Volubilis was a flurishing city between the oil industry and many other industries placing it in a suitable situation where architecture could be customized and developed.
Plan of Volubilis
I studied the major houses in the north-east part of the city where each one had similarities and differences but everyone of them fell in mainly two categories as i m going to explain.
Hercules House
The Domus Hercules's main feature is that it organizes all of its main facade by Tabernae the entrance is placed on the side which gives to a Perystilum that distributes the Cubicolas, the Triclinum and the Tablinum. Also a Posticum appears in the right upper corner which is a service access to the Thermas,storage areas and kitchen.
Diyonisos House
The Domus Dionysios follow a rectangular plan, situated directly on the Decumanus Maximus is seperated from the main street through a portico made of arches giving it some space in front of the entrance.
The main façade is divided by Tabernae flanking the passage towards an elongated Peristylum that distributes the Cubicolas and Triclinum. In the back of the house we find a series of rooms dedicated to the service and storage areas.
As a particular element of this Domus, we find on the rear façade Tabernae and a Posticum, or service entrance that communicates with the domus.
Fauve House
The Domus Fauves has an elongated rectangular plan with somehow a different distribution since the house appear as two complementary homes. In what would be properly the Domus seems to be the equipment of main rooms: Cubicola, Triclinum and Tablinum. On the both sides of the house we find Tabernaes that have the accesses in a somewhat strange way, as they do not coincide with the main axes of the house.
Flavius Germanus House
The Domus Flavius has an off-center entrance from the main axis of the house, that lead to the Peristylum around which the main living rooms are distributed. From it, two corridors in parallel give access to the service rooms, reaching a large open space that could interpreted as some sort of a garden. On the rear facade Tabernaes appear again leaving a small gap to the Posticum that connects the back street with the central free space
Fauve House
The Domus Fauves has an elongated rectangular plan with somehow a different distribution since the house appear as two complementary homes. In what would be properly the Domus seems to be the equipment of main rooms: Cubicola, Triclinum and Tablinum. On the both sides of the house we find Tabernaes that have the accesses in a somewhat strange way, as they do not coincide with the main axes of the house.
West Gordian House
The Domus West Gordian has a rectangular shape plan iwth the main axis of the house coinciding with the main entrance flanked from both sides with Tabernaes. Next to entrance we can find some stairs for the upper story. When entering the house we find the usual arrangement around the Peristylum, leaving the hot springs at the back. Also, a Posticum appears on the back façade, which lead to a small Impluvium and distributes the rooms of the service, giving ventilation and light to those rooms.
Cadran House
The Domus Cadran organized in square plan give to the main street through a series of tabernae with the entrance in the middle. We arrive to the Peristylum, which organizes around it the different housing activities, placing the Tablinum on the access axis and the Cubicolas around a corridor and an Impluvium. The particular feature of this house is that it contains Thermas with access from the rear.
Pressoirs House
Te house has a square floor. The the main access is located in the middle of the facade with lateral Tabernaes, which lead to a Peristylum that distribute the living spaces. As an important feature, a Posticum link to the interior Cubicolas.
Venus House
The entrance is marked by a corridor in the direction of the entrance to the house.Once inside we observe the tablinum in the central axis dividing the space of the house in two. On the left are located the Cubicolas, kitchen and service rooms, leaving the private baths to the other side.
Summary
In general, the Domus of Volubilis mark great differences
with the typical domus Romano, where spatial organization is
usually done around an axis of axial symmetry. But in Volubilis they modified this axis to introduce other elements of spatial organization, depending on the
need.
In the first place, the distribution of these domus is
characterized by a distribution around a peristilum, unlike the atrium that is
more usual in the Roman domus. The axis of symmetry is often distorted to
favor, in some cases, larger rooms than others.
The entrance element, the vestibulum, has been solved in
many ways, in a traditional way, in a bend, composed, sometimes by tabernae, some
more private as in Venus, but all fulfill the role of a large/wide space that communicates
with the peristilum.
The triclinum is always present in a common location
connected to the peristilum, where it can acquire great importance through its
size, being a single room or also several ones.
The peristilum is one of the most important changes that are
made with respect to the general scheme of a domus, where there should be an
atrium without columns, however this variation is observed in all domes of
Volubilis, perhaps to remove the atrium.
In some domus there is a second peristilum which is
surrounded by other rooms. Most probably, this space is introduced for the
ventilation and lighting for the rooms which without it would remain dark and
inhospitable. Note that this feature would probably be present in the house of
prominent and wealthy people of the city.
Another big change is made in the tablinum, which is
replaced by the oecus, where activities of celebration and reception are still
carried out, but within the function of a more luxurious triclinum
The other annexes to the domus like tabernae would be used
as warehouses and shops, or since Volubilis was famous for the oil production, these
rooms could be used as areas for the pressing the oil and deposits.
We can determine with general character, that the domus of
Volubilis correspond to a scheme of domus with peristilum, with a private zone
and a commercial zone (tabernae, thermal baths or warehouses). The peristilum
is porticoed with columns and a fountain, and of square or rectangular plant.
The oecus is almost always larger than the triclinium and is the largest room
in the domus. The triclinum, however, is always located on
one side or both sides of the domus. The vestibulum has many variations and
does not attend to a specific type and the cubiculum are located around the
peristilum.
