To learn more about the private lives of the people living in Pompeii and other parts of Rome, let's look at their homes and some of the objects that they made and used every day.

Where did they live?

Most people lived in small apartments -- maybe 2 or 3 rooms in a tall building with stores on the ground level. These quarters were often crowded and a fire hazard. Of course they didn't have elevators, so they had to climb up five or six flights of stairs if they lived on the top floor!

Wealthy Romans lived in atrium houses. The front door opened into a large hall, called an atrium, which had an opening in the ceiling to let in light and a pool in the floor to catch rainwater. Various rooms opened off the atrium, for example storerooms, bedrooms, maybe a library. There was also a room for entertaining guests and an open courtyard with a garden at the back of the house. Brightly painted walls and mosaic floors decorated these homes.