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Multisensory Living in Ancient Rome: Power and Space in Roman Houses Hardcover – November 28, 2019

by Hannah Platts (Author)

4.6 8 ratings

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Classicists have long wondered what everyday life was like in ancient Greece and Rome. How, for example, did the slaves, visitors, inhabitants or owners experience the same home differently? And how did owners manipulate the spaces of their homes to demonstrate control or social hierarchy?

To answer these questions, Hannah Platts draws on a diverse range of evidence and an innovative amalgamation of methodological approaches to explore multisensory experience – auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory and visual – in domestic environments in Rome, Pompeii and Herculaneum for the first time, from the first century BCE to the second century CE. Moving between social registers and locations, from non-elite urban dwellings to lavish country villas, each chapter takes the reader through a different type of room and offers insights into the reasons, emotions and cultural factors behind perception, recording and control of bodily senses in the home, as well as their sociological implications. Multisensory Living in Ancient Rome will appeal to all students and researchers interested in Roman daily life and domestic architecture.

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About the Author

Hannah Platts is Lecturer in Ancient History & Archaeology at the University of Royal Holloway, London, UK.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Academic (November 28, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1788312996
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788312998
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.54 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.81 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,017,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,231 in Residential Architecture
- #8,062 in Ancient Roman History (Books)
- #9,013 in Architectural History

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4.6 8 ratings

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Easton Skala

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2021

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Speaking as an aspiring author attempting to write fantasy set in a fictional world based largely on ancient times, this book has earned its way into the top ten that I would recommend toward that end.

I have nearly three dozen books related to daily life in ancient times of different cultures, but few touch on the sensory experience of living during those times, and I can't recall any going another level deep and into the whys, hows and what fors.

Now if I could convince Ms. Platts to write a similar book, but focused on public spaces, agora, etc in ancient Greece and the wider Hellenistic world... but I'll take what I can get!

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021

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Excellent as a text book. Wish there had been more about actually living in one of these houses 24 hrs a day. It does leave you with a working knowledge of the floor plans from fauces to tablinum.

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023

First, my credentials: I have a Master Degree in History and have studied ancient Rome for decades, including primary sources.

I have never read a book about ancient Rome that brought to life so vividly what it must have been like to live in a Roman city. Platts portrays the smells, sights, tactile aspects, and sounds of the city in an extraordinary manner. But make no mistake, there is nothing sensational here. All descriptions are firmly backed by research.

The most significant assertion that the author makes is that all too often archeologists and historians have focused on sight. Sighted humans are by nature visually-dependent creatures, with hearing and the other senses following. However, the world we live in, whether ancient or contemporary, is infused with an almost unlimited number of phenomena that determine how we experience the world.

To highlight this multi-sensory experience, she examines the placement of homes in the city. This had a significant effect on the sensory experience of those in and around the house. In addition, since Roman houses were not closed to the outside world as modern houses can be, the events outside the house would directly impact the residents. For example, if located near a bakery, one would be exposed to the aroma of bread baking every day. Of course this also applied to less enjoyable aromas such as those emanating from a fullery or smithy. Loud persons, teachers, performers, animals, games, and more on the street also directly affected the sensory experience in the home. At the same time, the sights, sounds, and smells inside the house added to the overall sensory experience Toilets ("latrina") were usually next to the kitchen ("cuchina") in order to access the waste disposal opening. In most homes this was a simple opening in the floor to a pipe connected to a drain or cesspit. Also, the social status of the homeowner directly affected the extent to which the outside intruded on the inside. The elite could (and did) chose more pleasant locations, have windows that could be opened or blocked, use doors/screen/curtains, and decorate with items that enhanced the visual/tactile/sound/scent/etc. experience. In other words, ancient Roman cities were decidedly odiferous and quite noisy. Many modern humans would find it sensorily overwhelming.

Platts book covers a great deal more information and offers insights into living in ancient Roman cities that I have not encountered before. The book is a marvel of investigation and analysis. I highly recommend it to those interested in ancient Roman history, living in Roman cities, and sensory experiences.

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P GEE

Well Researched & Written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2022

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An engaging and interesting tome. If you're looking to expand your understanding of the Roman's lifestyle and their habits then you'll find it a worthy addition to your book shelf!

PeterJ

Important reading for Roman students.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a very interesting and useful little book for those interested in housing in the ancient Roman world.
The diagrams and maps of specimen houses are very useful and I have not seen so many gathered together in one volume. I found it a strangely disturbing read, in fact. The author is quite repetitive on certain points and, I thought, labours the undoubtedly unsavoury aspects of societal closeness in ancient towns to a point at which you think "oh no not that one again". Useful to remember perhaps, that even at its most "smelly" life in Pompeii and Herculaneum was probably much less disgusting than in Victorian London. Hum .. (yes, buy it !).

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