''Opus craticum'' or ''craticii'' is an ancient Roman construction technique described by

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

in his books '' De architectura'' as wattlework which is plastered over. It is often employed to construct partition walls and floors. Vitruvius disparaged this building technique as a grave fire risk, likely to have cracked plaster, and not durable. Surviving examples were found in the archaeological excavations at Pompeii and more so at Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

in 79 AD and excavated beginning in 1929. Scholarly confusion exists since the term ''opus craticium'' is also used for the Roman building technique very similar, but not identified as being directly related to

half-timbering Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

, a timber framework with the wall

infill In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban ma ...

of stones in mortar called ''

opus incertum ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

''. An example of this technique is the House of Opus Craticum in Herculaneum. This building, which was constructed some time in the first century or earlier, was reconstructed at Herculaneum's Insula III, nos. 13, 14, and 15. The ''opus craticum'' was not a Roman invention as variations of the technique is also found elsewhere in ancient

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. Before the Romans, the Minoans, Etruscans, and Greeks are known to have used similar building techniques. At least since the 13th century, this type of construction, common in Europe, was called half-timbered in English, ''Fachwerk'' (framework) in German, ''entramado de madera'' in Spanish, and ''colombage'' in French.

References

Roman construction techniques Timber framing {{architecture-stub