Impluvium

In Greco-Roman architectural studies, the impluvium refers to the sunken part of the atrium in a Greek or Roman house (domus), designed to carry away the rainwater falling from the compluvium of the roof.

A circular stone opening protected with a puteal allows easy access by bucket and rope to this private, filtered and naturally cooled water supply.

These ranged in complexity: Yoruba impluvia, referred to as akodi,[9] sometimes only amounted to pots placed at the corners of vast rectilinear courtyards,[10] while some in Ketu, Benin Republic, were drained into underground tanks.

19th and 20th century European travelers were often surprised to find parallels to classical culture in those architectural traditions that had clear ones: "In the Bamum area there is an interesting type of hut.

"[18] Denyer, on the other hand, notes that "No really large settlement could have taken place in this area [Southern Nigeria] before a means of collecting water had been found", to save for the dry season and to manage erosion.