Roman times in Achaia, private houses, EN

1. Private houses
• In Latin there are three words denoting housing; domus = rich city
house, villa = country house and insula = apartment building.
• More than 100 housing remains have been excavated in the region of
Patras.
• The fanciest, for the wealthy are located in Psilalonia area, while many
villas were mainly found in West Achaia.

2. Villa rustica – Villa suburbana
• In Patras even town
houses (domus) have
elements of country
homes, therefore
they are called “villae
suburbanae”.
• Wealthy peoples’
homes were usually
of the same basic
design as follows:

3. Building technique
Opus
mixtum
Opus (small
testaceum stones
(bricks in alternating
even with
horizontal horizontal
Romans used all different kinds of materials and patterns courses of
courses)
bricks)

4. Non symmetrical wall pattern

5. Opus quasi reticulatum
Small cubic stones unevenly arranged diagonally enclosed by bricks

6. Glass window

7. Terracotta oil lamp with bronze
suspension hook (1st c. A.D.)
Made by student E. Liana

8. Antefixes
With palmettes
With Gorgoneion (Medusa’s head)
Drawing made by student D. Voutsina

9. Clay chimney cover
Drawing made by I. Christidi

10. Mosaics
• House walls were brightly painted and the floors
were often richly decorated with mosaics.
• Many mosaics captured scenes from everyday life
as also geometrical patterns, flowers, animals and
deities.
• The picture was made up of several thousand
tiny pieces of colored stone, each about 0.2 in
(5mm) square. They were laid in wet plaster by
expert mosaic makers.

11. Geometric mosaic pattern on the making.
By the student A. Kouzeli
The results

12. Geometric floor pattern
Made by the student D. Voutsina

13. Geometric floor pattern
Made by student I. Papadionysiou

14. Geometric mosaic floor

15. Plain mosaic of cheap pebbles without
pattern

16. Mosaic floor with proverbial inscriptions and
fishes, 3rd c. A.D., Kanari str.
«Κλειδίον εάν
απολζσης γείνεται» = if
you lose your key, you
can make a new one
mo
Made by the student A. Kousoula

17. Mosaic with fishes and birds. 2nd c. A.D., Sisini Str.

18. Mosaic with god Panas treading grapes
and inscription, 3rd c. A.D., Karolou str.

19. The three Graces dancing around an open altar
with offerings. 2nd–3rd c. A.D., Agiou Dimitriou str.

20. Copy of the mosaic made of glass pebbles by
the student D. Bakas, 11th grade
1st price in contest “Traveling all over ancient Achaia”, organized by the Archeological
Museum of Patras, February 2012

21. Mosaic, 2nd c.
A.D., Psilalonia.
Venus holding a
mirror: her naked
body was cowered
with a dress after
new work was
carried out on the
mosaic during
early Christianity.

22. Mosaic. Triton who is riding a seahorse surrounded by guilloche, late
Roman period, Nikita str.

23. Wells. Fragment of a stone rectangular well rim.
Made by the student A. Spetsieris

24. Well (?) found in upper town of Patras

25. Clay pipes
Made by student A. Kouzeli

26. Part of roman sewage system network in
upper town of Patras

27. Roman sewage system network - Detail
Some of these pipes are still in use today!!!