Editing Ancient Roman architecture (section)

=== Horreum ===
[[File:Ostia, horrea epagathiana 01.JPG|thumb|left|The Horrea Epagathiana et Epaphroditiana, a ''horreum'' in [[Ostia (Rome)]], Italy, built c. 145–150 AD]]
A [[horreum]] was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the [[Latin]] term is often used to refer to [[granaries]], Roman horrea were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant [[Horrea Galbae]] in Rome were used not only to store grain but also [[olive oil]], wine, foodstuffs, clothing and even [[marble]].{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=193}} By the end of the Imperial period, the city of Rome had nearly 300 horrea to supply its demands.{{sfn|Lampe|2006|p=61}} The biggest were enormous, even by modern standards; the Horrea Galbae contained 140 rooms on the ground floor alone, covering an area of some {{convert|225,000|ft2|m2|abbr=off}}.{{sfn|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=180}}

The first horrea were built in Rome towards the end of the 2nd century BC,{{sfn|Patrich|1996|p=149}} with the first known public horreum being constructed by the ill-fated [[tribune]] [[Gaius Gracchus]] in 123 BC.{{sfn|Métreaux|1998|pp=14–15}} The word came to be applied to any place designated for the preservation of goods; thus, it was often used to refer to cellars (''horrea subterranea''), but it could also be applied to a place where artworks were stored,<ref>[[Pliny the Younger|Pliny]], Epist. VIII.18</ref> or even to a library.<ref>[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], Epist. 45</ref> Some public horrea functioned somewhat like banks, where valuables could be stored, but the most important class of horrea were those where foodstuffs such as grain and olive oil were stored and distributed by the state.{{sfn|Schmitz|1875|p=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Horreum.html 618]}}

The word itself is thought to have linguist roots tied to the word ''hordeum'', which in Latin means barley.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kaufman|first=David|date=2 December 1929|title=Horrea Romana: Roman Storehouses|journal=The Classical Weekly|volume=23|issue=7|jstor=4389377 |pages=49–54|doi=10.2307/4389377}}</ref> In the [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], [[The Classical Weekly]] states that "[[Pliny the Elder]] does indeed make a distinction between the two words. He describes the horreum as a structure made of brick, the walls of which were not less than three feet thick; it had no windows or openings for ventilation".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Kaufman|first=David|date=2 December 1929|title=Horrea Romana: Roman Storehouses|jstor=4389377|journal= The Classical Weekly|volume=23|issue=7|pages=49–54|doi=10.2307/4389377}}</ref> Furthermore, the storehouses would also host oil and wine and also use large jars that could serve as cache's for large amounts of products. These storehouses were also used to keep large sums of money and were used much like personal storage units today are. "These horrea were divided and subdivided, so that one could hire only so much space as one wanted, a whole room (cella), a closet (armarium), or only a chest or strong box (arca, arcula, locus, loculus)."<ref name=":0" />