Acroteria -- ornaments at the apex of the gable and the corners of the roof of a temple

Aedicula -- an opening framed by columns or pilasters supporting an entablature and pediment, often used decoratively

Apodyterium -- the changing room of a Roman bath

Apse -- a semicircular space, usually at the end of a hall or basilica

Architrave -- the horizontal architectural element above the columns in a classical temple, forming the lowest part of the entablature

Arcuated lintel -- a single arched entablature flanked by horizontal entablatures, often in the centre of a façade under the pediment

Atrium -- the main hall of a traditional Roman house, which may contain a compluvium and impluvium

Attic -- the upper part of a triumphal arch

Basilica -- conventional name for a hall built to accommodate large numbers of people for civic and administrative purposes

Bucchero -- fine black polished pottery made by the Etruscans, especially in the seventh and sixth centuries BC

Caldarium -- the hot room of a Roman bath

Caryatid -- a sculptured female figure used as a column

Catacomb -- a subterranean gallery with recesses excavated in the sides for tombs

Cavea -- the seating area of a theatre or amphitheatre

Cella -- the central chamber of a temple, housing the cult statue

Clerestory -- upper row of windows lighting the nave of a basilica, above the inner colonnades

Codex -- an early bound book (as opposed to a scroll)

Coffer -- a sunken panel in a ceiling or vault, used to reduce the mass of the vaulting

Compluvium -- an opening in the middle of the roof of the atrium of a house

Composite capital -- a capital consisting of two rows of acanthus leaves below a diagonal Ionic volute

Cornice -- the top, projecting part of the entablature

Cryptoporticus -- a ground-level or semi-subterranean vaulted corridor, usually lit by openings in the vault

Diatreton -- a glass vessel decorated by undercutting so that the surface decoration stands free of the body of the glass, supported by struts (also known as a cage-cup)

Emblema -- the central panel in a mosaic, made separately and inserted into the mosaic, often set off by a frame; also, the central decorative element in a bowl, made separately and inserted into the vessel

Encaustic -- a painting technique in which heated wax is used as a colouring and sealing medium

Engaged column -- a half-column projecting from a wall

Entablature -- the superstructure carried by a colonnade or wall, consisting of architrave, frieze, and cornice

Exedra -- a large curving space set back in a wall or colonnade, generally uncovered and bigger than an apse

Fibula -- an ornamental brooch rather like a safety pin

Frieze -- the middle section of the entablature, often carrying relief sculpture or an inscription

Frigidarium -- the cold room of a Roman bath

Granulation -- in metalwork, the soldering of globules of gold or silver onto jewellery

Hexastyle -- consisting of six columns

Hypocaust -- a floor raised on small columns to allow the circulation of air underneath

Impluvium -- a small pool that catches the rain coming through an opening in the middle of the roof (compluvium) of the atrium of a Roman house

Insula -- a tenement or apartment house

Laconicum -- the hot, dry room of a Roman bath

Nave -- central area of a basilica

Necropolis -- a cemetery

Nymphaeum -- a grotto with a natural water supply dedicated to the nymphs; by extension, an artificial grotto or fountain building

Obelisk -- a tapering pillar of square section, with a pointed top

Octostyle -- consisting of eight columns

Oculus -- the round opening at the apex of a dome to let in light

Opus caementicium -- Roman concrete masonry of undressed stones laid in a mortar of lime, sand, and, in Rome and Campania, pozzolana

Opus incertum -- a facing of irregularly shaped small blocks used with opus caementicium

Opus reticulatum -- a facing consisting of a network of small squared blocks laid in neat diagonal lines

Opus sectile -- pavement or wall decoration made of shaped tiles of coloured marble

Opus signinum -- concrete floor including irregular splinters of terracotta, stone, and marble

Orchestra -- the flat, semicircular space in front of the stage of a theatre

Palaestra -- open area surrounded by porticoes, used for exercise, and often forming part of a Roman bath complex

Pediment -- the triangular, gabled end of a ridged roof

Peripteral -- a term applied to a cella surrounded by a single row of columns

Peristyle -- the rectangular courtyard or garden of a Roman or Greek house, surrounded by porticoes

Pilaster -- a rectangular column projecting only slightly from a wall

Porphyry -- a dense purplish stone quarried in Egypt

Pozzolana -- volcanic earth from the region of Pozzuoli, near Naples, which sets like hard cement after mixing with water and gives Roman concrete its strength

Prostyle -- a temple with columns only at the front

Pseudoperipteral -- a temple with some of the columns engaged into the cella wall

Quoin -- a dressed stone at the corner of a building

Sarcophagus -- a stone or terracotta coffin

Spandrel -- the triangular space between the springing and centre of an arch

Stucco -- plaster used on walls and ceilings

Sudatorium -- the sweating room of a Roman bath

Tepidarium -- the warm room of a Roman bath

Terracotta -- baked clay

Tessera -- a squarish piece of stone or glass used in mosaics

Tetrastyle -- consisting of four columns

Travertine -- a light-coloured limestone commonly used for buildings in the region around Rome

Tufa -- soft stone composed of compacted volcanic ash

Tumulus -- the type of round burial mound used by the Etruscans

Voussoir -- a wedge shaped stone forming one of the units of a masonry arch