Changes

By the Bronze Age, elites and likely wealth classes, had begun to make specific bed frames, often made of wood. The frames not only made beds portable, but they also allowed beds to become decorative and media of art. Frames began to be decorated or were created from expensive woods. Inlays, ivory, and metal decorations were now found on bed frames in the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. Pillows also became decorated and covered over with pillow cases made of expensive materials and embroidery. Beds were also sometimes recessed into walls or made from material that folded, a type of cot.

In the Roman period, five different types of beds were known. Beds were used for eating, studying, burying the dead, for lovemaking, and normal sleeping. The Romans differentiated these with different words and this may have also meant that different beds were used for each of these activities.