What are fauces?
Fauces (plural) is the Latin name for the narrow entrance corridor in a Roman townhouse — domus — connecting the street to the central courtyard or atrium. The word literally means “throat” or “narrow passage”, which fits the slim, corridor-like form.
Structure of the Roman house
A traditional domus had a fixed layout:
| Part | Function |
|---|---|
| Vestibulum | Small porch facing the street |
| Fauces | Narrow entrance corridor |
| Atrium | Central courtyard, main hall |
| Tablinum | Office and archive of the paterfamilias |
| Peristylium | Second courtyard with columns |
| Cubicula | Bedrooms |
| Triclinium | Dining room with couches |
The fauces therefore form the threshold between the public street and the private home.
Form and finish
Fauces typically had:
- Narrow — 1 to 2 metres wide
- Long — up to 6 metres, sometimes more
- Dark — closed at both ends with doors
- Decorated — often with mosaic floors
- Low ceiling — with timber or stone beams
For greetings, visitors were received in the fauces by slaves (ostiarii), who controlled access. Important guests were led straight through; lesser visitors had to wait.
Application
The fauces had several functions:
Social buffer
The distance between street and living quarters gave the paterfamilias control:
- Who is admitted? — selection at the door
- Protection — no direct view into the home
- Status — decoration displayed wealth
- Privacy — sounds and smells muted
Symbolism
Famous fauces mosaics:
- Cave canem (“beware of the dog”) — Pompeii, Casa del Poeta Tragico
- Have (“welcome”) — many Roman houses
- Salve — as warm greeting
- Apotropaic symbols — to ward off evil
In modern architecture
Although the exact concept is Roman, similar spaces appear in:
- Vestibule — modern entrance hall
- Renaissance palace gates — ceremonial passage
- Modern porch lobby — entrance buffer
- Foyer — office and public buildings
Examples
The best-preserved fauces can be seen at:
- Pompeii — many examples with intact mosaics
- Herculaneum — Casa del Bicentenario
- Ostia Antica — port city of Rome
- Roman villas — in France, Spain, England
Difference from other rooms
- Vestibulum — often outside the door, sometimes within
- Atrium — central hall with roof opening
- Peristylium — internal garden with colonnade
- Andron — Greek men’s room, not the same
Related terms
- Atrium
- Peristylium
- Domus
- Cubiculum
- Vestibulum
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