House of the Birds

Published: 2026-10-01
Last modified: 2026-10-01

Dates

unspecified

Excavation Dates

unspecified

Garden Description

This large, typical 'peristyle house' had a courtyard that provided light for all the rooms of the house. The entrance was on the southwest side of the house from the main street leading from the gate where the visitor enters. After a small vestibule and a wide fauces, one came directly into the peristyle garden. Beneath it was a cistern in which rainwater was collected; the water was accessed by means of a well and winch. Water also came from an aqueduct to a fountain on the façade of the house. The peristyle took up a quarter of the total area of the house.

To the left of the entering guest was the reception room with an interesting mosaic of the birds, each bird in its own square. Straight ahead, behind the peristyle, was a large triclinium with a good view of the garden. Moreover, beside the triclinium and presumably visible from it through a window was a small garden with a peristyle of two columns on two sides and four on one side. Most of this garden was occupied by an ornate pool with semicircular extensions at the corners. On the other side of the triclinium was another pool with long steps descending into it suggesting that it was for swimming. It was surrounded by a patio. Opening onto this patio were five rooms with mosaic floors. To the visitor's right on entering the garden from the southwest were found traces of a niche with a mosaic pavement above which had once been the lararium.

Maps

Fig. 1: Map of Italica.

Plans

Fig. 2: Plan of the House of the Birds and other drawings.
Fig. 3: Plan of the House of the Birds.

Images

Fig. 4: Photograph looking over the garden to the northeast.
Fig. 5: Photograph of the small garden to the left and rear of the large peristyle garden.
Fig. 6: Photograph of the small garden to the right and rear of the large peristyle garden.
Fig. 7: Photograph of the small fountain garden.

Bibliography

  • Antonio Garcia y Bellido,Colonia aelia augusta Italica, Instituto Español de Arqueologia, (Madrid 1960). (worldcat)
  • A. Caballos and P. León,ITALICA MMCC: Actas de las Jornadas del 2.200 Aniversario de la Fundación de Itálica, Sevilla, Consejeria de Cultura, (Sevilla 1997). (worldcat)
  • A. Caballos, J. Marín and J. M. Rodríguez Hielgo, Itálica Arqueológica, Universidad de Sevilla, (Sevilla 1999). 70-71. (worldcat)

Keywords

Places