THE CONSTRUCTION/DECONSTRUCTION OF THE CUBICULUM: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE VILLA OF MATERNUS AT CARRANQUE (SPAIN)

Summary

This study discusses the validity and limits of modern criteria for the identification of a specific room-type, the cubiculum, in the material remains of the Roman house. The starting point is the cubiculum of the late-antique Villa of Maternus at Carranque, in Spain. Here, in the mosaic panel of the threshold, is an inscription which informs the reader that the room about to be entered is the cubiculum of Maternus. The explicit definition of this domestic space offers the rare opportunity to analyse a specific room-type on secure grounds and to verify what types of layouts were used for the arrangement of the cubiculum in the late-antique domestic buildings of Hispania.