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porticoes in a cavaedium of this kind, to be inclined towards
the walls of the court; for, in the first place, he says that
the deliquiae, or rafters which support the gutters, are made
to throw back the water which drips from the eaves; that is
to say, of the surrounding buildings. Again, the compluvia
of the porticoes being erecta, or rising from the walls, do not
intercept the light from the triclinia. It is evident that by
inclining the roof towards the walls, an opportunity would
offer itself of giving more light to the rooms around the
court, by making the columns of the cavaedium more lofty
than when it is made inclining from the walls: supposing the
interval between the windows of the upper and lower floor
the same in both instances. In the third place, he says
that there is a chance of gutters sometimes overflowing.
when the roof is constructed in this manner, and thus
injüring the walls and the wood-work; which evidently
implies that the gutters must have been between the roof of
the compluvium and the walls of the surrounding buildings.
The section is supposed to be made across the court
transversely. The building which rises above the portico
is intended to represent the exterior of the Egyptian oecus;
the section of which is shewn in Plate III.
PLATE II.
PLAN OF A ROMAN HOUSE.
We have before alluded to the difference of opinion
which exists as to the nature of the atrium and cavaedium.