Sacrarium

Sacrarium, a term employed by the ancient Romans to denote any place in which sacred things were deposited. A sacrarium was either public or private, the former being a part of a temple in which the idol stood, and the latter the part of a private house in which the Penates were kept. In the early Latin Church the name was given to the chancel or bema, and also to the side table (oblationarium) on which the offerings of the people were deposited.