made of boards jointed together, as the flooring of a house.
coctilis: In ancient Roman construction, made of brick hardened by burning, as opposed to brick dried in the sun.
coctillis: In ancient Roman construction, made of brick hardened by burning, as opposed to brick dried in the sun.
coctus: In ancient Roman construction, made of brick hardened by burning, as opposed to brick dried in the sun. Same as coctillis.
coelum: An “inner” ceiling. The earliest Roman buildings were covered only by an outer roof, the inside of which served as a ceiling; the inner ceiling later was developed to provide better protection against changes in temperature and weather.
coenaculum: In ancient Roman architecture, an eating-room, sometimes in the second story.
coenatio: A room in ancient Roman houses for supper or banqueting, in the first story or sometimes as an outside dependency.
colliciae: Gutters, made with concave tiles, placed under the eaves of an ancient Roman house for the purpose of carrying away the rainwater and conducting it into the impluvium. Also see colliquiae.
colliquiae: Gutters, made with concave tiles, placed under the eaves of an ancient Roman house for the purpose of carrying away the rainwater and conducting it into the impluvium. Also see colliciae.
colluviarium: In ancient Rome, an opening made at regular intervals in an aqueduct, for ventilation.
colonia: Roman farm or farmhouse, also called colonica.
colonica: A term for an ancient Roman farmhouse.
colonnade: From Italian colonnato, from Latin columna, “column”. A row of evenly spaced columns, usually carrying a continuous entablature.
columella: A colonette; the Latin diminutive. Used sometimes for a baluster.
columen: In ancient Roman construction, the ridgeboard of a roof.
columna: In Latin, a column; sometimes used in modern descriptions, in many cases with a qualifying adjective to designate special forms of column…
Columna Bellica: In ancient Rome, a short column near the Forum, from which the consul proclaimed war by hurling a spear into the surrounding field, toward the enemy’s country.
comacine: In Latin, architect.
comitium: An enclosed place abutting on the Roman Forum where the meetings were held and causes tried.
commacine: In Latin, architect.
compitum: A place where two or more ancient Roman roads met, as opposed to a trivium which is more applicable to the streets of a town. It was customary to erect altars, shrines and small temples at these places, at which religious rites in honor of the lares compitales (the deities who presided over the crossroads) were performed by the country people.
compluvium: The aperture in the center of the roof of the atrium in a Roman house, sloping inward to discharge rainwater into a cistern or tank.
concamerata sudatio: An apartment in ancient gymnasia or baths to which athletes retired to cleanse the sweat from their bodies.
conclavium: In ancient Rome, any enclosed rectangular room; a dining room; a bedroom.
conditivum: An underground vault or burying place in which a corpse was deposited in a coffin without being reduced to ashes, a practice prevalent among the Romans at the two extreme periods of their history, before the custom of burning had been initiated and after it had been discontinued. Also see conditorium.
conditorium: An underground vault or burying place in which a corpse was deposited in a coffin without being reduced to ashes, a practice prevalent among the Romans at the two extreme periods of their history, before the custom of burning had been initiated and after it had been discontinued.
consistorium: A spiritual court, or assembly of the college of cardinals, at Rome. 2. The privy councils of the Roman emperors, of kings, nobles, and abbots.
consistory: The meeting place of the privy council of the Roman emperors. 2. The meeting place of the assembly of the college of cardinals at Rome. 3. A place where a council meets or where an ecclesiastical or spiritual court is held.
console: From Latin consolator, “one who consoles.” A small bracketlike member placed at the soffit of a cornice or roof overhang. Implies a double or shallow S curve in profile.
coopertorium: Late Latin term for roof.
coronarium: In ancient Rome, stucco work applied to the decoration of a cornice or projecting molding.
corsa: Latin term given by Vitruvius to any plat band or square fascia with a height greater than its projection.
corsae: In ancient Roman construction, fillets or moldings used to decorate the external face of a marble doorpost.
cortinale: An ancient Roman cellar in which newly made wine was boiled down in caldrons.
cosmati work: Having the character of a kind of architectural decoration which had its origin in the Byzantine work of southern Italy and Sicily, and is characterized by extreme lightness and delicacy and a lavish use of marble mosaics, the materials for which were taken from the ruins of Rome, “Arte marmoris periti.” The style was not confined to the Cosmati, one of the most perfect examples being the cloister of S. Giovanni in Laterno (Rome) by Vassallectus.
crennelation: From Latin crena, “notch.” A series of openings or large notches in a parapet. See battlement.
crepido: Any raised base on which other things are built or supported, as of a Roman Temple, altar, obelisk, etc. 2. A raised causeway for foot passengers on the side of a Roman road or street. 3. The projecting members of a cornice, or other ornaments of a building.
cross-in-square plan: A Byzantine centralized church plan of nine bays in which the central bay and the middle bay on each side are domed. See quincunx plan.
crusta: Any veneer used in ancient Roman construction. It was common practice to cover large wall surfaces with veneers of marble.
crypta: Among the ancient Romans, any long narrow vault, whether wholly or partially below ground level; usually around the courtyard of a Roman villa or farmhouse; used to store grain, fruit, etc. 2. A long narrow gallery, at ground level, enclosed by walls on both sides and receiving its light from rows of windows in one or both of the side walls which enclose it; somewhat resembles a cloister. Structures of this type were frequently built by the ancient Romans for the convenience and pleasure of the population; sometimes built as adjuncts to great mansions or to the promenades connected with a theatre, and commonly were attached to the side of an open colonnade. 3. The stalls for horses and chariots in a circus.
cubiculum: In ancient Roman architecture, a bedchamber. 2. A mortuary chapel attached to a church. 3. A burial chamber having, on its walls, compartments for the reception of the dead. 4. Same as suggestus.
cubit: A linear unit of measurement used by the ancients; in ancient Egypt, equal to 20.62 in. (52.4 cm). 2. An ancient Roman measure of length equal to 17.5 in. (44.4 cm). 3. An ancient Greek measure of length equal to 18.2 in. (46.2 cm).
cubitus: An ancient Roman measure of length equal to 17.5 inches.
culina: In ancient Rome, a kitchen.
culmen: In ancient Roman construction, the ridgeboard of a roof.
cum: In Latin, with, the preposition; in English ecclesiological use, denoting the combination of two parishes into one; in such phrases a Bolton-cum-Stowe.
cuneus: The spectators section of a Roman theater.
curia: The council house in a Roman municipality.
curiae: The council house in a Roman municipality.
cyzicenus: In ancient architecture, a large hall decorated with sculpture.
dealbatus: Covered with a coating of white cement or stucco (albarium opus), which the ancients employed extensively both in the interior and exterior of their buildings as an ornamental facing to conceal the rough stones or brickwork.
deambulacrum: In Roman architecture, a walk or passage, usually covered.
decadent: In a state of decline or deterioration in style or excellence. The term is used to characterize the closing period of the history of a style in architecture when marked by a notable falling off in purity, good taste, and refinement of detail; as, for instance, the Roman architecture of the 4th century A.D.
decambulatio: In Roman architecture, a walk or passage, usually covered.
decempeda: A rod of equal length to 10 pedes (Roman feet); used by ancient architects and surveyors for taking measurements.
delphinorum columnae: The two columns at one end of the spina of an ancient Roman circus, on which marble figures of dolphins were placed.
delubrum: In ancient Roman architecture, a sanctuary or temple. 2. The part of a classical temple containing the altar or a statue of the deity; the most sacred part of the temple. 3. A church furnished with a font. 4. A font or baptismal basin.
demi-metope: Fragmentary or half metope at an external angle or a re-entrant internal angle of a Roman Doric frieze, found in Renaissance and 18th c. work, sometimes regarded as an abuse.
destraria: A late Latin term for deambulatory.
deversorium: In ancient Rome, an inn for travelers, or a private house used for their lodging.
diaconicum: In ancient churches, a place roughly equivalent to the sacristy.
diaeta: The living quarters of an ancient Roman house (as opposed to those parts of the house used for other purposes). 2. A dwelling.
diamicton: In ancient Roman architecture, a type of masonry wall construction having a hollow cavity filled with broken material of every description.
diazomata: In ancient classical work, the landings at various levels encircling an amphitheater.
didoron: A type of ancient Roman brick; approximately 1 foot long and six inches in width.
diplinthius: In ancient Roman construction, masonry which is two bricks thick.
diversorium: A lodging, hired or gratuitous, in ancient Rome.
domus: Roman house for a single wealthy family.
Early Christian architecture: The final phase of Roman architecture from the 4th to the 6th century, primarily in church building. Coeval with and related to the rise of Byzantine architecture.
Early-Christian architecture: The final phase of Roman architecture from the 4th to the 6th century, primarily in church building. Coeval with and related to the rise of Byzantine architecture.
elaeothesium: The place where oil was kept in a Roman bath, and where the bathers frequently were anointed.
emblema: A type of inlaid work used by the early Romans to embellish floors, panels, and the like.
emblemata: A type of inlaid work used by the early Romans to embellish floors, panels, and the like.
emissarium: In ancient Roman construction, an artificial channel to drain a lake or a stagnant body of water.
emporium: In ancient Roman towns, a large building in which foreign merchandise, brought in by sea, was deposited until disposed of to retail dealers.
epiiurus: In ancient Roman construction, a wood peg used as a nail.
epistomium: In ancient Rome, a cock or faucet of a water pipe.
epure: In ancient Roman construction, a wood peg used as a nail.
ergastulum: On ancient Roman farms, a private prison where slaves were made to work in chains.
euripus: A ditch around the arena of an amphitheater or a circus to prevent wild animals from escaping; also see podium. 3. Any artificial pond or canal used to ornament an ancient Roman villa.
fanum: An ancient Roman plot of ground which had been consecrated to some divinity. 2. A temple that was erected on such a plot of ground.
farrarium: An ancient Roman barn for storing grain.
fartura: The mass of rubble employed for filling up the internal part of a Roman wall between the outside surfaces when the wall was not constructed of solid masonry.
fasces: A symbol of Roman authority consisting of a bundle of rods with an ax blade projecting from them.
fauces: In a Roman house, the passage from the peristyle to the atrium.
faux: A narrow passageway between the two principal divisions of an ancient Roman house (atrium and peristylium); located by the side of the tablinum.
favissa: In ancient Rome, a crypt, cellar, or underground treasury.
fenestra biforis: The ancient equivalent of a French window.
fenestration: From Latin, fenestra, “window.” A general term used to denote the pattern or arrangement of windows.
ferriterium: An ancient Roman prison where slaves were kept in chains.
fiore di persico: A marble of which pieces are found among Roman Imperial remains. There are several minor varieties distinguished by Italian adjectives, such as chiaro (light), rosso (red), etc. It is thought to have been brought from the mainland of Greece.
firmitas: In Latin, “firmness” or “stability,” one of the three essential components of architecture named by the ancient writer Vitruvius. The other components are Utilitas and Venustas.
fistuca: A device used by the ancient Romans to ram down pavements and the foundations of buildings.
fistula: In ancient Roman construction, a water pipe of lead or earthenware.
fores carceris: In the ancient Roman circus, the doors which close the front of a stall, in which horses and chariots were stationed before the start of a race.
foreyn: An ancient term for a cesspool or drain.
forica: A set of public privies in ancient Rome, distributed in various parts of the city for the convenience of the population.
fornacula: In ancient Roman construction, a kiln. Diminutive of fornax.
fornax: In ancient Roman construction, a kiln.
fornix: In ancient Roman construction, a vaulted surface. 2. In ancient Rome, an early type of triumphal arch.
fossa: In ancient Rome, a trench, especially one outside a city wall.
fountain : A water element that forces water through a jet or series of jets. Minoans had fountains (1600 B.C.) The Romans had perhaps the most celebrated fountains (200 B.C. – 200 A.D.), and the Renaissance architects revived the fountain around 1500.
frigidarium: In ancient Rome, a cooling-room or cold-bath room in a public bath.
fundula: In the ancient Roman Empire, a blind alley; a cul-de-sac.
fusorium: In ancient Roman construction, a drain.
genius loci: Latin term meaning ‘the genius of the place’, referring to the presiding deity or spirt. Every place has its own unique qualities, not only in terms of its physical makeup, but of how it is perceived, so it ought to be (but far too often is not) the responsibilities of the architect or landscape-designer to be sensitive to those unique qualities, to enhance them rather than to destroy them…
Golden House: Domus Aurea built by Emperor Nero to designs by Severus and Celer on the Esquiline Hill, Rome. A large palace with landscaped gardens, it was remarkable for its complex plan with rooms of different geometrical shapes, may vaulted and sumptuously decorated.
gomphi: In ancient Roman construction, curbstones of greater size than usual; placed at regular intervals in a line of umbones.
gophus: A large wedge-shaped pin driven between two objects to increase the tightness of contiguous members. 2. Large, round-headed, wedge-shaped stones, placed at intervals between the ordinary curbstones bounding the foot pavements of ancient Roman roads and streets.
Graecostasis: In the Roman Forum, a platform where the ambassadors from foreign states stood to hear debates and attend ceremonies.
haematinum: In Latin, red; used absolutely as representing the phrase haematinum vitrum, red glass; in this sense, the term has been applied to Roman glass of deep red color, as in the fragments of tile which have been found.
hastarium: In ancient Rome, a room in which sales were made by public auction, under public authority.
hemicyclium: A semicircular alcove, sufficiently large to provide seating for several persons; the ancient Romans built such places in different parts of town for the accommodation of its inhabitants and also in their pleasure gardens.
Herculaneum: Roman city, buried after the eruption of Vesuvius. Its rediscovery and excavation proved to be a potent catalyst in Neo-Classicism…
Herculaneum and Pompeii: Ancient Roman cities buried by volcanic rock with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Discovered by excavation in 1748, they provided much insight into the life, times, and architecture of the ancient Romans of the 1st century. The architecture, interior decoration and regal colors (“Pompeian red,” in particular) of these ancient cities influenced the Federal Style of the early 19th century.
Herma: A stone pillar, usually quadrangular in plan and tapering downward, supporting a bust of Hermes. Used widely by the ancient Romans to mark land boundaries, or as outdoor decoration. Also see Hermae.
hippodrome: The Greek term for a racecourse for horses and chariots; much wider than the Roman circus in which only four chariots ran at a time; the Greeks raced as many as ten or more.
hippodromus: A plot of ground in a Roman garden or villa, planted with trees and laid out into a variety of avenues designed for equestrian exercises. 2. A hippodrome.
horreum: An ancient Roman granary, barn, or other building in which agricultural products were stored. 2. A storeroom for bottled wine on the upper floor of a house.
hospitalium: A guest chamber in a Roman house. 2. A conventional entrance for strangers in a dramatic performance.
hospitium: In Roman archaeology, a guest chamber, or, by extension, a place such as an inn, where strangers were habitually entertained.
hypocaust: In ancient Roman architecture, an underground furnace for heating rooms or baths by warm-air flues in floor or walls.
hypocaustum: In ancient Roman architecture, an underground furnace for heating rooms or baths by warm-air flues in floor or walls.
hypodromus: In ancient Rome, a shady or covered walk or ambulatory.
ianua: In ancient Rome, the outer door of a house. Same as janua.
imagines: Roman portrait masks of deceased members of a family; made of wax and painted, and probably fastened onto busts. They were kept in small wooden shrines set into the inner walls of the atrium; beneath the shrines were inscriptions which recorded the names, merits, and exploits of the individuals. The images were arranged and connected with one another by means of colored chords, in such a way as to exhibit the pedigree of the family.
impluvium: A cistern set in the atrium of an ancient Roman house to receive rainwater from the compluvium.
incantada: The ruins of a late Roman building in Salonica, Turkey in Europe. It is generally in the Corinthian style, and its purpose is not perfectly understood. Only five columns remain with their entablature, above which rises a low attic with engaged figure sculpture. The work appears to be of the 2nd century A.D.
incertum opus: See opus incertum.
insula: In Roman town planning, a block of buildings surrounded by streets.
inter: The Latin preposition and adverb signifying between; used in English in many compound words, each of which expresses the relation of the spaces between members in a series to the members themselves.
intercapedo: The passage between the caldarium and the laconicum in a Roman bath; the flooring of the passage was over the hypocaustum.
intinerary pillar: A pillar serving as a guidepost at the meeting of two or more roads, and, more, especially, one having the distances to different cities inscribed upon it. The term is generally limited to such pillars in Classical Roman usage, and this because of the Roman itineraries or official descriptions of the roads through a province or a section of the empire, upon which chartlike records the pillars were clearly marked.
isodomum: In ancient Roman and Greek masonry, an extremely regular masonry pattern in which stones of uniform length and uniform height are set so that each vertical joint is centered over the block beneath. Horizontal joints are continuous, and the vertical joints form discontinuous straight lines; opus isodomum.
itinerary pillar: A pillar serving as a guidepost at the meeting of two or more roads, and, more especially, one having the distances to different cities inscribed upon it. The term is generally limited to such pillars in classical Roman usage, and this because of the Roman itineraries or official descriptions of the roads through a province or a section of the empire, upon which chartlike records the pillars were clearly marked.
iugumentum: The lintel of an ancient Roman door.
janua: In ancient Roman architecture, the door of a house or any covered edifice. 2. The front door which opens on the street; also called anticum.
Janus: A divinity regarded by the ancient Romans as the doorkeeper of heaven and the special patron of the beginning and ending of all undertakings; as god of the sun’s rising and setting, he had two faces, one looking east, the other looking west.
labrum: A stone bath of ancient Rome.
laconicum: The sweat room in a Roman bath; the semicircular end of the caldarium.
lararium: In Roman houses, a small shrine to the household gods (lares).
lares compitales: Two shrines at the intersection of two ancient Roman roads (one for each road), honoring the lares as tutelary divinities.
later coctilis: In ancient Roman construction, made of brick hardened by burning, as opposed to brick dried in the sun. Also see later coctilis.
later octus: In ancient Roman construction, made of brick hardened by burning, as opposed to brick dried in the sun. Also see later coctilis.
Lateran: Originally in Latin, Lateranus, the family name of a branch of a great Roman gens; by extension, belonging to or forming part of the mansion and gardens of this family on the Caelian Hill, near the southeastern extremity of Rome, and in later times, to the buildings erected upon the same site.
lateritium: Also see lateritum opus.
lateritum opus: Brickwork of the ancient Romans.
latifundium: In ancient Rome, a large estate.
latrina: An ancient Roman term for a bath or place to wash, or to designate a water closet in a private home.
latrine: An ancient Roman term for a bath or place to wash, or to designate a water closet in a private home.
limen inferior: In ancient Roman construction, a door sill.
limen inferum: In ancient Roman construction, a door sill.
listatum opus: See opus listatum.
lucullite: A variety of black marble used in ancient Roman construction; first brought to Rome from Assan on the Nile River.
lysis: A plinth or step above the cornice of the podium of some Roman temples; when present in a columnar edifice, it constitutes the stylobate proper.
macellum: A Roman meat or produce market in a covered hall.
maceria: In ancient Roman construction, a rough wall having no facing; constructed in a wide variety of materials.
maenianum: In ancient Rome, a balcony or gallery for spectators at a public show. 2. Originally, the balcony in the Forum at Rome, for spectators of the gladiatorial combats. 3. In the Roman theatre or amphitheater or circus, an entire range of seats, rising in concentric circles between one crossover and another, but divided radially into a number of compartments (cunei) by the flights of steps (scalae). 4. In an ancient Roman house, an upper story which projects beyond the ground floor.
maltha: In ancient Roman construction, a type of bitumen, various cements, stuccos, and the like, used for repairing cisterns, roofs, etc. 2. A bituminous substance midway in consistency between asphalt and petroleum.
malus: In ancient Roman theatres and amphitheaters, one of the poles over which the velarium was stretched.
marmoratum: In ancient Roman construction, a cement formed of pounded marble and lime mortar which were well mixed; used in build walls, terraces, etc.
marmoratum opus: In plastering, a finish coat made of calcined gypsum mixed with pulverized stone or, for the finest work, with pulverized marble; used by the ancient Romans.
materiato: A collective term including all timberwork employed in ancient Roman roof construction.
mellarium: A place where the early Romans kept bees to make honey; an apiary.
memorial arch: An arch commemorating a person or event, popular during the Roman Empire, and again at the time of Napoleon and later. If the event is a military one, it is also called a triumphal arch.
miliary pillar: On Roman highways, a stone indicating a distance of 1000 paces.
mille passus: An ancient Roman measure of length equal to 1,000 passues; equivalent to 4852.4 feet.
milliarium: A column placed at intervals of one Roman mile (equivalent to 0.92 miles) along a Roman road to indicate distance.
milliarium aureum: A golden column erected by Augustus in 29 B.C. at the point where the principal roads of the Roman empire terminated.
mithraeum: An underground cave-like sanctuary devoted to the mystery cult of the Persian sun god Mithra. Such sanctuaries were constructed throughout the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd century A.D.
molded Roman Doric base: A molded base provided beneath columns of the Doric order, even though historically and archaeologically this order had no base.
moneta: In early Rome, a mint or place where money was coined.
monopodium: The solid and permanent part of a Roman table, as in a triclinium. This was commonly of masonry or cut stone, and different table tops seem to have been brought in and taken away with the dishes, much as in modern times we use large trays. These supports for tables are found in houses at Pompeii…
Morava School: See Byzantine architecture.
murus: A wall of stone or brick, built as a defense and fortification around an ancient Roman town. Also see paries.
musivum: Same as opus musivum.
natatory: Cold bath of Roman thermae, so a swimming-pool, also called baptisterium and piscina.
naumachia: In ancient Rome, a place where mock sea fights were held. An artificial pond or lake holding sufficient water to float ships was surrounded by stands or seats for spectators. Some amphitheaters and circuses could be flooded for spectacles of this type. Also see naumachy.
Neo-Byzantine: See Byzantine Revival.
Neo-Roman: Roman of the new or later time is contrasted with antiquity; applied either to the Rome of the Middle Ages, of the classical Renaissance, or the 15th century, or of the Rome of today…
nodus: In ancient Roman construction, a keystone, or a boss in vaulting.
norma: A square for measuring right angles; employed in ancient Roman construction by masons, carpenters, builders, etc.
nosocomium: A hospital or infirmary for the poor. Also see nosokomion.
nosokomion: A hospital or infirmary for the poor. Also see nosokomion.
nubilarium: On an ancient Roman farm, a large shed or barn, open on one side, situated close to the threshing floor (which was in the open air), used to store grain until it was threshed and to shelter it from sudden showers or to dry a crop of corn in unfavorable weather.
nucleus: In ancient construction, the internal part of the flooring, consisting of a strong cement, over which the pavement was laid, bound with mortar.
occus: In ancient Rome, the banqueting-room in a dwelling.
odeion: A small ancient Greek or Roman theatre, usually roofed, for musical performances.
ollarium: A nice in an ancient Roman sepulchral vault, in which cinerary urns were deposited, usually in pairs.
opisthodomos: The enclosed space in the rear of the cella of a temple; the Roman posticum.
oppidum: An ancient Roman town. 2. The mass of buildings occupying the straight end of an ancient Roman circus; these included the stalls for the horses and chariots, the gates through which the Circensian procession entered the course, and the towers which flanked the whole on each side, all of which together presented the appearance of a town.
opus albarium: Same as albarium opus.
opus antiquum: Also see opus incertum.
opus caementicium: Ancient Roman masonry construction using undressed stones laid in a mortar composed of sand, lime, and pozzolan; in some Roman provinces, pozzolan was not used in the mortar.
opus incertum: In ancient Rome, masonry formed of small rough stones set irregularly in mortar, sometimes traversed by beds of bricks or tiles.
opus latericium: Masonry of tiles, or faced with tiles.
opus lateritium: Masonry of tiles, or faced with tiles.
opus listatum: Ancient Roman masonry formed by alternating courses of brick and small stone blocks.
opus lithostrotum: Also see lithostrotum opus.
opus marmoratum: See marmoratum opus.
opus mixtum: A wall facing of alternate courses of brick and small blocks of tufa; used from the 4th to 6th century A.D. in Roman construction.
opus musivum: A Roman mosaic decoration employing small cubes of colored glass or enameled work.
opus pseudisodomum: In ancient Roman masonry, coursed ashlar having courses of unequal height.
opus reticulatum: A decorative Roman wall facing, backed by a concrete core, formed of small pyramidal stones with their points embedded in the wall, their exposed square bases, set diagonally, forming a net-like pattern.
opus sectile: Decorative paving of geometric marble slabs.
opus signinum: Plaster or stucco stated to have been made of fragments of pottery ground up with lime; sometimes, as in Pompeii, used for floor covering, which much resembles terrazzo Veneziano. The name appears to be derived from the town of Signia in Latium.
opus spicatum: Masonry faced with stones or tile which are arranged in herringbone fashion or in a similar pattern, producing sharp points or angles. The adjective spicatus, signifying having spikes or ears as of wheat, etc., is applicable to other surfaces than those of a wall. Thus, testacea spicata is a pavement laid herringbone fashion.
opus tectorium: A type of stucco used in ancient Rome; used to cover walls in three or four coats, the finishing coat being practically an artificial marble, usually polished to serve as a surface for paintings.
opus testaceum: In ancient Roman masonry, a facing composed of fragments of broken tile.
opus topiarium: See topiarium opus.
opus vermiculatum: A mosaic of tessera arranged inn waving lines resembling the form or tracks of a worm.
orchestra: In a modern theater, that sunken area directly in front of the stage in which the orchestra is seated. 2. The seating space on the main lower level of a theater. 3. The circular space in front of the stage in the ancient Greek theater, reserved for the chorus. 4. A semicircular space in the front of the stage of an ancient Roman theater, reserved for senators and other distinguished spectators.
ornithon: In ancient Rome, a house where poultry was kept; an aviary.
ostium: In ancient Roman house, a hallway which connected the door to the street with the atrium. 2. A door within a house. 3. A door, especially one of the doors which closed the front of the stalls in which the chariots and horses were stationed at the circus.
palaestra: A Greek or Roman building for athletic training, smaller than a gymnasium, consisting of a large square court with colonnades, rooms for massage, baths, etc. 2. A part of an ancient Roman villa which was specially fitted for the purpose of active games and exercises.
palatium: Official palace of the Roman emperors.
palestra: A Greek or Roman building for athletic training, smaller than a gymnasium, consisting of a large square court with colonnades, rooms for massage, baths, etc. 2. A part of an ancient Roman villa which was specially fitted for the purpose of active games
pallazi: The Italian word for “palace.”
Pantheon: A temple dedicated to all the Gods. 2. The Rotunda in Rome, formerly a temple to all the gods, now a church. 3. The Pantheon in Paris, the former Church of Sainte-Genevieve, now a shrine to national heroes.
Pantheon-dome: Internally coffered dome, with a low, plain, severe, segmental-sectioned exterior surrounded by rings of concentric steps, resembling that of the Roman Pantheon, much used in 18th and early 19th c. as part of the vocabulary of Neo-Classicism, not necessarily with an oculus.
parakklesion: A chapel in a Byzantine church.
paries: In ancient Roman construction, a wall of a house or other edifice. Also see murus.
paries dealbatus: An exterior wall which was treated with albarium opus, producing an appearance similar to white marble.
paries lateritius: A brick wall; the usual thickness of an ancient Roman exterior wall was 18 inches.
parietes: The walls of private rooms of ancient Roman houses; frequently lined with marble; more often covered with paintings.
passus: An ancient Roman measure of length; equal to 5 pedes; equivalent to 58.2 inches.
pastophorium: One of two rooms on either side of the chancel of an Early-Christian or Byzantine church.
pastrophory: A room in an Early Christian or Byzantine church, usually off the apse.
pavimentum: In ancient Roman construction, a pavement formed by pieces of crushed stone, flint, tile, and other materials set in a bed of ashes or cement and consolidated by beating down with a rammer.
pavimentum sectile: See sectile opus.
pavimentum tessellatum: See opus tessellatum.
pavimentum testaceum: See opus testaceum.
pavonazzeto: A marble, used by the ancient Romans, characterized by very irregular veins of dark red with bluish and yellowish tints.
pavonazzo: A marble, used by the ancient Romans, characterized by very irregular veins of dark red with bluish and yellowish tints.
pax romana: The Roman Peace. The contrast between the distracted and devastated condition of the ancient world and the peace brought to it at the beginning of the reign of Augustus led to identifying peace and prosperity with Rome…
pegma: In ancient construction, anything made of boards joined together. 2. A machine used in ancient amphitheaters to produce a sudden change of scene. 3. A lift by which cages for wild animals could be raised from the substructure of an arena (where they were housed) to the grade level of the arena.
penaria: In Roman antiquity, a storeroom; or, as some modern writers think, a small and unimportant sleeping room opening on a court.
peperino: A volcanic conglomerate of ashes and gravel found in considerable quantities in the Alban Hills, near Rome, and much used in and near Rome in ancient and modern times. The name is given to other conglomerates found elsewhere in Italy; as it is suggested by the resemblance of the black spots to peppercorns.
pes: An ancient Roman measure of length; a Roman foot; equal to 11.65 inches. Also see pedes.
pessulus: A bold for fastening a leaf of an ancient Roman door. Their doors, usually having two leafs, had two (sometimes four) bolts fixed to them, one at the top and one at the bottom of each leaf.
phylaca: An ancient prison or place of custody.
piles: From Middle English and Latin pilum, “spear.” A heavy wooden timber or shaft of metal or concrete driven into the earth as a support for a foundation. Groups of piles may be driven in a close pattern to support a spread or raft foundation.
pinax: A decorative panel which fills the intercolumniations of the proskenion or the thyromata (plural of thyroma) at the back of the stage of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre.
piscina limaria: In ancient Rome, a tank constructed at the beginning or the end of an aqueduct to permit sediment to be deposited before the water was transmitted to the city.
pistrinum: A mill associated with an ancient Roman bakery.
platea: In ancient Rome, a wide passageway or a wide street.
pluteus: In ancient Roman architecture, a dwarf wall or parapet; especially one closing the lower portion of the space between the columns of a colonnade.
podium: A low wall or base serving as a platform for a building. 2. A raised platform encircling the arena of an ancient Roman amphitheater, having on it the seats of privileged spectators.
pomerium: The space, originally along an ancient Roman city wall within and without, which was left vacant and considered holy; marked off by stone pillars and consecrated by a religious ceremony. 2. A peripheral ring road around a fortress or fortified city.
Pompeian: The Roman town of Pompeii was buried by deposits of volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted (AD 79), thus partially preserving it for posterity…
pontifical altar: An isolated altar, such as under the dome of St. Peter’s at Rome, covered by a baldachin; usually placed in the great Roman basilicas.
popina: An ancient Roman restaurant or tavern frequented by the lower classes.
porta: The gate of an ancient Roman city or citadel, or of any open space enclosed by a wall. Also see janua.
postis: In ancient Roman construction, the jamb of a door, supporting the lintel.
praecinctio: In the ancient Roman theatre, a walkway between the lower and upper tiers of seats, running parallel to the rows of seats.
praefurnium: The mouth of the furnace in an ancient Roman bath or of a kiln.
prow: Essential embellishment of the columna rostrata, consisting of three sets of prows (rostra) and rams of Antique warships projecting on either side of the column. Rostra are also found as sculpture on keystones or buildings associated with commerce or trade.
pulpitum: In a Roman theatre, the part of the stage adjacent to the orchestra; corresponds to the logeion of a Greek theatre. 2. The tribune of an orator. 3. A lectern in a church. 4. In a large church, a screen which provides structural support for the gallery between the nave and the ritual choir.
pulvin: A dosseret above the capital supporting the arch above in Byzantine architecture.
pulvinarium: A room in an ancient Roman temple in which was set out the couch (pulivar) for the gods at a special religious feast (the feast of the lectisternium).
pulvinata: Form resembling a cushion or pillow, such as the baluster-like side of an Ionic volute, called balteus. Pulvination is therefore a swelling, like a squashed cushion… 2. Impost-block or dosseret between the capital and arch in a Byzantine or Rundbogenstil arcade. 3. Pulvinus et gradus inferior were the seat and step below around a warm-water bath in Roman times.
puteus: In ancient Roman construction, an opening or manhole in an aqueduct. 2. A well dug in the ground and supplied from its own spring of water. 3. A fountain in an ancient Roman house.
quadrifores: In ancient architecture, folding doors, their height divided in two parts.
quadrifores ianuae: Ancient Roman doors with leaves hinged like shutters.
regia: On the ancient Roman theatre stage, the central door, leading to the palace of the main hero; the royal door.
regula: In the Doric entablature, one of a series of short fillets beneath the taenia, each corresponding to a triglyph above. 2. Any long straight piece of lath (either wood or metal) used in ancient Roman construction. 3. A rule used by ancient carpenters and masons for drawing straight lines and making measurements.
repositorium: A place for the disposition or storage of anything; especially, in a Roman temple, a place of votive offerings and treasure; in a church, an ambry.
reticulate: Crossed with a network of lines; decorated on a basis of regularly intersecting lines, as on a surface ornamented with an interlacing of fillets or reglets like network, presenting a meshed appearance. This species of ornamentation is common in the Byzantine and Romanesque styles.
reticulated work: Also see opus reticulatum.
reticulatum opus: Also see opus reticulatum.
Richardsonian arch: Round arches over door and window openings, a heaviness of appearance created by rock faced stonework, as in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
robur: The lower chamber in an underground dungeon of the ancient Romans, where capital punishment was carried out.
Roman: The imperial organizers of the Classical world who brought engineering to architecture, creating great public works – vaulted, domed baths and temples, arched aqueducts – all decorated and ordered with the parts developed by 5th century B.C. Greece.
Roman arch: Round arch.
Roman architecture: From the 5th century B.C. to the fall of their empire in the 4th century A.D., the Romans perfected concrete, arches, vaults and domes that have been copied ever since. They invented little, but took the Greek construction techniques to levels far surpassing their originators.
Roman brick: Long, thin brick (later), much larger than modern bricks, requiring approximately 6 courses for 300 mm wall-height, but even this varies.
Roman bronze: A copper-zinc alloy to which a small quantity of tin has been added to give it greater corrosion resistance and hardness.
Roman cement: A quick-setting natural cement; a hydraulic cement or hydraulic lime; unknown to the early Romans.
Roman Classicism: Typical of Roman Classicism is the one-story Roman temple form employing variations of the Roman orders. The raised first floor is characteristic of design inspired by the proper Roman temple built on a platform or podium. The four-columned portico with pediment enclosing a lunette is one of the most often copied features in the Roman idiom which was popularized by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Generally classical moldings are left plain without enrichment and painted white.
Roman Doric: Roman adaptation of Greek Doric column. Differences are that the Greek Doric has no base; Roman columns usually have bases, Roman columns are more slender, and channeling (fluting) is sometimes altered or omitted.
Roman Doric columns: Heavy fluted columns with no base and plain saucer-shaped capitals.
Roman Doric order: Heavy fluted columns with no base, plain saucer-shaped capitals and a bold simple cornice.
Roman Doric portico: A projection before the entrance to a building with columns of the Doric order, topped by an entablature and pediment.
Roman foot: See pes.
Roman garden: Information occurs in literature, inscriptions, Roman paintings, and archaeological evidence from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and individual sites throughout the former empire. Gardens included courts surrounded by peristyles, embellished with planting (often in containers), as part of inward-looking town-houses: the atrium (see cavaedium) was also laid out with fruit trees and vines or treated formally, with ornamental planting, statuary, impluvium, and fountains…
Roman house: The ancient Roman dwelling consisted of a quadrangular court (atrium) which was entered by the door of the house and which served as the common meeting place for the family. An opening (compluvium) to the sky provided light and served as a chimney and as an inlet for rain which fell into the impluvium, a tank sunk in the floor beneath. The tablinum served as the master’s office. In some homes a garden surrounded by side buildings and covered colonnades was added at the back of the house; it was called the peristylium and usually was entered through corridors (fauces) located near the tablinum. Great houses had a kind of entrance hall (vestibulum) raised above the street and approached by stairs. In the ordinary house, there was only an indication of one; the door led directly into the ostium, which opened directly into the atrium. In later Roman houses, a second story became usual. As the dining room was generally in the upper story, all the rooms in the upper story were called coenacula. There were three-story houses in Rome as early as the end of the Republic.
Roman Ionic: An Ionic capital with volutes projecting diagonally.
Roman lattice: Roman lattice is an openwork system of rectangular bars crossing each other to make a pattern of triangles (usually, but not always, right triangles) within repetitive squares. The Latin word for Roman lattice or grating is transenna. Transenna is derived from the Latin term for a net for catching birds, which the form resembles.
Roman mosaic: A pavement that is tessellated.
Roman Order: The peculiar system introduced by the Romans of late Republican or early Imperial times, by which an arched construction is given some appearance of Greek post-and-lintel building… The structure is really a highly adorned arcade.
Roman theater: An open-air theater modeled upon that of the ancient Greeks, but often built on level ground with colonnaded galleries, a semicircular orchestra, and a raised stage backed by an elaborate architectural structure.
Roman theatre: An open-air theatre constructed by the ancient Romans; sometimes built on a hillside, but more often on level ground – usually with a richly decorated outer façade, with a colonnade gallery and vaulted entrances for the public. The orchestra usually was a half-circle; behind it was the stage having a richly decorated proscenium and stage background. Also see Greek theatre.
Roman tile: A channel-shaped, tapered, single lap, roofing tile.
Roman travertine: A variety of limestone deposited by springs; usually banded; commonly coarsely cellular; used as building stone, especially for interior facing and flooring.
Romantic garden: Landscape-garden influenced by the philosophical principles/aesthetic ideals of Romanticism in Europe and America in the late 18th and for much of 19th c. The ‘English’, ‘naturalistic’ garden, with fabriques (notably ruins), informed many Romantic gardens. See landscape-garden; picturesque.
Rome: A city in the central part of Italy which, according to tradition, was founded by Romulus and Remus in 758 B.C: ancient capital of the Roman Empire and site of Vatican City, the seat of authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
rostra: The stage in the Roman Forum from which the orators addressed the people.
ruderatio: A type of pavement in ancient Rome used for common floors; composed of pieces of brick, tiles, stones, etc.
sacellum: A small Roman sanctuary, usually an unroofed enclosure with a small altar. Sometimes, a roofed funerary chapel.
sacrarium: Any consecrated place, in Roman or medieval architecture; a shrine, a chapel, or a sacristy for keeping liturgical objects. 2. In ancient Rome, a sort of family chapel in a private house, in which the images of the penates were kept.
sarcophagi: A stone coffin. The term having been originally a Latin adjective, “flesh devouring,” and applied to a certain stone from Asia Minor. It was applied substantively in later Latin to any tomb or coffin. The use of sarcophagi was common in Egypt from the time of the builder of the great pyramid. Greeks and Romans seem not to have used them often before the time of Trajan…
scabellon: In Roman architecture and derivates, a high, freestanding pedestal.
scabellum: In Roman architecture and derivates, a high, freestanding pedestal.
scaena ductilis: In the ancient theatre, a movable screen which served as a background.
scalpturatum: A type of pavement in ancient Roman construction, resembling inlaid work; a pattern was chiseled out and filled with colored marble.
scandula: A shingle, used by the ancient Romans as a roof covering for houses.
scandulae: A shingle, used by the ancient Romans as a roof covering for houses.
scansoria machina: Also see scansoria machina.
scansorium: In early Roman construction; scaffolding. Also see scansoria machina.
schola: The apse or alcove containing a tub in Roman baths. 2. A platform or ambulatory around an ancient Roman (warm) bath. 3. An exedra or alcove in a palaestra for relaxation or conversation.
seclusorium: In ancient Roman aviaries, the place where birds were confined.
senaculum: An ancient Roman council chamber.
sera: A bar used to secure an ancient Roman door.
signinum: An ancient Roman construction material employed for making flooring; consisted of tiles broken into minute pieces and mixed with mortar.
signinum opus: A type of ancient Roman surfacing material consisting of tiles beaten into powder and mixed with mortar; especially used to coat the interior of aqueducts and as a floor surface to keep out moisture.
siparium: In an ancient Roman theatre, a piece of tapestry, stretched on a frame, which served as a drop scene; it was depressed below the level of the stage when the play began and raised when the play ended. 2. A folding screen serving a similar function.
solaria: In ancient architecture, a terrace on the top of a house built with a flat roof, or over a porch, surrounded by a parapet wall but open to the sky.
solarium: In ancient architecture, a terrace on the top of a house built with a flat roof, or over a porch, surrounded by a parapet wall but open to the sky.
solea: A raised walkway between the ambo and bema in an Early Christian or Byzantine church.
sophronisterium: Among the ancients a house of correction or workhouse where slaves were confined by their masters and kept at hard labor for offences.
specula: A watchtower of the ancient Romans, on which guards were regularly stationed to keep a lookout and to transmit signals.
specularia: Windowpanes of the ancients; made of thin sheets of mica (lapis specularis).
specus: In early Roman architecture, the covered channel of an aqueduct in which water flows.
sphaeristerium: In ancient Rome, an enclosed place or structure for ball playing, usually attached to a gymnasium or a set of baths.
spica testacea: Oblong tiles set in a herringbone pattern in ancient Roman floors.
spicae testaceae: Oblong bricks for pavements, used in spicatum opus.
spicatum opus: Ancient Roman masonry laid in a herringbone pattern.
spina: A barrier dividing an ancient Roman circus lengthwise, about which the racers turned.
spoliarium: The place where dead bodies of combatants were dragged after their appearance in an ancient Roman amphitheater; the bodies were dragged through the arches at the two ends of the arena (through which they previously had entered as combatants), into a room where they were stripped of clothing and the arms they bore.
spoliatorium: A place for the clothing of the bathers in an ancient bathing establishment.
statio: The Latin name for a castle, citadel, or fort.
statumen: A lime-and-sand mortar used in ancient Rome in paving.
stereobata: Top of a foundation or sub-structure, forming a solid platform on which a Classical temple stands. It is therefore the top of a crepidoma, or the stylobate. 2. Walls of a Roman podium supporting a colonnade. 3. Pedestal.
strigil ornament: In Roman architecture, a decoration of a flat member, as a fascia, with a repetition of slightly curved vertical flutings or reedings.
structura: A general term for masonry of the ancient Greeks and Romans; see various types under opus.
structura antiqua: Also see opus incertum.
structura caementicia: Also see opus caementicium.
structura reticulata: Also see opus reticulatum.
sublica: In ancient construction, a pile driven into the earth, or into ground covered by water, to support a structure.
sudatio: An apartment in the Roman bath or gymnasium between the laconicum, sudatorium, or stove, and the caldarium or warm bath, where athletes retired to remove the sweat from their bodies.
sudatorium: In an ancient Roman bath, a hot room for inducing sweat, used by athletes.
suggestus: The stage in the Roman Forum. 2. In the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, the elevated location of the emperor’s box.
suovetaurilia: In Roman antiquity, a sacrifice consisting of a swine, a sheep, and a bull; the word being compounded of the Latin names of the three beasts. Hence, in modern archaeology, a representation, as in relief sculpture, of the three creatures together.
supercapital: A block of stone above the capital of a column, as in Byzantine architecture.
suspensura: Any building or flooring raised from the ground and supported on arches, piles, or pillars; esp. applied to the flooring of an ancient Roman bath suspended over the flues of a furnace on low pillars so that steam may circulate freely under it.
symbolical column: A column used to support a representative figure or emblem, as the columns of S. Mark in Venice and other cities of the ancient Venetian dominion; or to commemorate an event or person, as a rostral column, the column of Trajan, the column in the Place Vendome in Paris, etc.
synthronon: A bench, in an Early Christian or Byzantine church, reserved for the clergy.
synthronus: Joint throne of the Bishop and Presbyters, usually a semicircular row of seats with the cathedra in the middle behind the altar in the apse of an Early-Christian or Byzantine church, or disposed on the bema.
taberna: In ancient Rome, a booth, shop, or stall.
tablet tomb: In the Roman catacombs, a rectangular recess in a gallery, parallel with the passageway, containing a burial chest of stone or masonry with a flat cover.
tablinum: A space in an ancient Roman house where family records and hereditary sculptured figures were placed.
tabulatum: Ancient Roman term for wood floors, wainscot, ceilings, etc., and even for balconies and other projections.
tabulinum: Large room in a Roman house connected to the atrium, often serving as a vestibule.
taxis: In ancient classic architecture, the quality of having proper correlation between size and use.
tectorium opus: Also see opus tectorium.
tegula: Roman roof tile, originally flat but later having small raised edges to support an imbrex tile over the joint.
telonium: A customhouse of the ancient Romans.
templon: A traveated colonnade which closes off the bema of a Byzantine church.
templum: In Roman antiquity, a space reserved; practically the same as temenos. The idea of a building is hardly included in the term in Latin until the later times of the Republic.
tepidarium: An intermediate room in an ancient Roman bath, between the steam room and the cooling-room.
tessellatum opus: See opus tessellatum.
tesserae: The tiny mosaic tiles (originally of marble) that created Roman floors. Nowadays they may be made of glass.
tesseris structum: Also see opus tessellatum.
testaceum: Also see opus testaceum.
testudo: In ancient Roman construction, an arched or vaulted roof (usually a light vault of wood covered with mortar or cement); used in large houses having no opening (compluvium) in the center and in Roman baths.
thermal window: A semi-circular high-level window found in Roman bath buildings. 2. An insulated window.
thunderbolt: Classical ornament, an attribute of Jupiter, in the form of a spiral roll, pointed at both ends, often held in the talons of an eagle, or shown winged, with arrow-headed, forked, or zig-zag lightning-flashes. It occurs on the soffits of Classical cornices and in Empire schemes of decoration.
thyroma: Of an ancient house, a door which opens on the street. 2. A large doorway in the second story at the rear of the stage of the ancient Roman theatre.
tignum: In ancient Roman construction, a beam or timber for a building; generally applied to the tie beam of a roof.
Tower of the Winds order: With its single row of acanthus leaves surrounding a single row of palm leaves, the capital is a simplified version of the Greek Corinthian order, and has become known commonly as the Tower of the Winds order.
town: In ancient times, a collection of houses enclosed by a wall of defense, with mural towers and fortified gates. In modern times any collection of houses larger than a village…
trabes: Also see trabs.
trabs: Also see trabs.
transenna: Latticework of marble or metal enclosing a shrine. 2. In ancient Roman construction, a crossbeam.
transtrum: In ancient Roman construction, a horizontal beam.
tribunal: In an ancient Roman basilica, a raised platform for the curule chairs of the magistrates. 2. A place of honor, immediately to the right and to the left of the stage in a Roman theatre, one for the magistrate who provided for the play and for the emperor, and the other for the Vestal Virgins and the empress.
tribune: A dais for the magistrates’ seats in the apse of a Roman basilica; hence a platform, dais, or rostrum.
triclinium: In ancient Rome, the dining table and its couches.
triclinium funebre: In Roman archaeology, an arrangement of three couches and a table in connection with a tomb, for the purpose of occasional banquets in honor of the dead…
triga: A chariot similar to a quadriga but drawn by three horses.
triumphal avenue: One of the great central streets of some of the cities of the Roman Empire, as notably Palmyra, where the double colonnade of Corinthian columns is still partly in place…
triumphal column: A decorated column to celebrate a military victory, e.g. Trajan’s Column, Rome (AD 113).
trivium: The place where three ancient Roman streets or roads met.
tufa: A building stone, of consolidated volcanic material, having a cellular texture, easily cut by bronze tools; used by the ancient Romans, especially for opus quadratum. Volcanic tufa forms the various hills on which Rome stands.
tullianum: An underground dungeon belonging to the state prisons at Rome; so-called after Servius Tullius, by whose orders it was made.
turrelum: A low Latin term for turret.
unctorium: In the ancient baths of Rome, a room or apartment used for anointing the body with oil.
ustrinum: In ancient Rome, the place where a corpse was burned, if the ashes were to be deposited in a different location. Also see bustum.
utilitas: In Latin, “utility” or “function,” one of the three essential components of architecture named by the ancient writer Vitruvius. The other components are Firmitas and Venustas.
valetudinarium: In Roman antiquity, an infirmary or hospital.
vallatorium: A late Latin term for a projection of a building.
vallum: A rampart, especially a palisaded rampart; the ramparts with which the Romans enclosed their camps.
vaulsura: A Latin term for vault.
velarium: The awning sheltering the seats in an ancient Roman theatre or amphitheater from sun and rain.
venustas: In Latin, “beauty,” one of the three essential components of architecture named by the ancient writer Vitruvius. The other components are Firmitas and Utilitas.
vermiculated mosaic: An ancient Roman mosaic of the most delicate and elaborate character; the Roman opus vermiculatum; the tesserae are arranged in curved, waving lines, as required by the shading of the design.
versurae: The side wings of the stagehouse of an ancient Roman theatre.
vestibulum: A space before the door of an ancient Roman house, forming a court which was surrounded on three sides by the house and was open on the fourth to the street.
via: A paved Roman road (said to be an invention of the Carthaginians) for horses, carriages, and foot passengers, both in town and country; especially such roads as formed a main channel of communication from one district to another. Roman roads were constructed with the greatest regard for durability and convenience; they consisted of a carriageway paved with polygonal blocks of lava, imbedded in a substratum formed by three layers of different materials (the lowest of small stones or gravel, the next of rubble, and the upper one a bed of fragments of brick and pottery mixed with cement); there was a raised footway on each side flanked with curbstones.
via munita: A Roman road paved with a top layer of polygonal blocks of stone or lava.
via terrena: Any plain Roman road of leveled earth.
vicus: In ancient Rome, originally a term meaning a house, but later applied to a collection of houses.
villa rustica: A Roman villa which served agricultural purposes; included apartments for the vilicus or steward who superintended money matters, the bookkeeper, and slaves; contained stalls and storerooms.
villa urbana: A Roman villa which was built for purposes of pleasure; designed to take advantage of the landscape; contained separate rooms and colonnades for summer and winter, the former facing north and the latter facing south; contained baths, rooms for physical exercise, library, and art collections.
vitrum: Glass, in ancient Roman construction, used in mosaic pavements, in sheets as a wall or ceiling lining, in thick sheets as flooring, and in thin sheets for windows.
Vitruvian: Of or pertaining to Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect of the first century B.C., the author of an important treatise which preserves much that is valuable in regard to Greek and Roman art, and is our principal authority for facts and practice in the building arts of the classic period. The term “Vitruvian” is used to distinguish principles and practices of the architecture of ancient Rome as revealed to us by this author.
Vitruvius: Celebrated 1st-century Roman architect whose treatise De Architectura (“On Architecture”), written around 27 BCE, is the oldest account of Greek/Roman architectural methods, materials and technology.
volume: From Latin volvere, “to roll.” In architecture, the amount of space contained within a three-dimensional enclosure. 2. The extent a three-dimensional object or the amount of space that it occupies, measured in cubic units.
vomitoria: An annex to a Roman dining room for relieving oneself of surplus food.
vomitorius: A vomitory in an ancient Roman theatre or amphitheater.
woodshaving pattern: Ornament consisting of superimposed volute-like elements, decorating the sides of Romanesque corbels, and resembling partially planed wood-shavings, still attached to a