Cubiculi

A cubiculum in Casa dell'efebo during a very rainy day. It is unfortunate but understandable that most people hardly notice the cubiculi - they are in general small empty rectangular rooms and the decorations not as spectacular as the ones in the nearby atrium.

You may also notice the so called cubiculi (sing. cubiculum) that surround the atrium on the plan. The term is normally translated into “bedroom” but it should be noticed that this is a modern construction more than anything else, due to difficulties when it come to identifying rooms. It is simply enough difficult to identify the activities in most of these rooms and calling them cubiculi has become a convenient way to treat the problem.