cave dwelling 227
Inside the cave residencesCave residences in most places contained multiple rooms devoted to different
activities, such as sleeping, cooking, food preparation, and storage. Some caves were
used as stables for animals or as dovecotes for raising pigeons, whose guano was used
as fertilizer. Rooms, which were often built on multiple levels, were linked by corri-
dors, passageways, stairs, and ladders. In the courtyard manors of Cappadocia, upper-
storey rooms were most likely devoted to more formal, human activities such as
sleeping, dining, and worshiping, while downstairs rooms served utilitarian purposes
such as stabling animals and storing and preparing foods (Kalas, 2000: 128). In
Douiret front rooms were used for eating, working, and receiving guests, while back
rooms were for sleeping (Besana and Mainetti, 2000: 42).
Inside the residences people carved furniture and storage areas out of the rock.
They created niches to hold objects such as lamps and vases. They placed pegs or rings
in walls or ceilings for hanging lamps and other items. They carved seats and benches
to sit on. They created beds and sleeping areas in a number of different manners.
Sometimes a simple raised platform was carved out of the rock, while other times
arcosolia were dug out of walls. Some residences contained holes in the walls for
suspending beams on which a bed was then placed. Some sleeping areas were set off
by walls. Sleeping quarters also included niches for holding lamps and other objects
(Caprara and del’Aquila, 2004; Caprara, 2001: 175–180; Allen, 1969: 52–53).
Kitchen areas contained fireplaces, storage areas for firewood, and various types of
exhaust systems for getting rid of the smoke produced by fires. In southern Italy
counters and niches were carved for holding vases, containers, and other utensils, and
storage pits and cisterns were dug out of floors for storing food, wine, and water.
Beams running along ceilings were used to hang objects. Sometimes work niches
were created for specific activities such as grinding grain. Canals dug near entrances
were used to dispose of waste water (Caprara and del’Aquila, 2004: 459–463). In the
manor houses of Cappadocia food was cooked in kitchens on a hotplate placed on a
hearth, with ceilings that sloped up to ventilation holes allowing the smoke to exit
(Kalas, 2000: 86–88). There is also evidence of indoor latrines at some sites in both
southern Italy and Cappadocia (Caprara, 2001: 151; Kalas, 2000: 59).
The builders of cave dwellings used a variety of methods to maximize lighting and
ventilation, and to control climate. Since most residences received light from a single
door, fan-shaped rooms helped diffuse light and eliminate dark corners. They also
provided for better ventilation. Skylights cut into ceilings let in both sunlight and air
(Allen, 1969: 53–54; Caprara, 2001: 121–123; Laureano, 1993: 71). In Douiret
rooms were painted white inside for better lighting, and there were niches for lamps
and candles (Besana and Mainetti, 2000: 46). Some cave residences in southern Italy
had slanted ceilings to let in light, while in Matera inhabitants built rooms at different
levels so that the sun would penetrate better during the winter months in order to
heat the houses (Caprara and dell’Aquila, 2004: 459; Laureano, 1993: 115–116).
Outside of houses, wooden doors were placed in entry-ways and cisterns dug out to
collect rainwater for domestic use. Seats and niches were sometimes carved out as well.
Stairs or footholes carved into rock linked the residences to nearby passageways and
roads (Caprara and dell’Aquila, 2004: 458–459). In Tunisia courtyards in front of the
residences were used for working and cleaning (Besana and Mainetti, 2000: 42).