# Were there really vomitoriums in ancient Rome? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368 "2010-04-26T03:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SeaQuay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@SeaQuay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaQuay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/1 "2010-04-26T03:01:48Z")
I disagree with your answer. I have visisted Pompeii and have seen rooms adjacent to the dining room which are about six feet wide, ten feet long and have a slant downwards in the floor beginning about four feet from the edge of the wall near the door. The purpose was for people to vomit. The incline caused the vomit to flow away from the door (which led to the dining room) and kept the vomitus from puddling where it would be stepped on. The title of this post is the name of the article. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/2 "2010-04-26T11:42:23Z")
> [@SeaQuay](#): > > The purpose was for people to vomit. How did you arrive at this conclusion? Original column: [Were there really vomitoriums in ancient Rome? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2421/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/3 "2010-04-26T13:00:41Z")
> [@SeaQuay](#): > > I disagree with your answer. I have visisted Pompeii and have seen rooms adjacent to the dining room which are about six feet wide, ten feet long and have a slant downwards in the floor beginning about four feet from the edge of the wall near the door. The purpose was for people to vomit. The incline caused the vomit to flow away from the door (which led to the dining room) and kept the vomitus from puddling where it would be stepped on. The title of this post is the name of the article. Have any other historians reached your conclusion? Based upon what historical evidence? Which primary sources? Bear in mind that while you may think these rooms may _suggest_ a certain function, they may have been built for something else altogether. For example, perhaps the Romans felt it desirable to have easy-to-clean kitchen floors. I don’t believe that’s a particularly _good_ explanation - but then, I don’t think the “vomitorium” theory fits in particularly well with normal human preferences either. Point is, we just can’t know from looking at the ruins alone. That’s what makes an examination of the ruins, _plus_ examination of texts from the period, _plus_ examination of cultural ephemera (graffiti and such) so very important to the study of antiquity. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/4 "2010-04-26T15:33:01Z")
Maybe the slant in the floor was because the Romans were very messy eaters and it was easier to just throw buckets of water on the floor to wash it clean ? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/5 "2010-04-26T15:59:16Z")
If I recall correctly, the \*vomitorium \*had nothing to do with disgorging your stomach contents. They were, in fact, the exits from a stadium, which vomited forth the thousands of patron after the conclusion of the day’s entertainments. [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomitorium) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/6 "2010-04-26T16:09:19Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomitorium) [Link](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2421/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/7 "2010-04-26T16:17:23Z")
Of course the ancient Romans had vomitoria in which they barfed after meals. I saw it on _Saturday Night Live_ about 30 years ago! ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368/8 "2010-04-26T16:52:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > If I recall correctly, the \*vomitorium \*had nothing to do with disgorging your stomach contents. They were, in fact, the exits from a stadium, which vomited forth the thousands of patron after the conclusion of the day’s entertainments. [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomitorium) Not “were” – “are”. It’s a perfectly good piece of architectural jargon to this day.