Pl.: pilae

The small columns/pillars of a Roman-style hypocaust system that supported the circulation floor of the heated rooms. These pillars usually had a height comprised between 60 and 100 cm, and if spanned by bipedales, stood roughly 40 cm apart. The pillars were often made of round or square ceramic bricks bonded by mortar. Alternatively, stone monoliths or hollow ceramic tubes/cylinders were used.

Pilae in one of the heated rooms of the South Gate Baths of Perge, Turkey. Each course of the pilae is made of brick fragments assembled together rather than a single brick, like a bessalis (photo Konogan Beaufay).