One of the big questions is how Roman villas actually worked - what were the rooms used for and who lived where? The building of the Butser Roman Villa has challenged some of the conceptions we have had.
We know from documents that, in general, Romans thought of building space in terms of public and private areas, of ostentation or display and sometimes of simpler approaches. This is to do with the hierarchy in their society and of the related social relationships.
The owner was at the top, probably followed by his family. These would have to be able to strut their stuff with their social equals or superiors.
There would then those 'employed' by the owner - everybody from the estate stewards and Latin teachers to household and farm workers. Some would be free while many would be slaves.
There are also those who would be 'clients' of the owner, depending upon his favour because they were tenants, small landowners or owed him money [consider an interest rate of 12%!].
Some of these people would be allowed to the front door, a few into the corridor and even fewer to pay their respects in the central reception room. Only a small minority would ever penetrate the 'private' quarters of the owner.
The villa reflects this hierarchy in its use of space and type of rooms and, further, in the presence of mosaics and through the quality of wall-paintings.
One use that seems to be agreed is that of the central room. This has a wide doorway opposite the main entrance. It would have been used by the owner as a 'reception' room when people came to pay their respects to him as part of a morning social ritual called the 'salutatio' or 'greeting'
One way of interpreting the use of rest of the villa from its floor plan stems from the presence of the central self-contained room, with two apparently self-contained suites of rooms on either side. This arrangement could be interpreted as a common public service corridor and 'reception' room with two parts of a family on either side, in self-contained 'privacy'. There is heating on both sides, one with a hypocaust, the other with a fireplace, whilst the floor areas are roughly equal. There is in both cases an ante-room from the corridor, before the main suite is reached. This arrangement could possibly house the owner and family on one side, with the heir and family on the other.
An alternative is to interpret the two suites in terms of function. The suite with the fireplace may have been used for domestic purposes, while that with the hypocaust could have been used as living accommodation by the villa owner and his family.
Created 15 November 2003 - Updated 15 November 2003