What can archaeology tell us about Byzantine houses? In excavations we find the remains of buildings which inform us about their appearance, lay-out, orga-nisation of spaces and functions of different rooms. First it has to be emphasised that there is no typical Byzantine house - many varieties exist across time and space.

 

 

There are multiple aspects we can look at when we analyse houses. Think of  their lay-out , the materials used in their construction of houses, and the activities that took place in and around them. Excavations have revealed that Byzantine houses sometimes had two stories. On ground-floor level there were storage areas and pantries, as indicated by the large pithoi (storage vessels) that were present there. Rooms were most often not very large and irregular in size.

 

In the case of the Athenian houses very often architectural elements and spolia, stones from older buildings, were incorporated into them. Other installations found in and around houses, such as cisterns and cesspits, provide further clues about activities and use of spaces in and around houses.

 

Written sources from the period give us clues about what one could find inside of a Byzantine house. Wills and acts of transfer give us extensive lists of household items: from cupboards, pots and pans, to jewellery.

 

Only the very rich had a lot of furniture. The average Byzantine sat, ate and slept on wooden or stone benches which rang along three walls of a room. Eating habits were simple; people shared plates and cups and seldom used cutlery.