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Out of context: Reply #15821
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In late antiquity the triclinium is generally replaced by the stibadium, a semi-circular sigma-couch, again often identifiable by the mosaics. Although the earliest sigma-couches show up only in late 2nd century, literary references are found as early as the 1st. This may suggest a contrast "between the fashions adopted by Martial and his smart set at Rome, and normal middle-class habits in the provinces," but Dunbabin argues it is more likely, judging from the visual evidence, that "the stibadium-form may be primarily intended for outdoor banquets" but then gradually took over perhaps because "it left a wide space open in the room in front, which could be used for entertainment" and seemed less formal than the triclinium with its strict seating order. By the late Empire we begin to see diners seated at a rich and formal dinner instead of reclining though before "sitting at table had long been the normal practice for those of inferior social position and in taverns."
good one, greedo.