British School at Rome: Papers of the British School at Rome (9.1920)

Praeneste: A Study for its Restoration.

249

buildings forming the ancient shrine. In the reconstruction which
followed Sulla, an axis was taken passing through the centre of the space
between the two grottos, and terraces were made at right angles to this
line. The design of the upper part of the town is completely balanced,
and repeats and confirms the lines of the early sanctuary. Two small
hemicycles were made on the upper terrace to correspond with the two
grottos. On the lower terrace, in Imperial times, a large water-tank was


Fig. 5.—Polygonal Wall at Castel S. Pietro.

built which practically corresponded with one already existing on the
east. In this way the town began to assume a symmetrical appearance,
but there was far from being a perfect balance between the two sides.
It will now be convenient to study the town in greater detail.
Walls.—The early town was joined to the citadel (on the site of the
modern Castel S. Pietro) by long walls of polygonal masonry1 (Figs. 5
1 Cf. the city walls of Norba.