DOMESTIC SPACE IN LATE ANTIQUITY

Abstract

Household organisation in Antiquity was flexible and several rooms were used for a wide range of daily activities, even though they were designed and decorated for one specific purpose. Hoards of household implements, often found away from houses themselves, frequently provide a better idea of house contents. Most evidence of late antique dining is obtained from iconographic and textual evidence describing or representing dining scenes in high society. Apart from textual sources, most evidence for the reception of guests is to be found in the large reception halls which were incorporated into the houses of the elite during Late Antiquity. An important ritual for women, especially the wealthy, associated with bathing in particular. Dress and personal objects (and jewellery) carried with an individual make up the most stable objects configurations in any person?s life. Keywords: household; Late Antiquity; reception; textual sources