<P> Insulae have been the subject of great debate for historians of Roman culture, defining the various meanings of the word . Insula was a word used to describe apartment buildings, or the apartments themselves, meaning apartment, or inhabitable room, demonstrating just how small apartments for Plebes were . Urban divisions were originally street blocks, and later began to divide into smaller divisions, the word insula referring to both blocks and smaller divisions . The insula contained cenacula, tabernae, storage rooms under the stairs, and lower floor shops . Another type of housing unit for Plebes was a cenaculum, an apartment, divided into three individual rooms: cubiculum, exedra, and medianum . Common Roman apartments were mainly masses of smaller and larger structures, many with narrow balconies that present mysteries as to their use, having no doors to access them, and they lacked the excessive decoration and display of wealth that aristocrats' houses contained . Luxury in houses was not common, as the life of the average person did not consist of being in their houses, as they instead would go to public baths, and engage in other communal activities . </P> <P> Many lighthouses were built around the Mediterranean and the coasts of the empire, including the Tower of Hercules at A Coruña in northern Spain, a structure which survives to this day . A smaller lighthouse at Dover, England also exists as a ruin about half the height of the original . The light would have been provided by a fire at the top of the structure . </P> <P> All Roman cities had at least one thermae, a popular facility for public bathing, exercising and socializing . Exercise might include wrestling and weight - lifting, as well as swimming . Bathing was an important part of the Roman day, where some hours might be spent, at a very low cost subsidized by the government . Wealthier Romans were often accompanied by one or more slaves, who performed any required tasks such as fetching refreshment, guarding valuables, providing towels, and at the end of the session, applying olive oil to their masters' bodies which was then scraped off with a strigil, a scraper made of wood or bone . Romans did not wash with soap and water as we do now . </P> <P> Roman bath - houses were also provided for private villas, town houses and forts . They were normally supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or by aqueduct . The design of thermae is discussed by Vitruvius in De Architectura . </P>

Who were the romans influence during their early development