DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.785#0497
392 GBAVISCiE. [chap. xx.
To reach the other site on the right bank of the Marta,
it is necessary on leaving Corneto to take the road to
Leghorn, as far as the Marta, a mile distant; then,
crossing the bridge, turn at once to the left, and after a
couple of miles in a country-road, you will reach some
Roman ruins by the way-side. A few furlongs beyond is
an eminence, some thirty or forty feet high, on and around
which are scattered sundry large blocks of tufo, and frag-
ments of travertine columns. This I take to be the site of
Graviscse. That more than a temple or villa occupied it,
is clear, from the extent of the broken pottery, and from
several circumstances presently to be mentioned. True,
it is almost two miles from the sea, yet scarcely a furlong
from the Marta, which here swells into a respectable
stream, and bears palpable evidence of having been of
much more importance in ancient times than at present,
and of having been in direct connexion with this eminence.
To discover these traces of antiquity, you must follow
the course of the stream from the point where you first
meet with the Roman ruins ; and at the distance of two
or three furlongs you will come upon some large blocks
rising from the soil. Further examination will show them
to be the crest of an arch. Look over the bank—you will
perceive the vault beneath you; and if you clamber down,
you will find it to be one of the finest specimens of an
ancient arch in all Etruria. My astonishment on making
this discovery was great. A friend who had previously
visited this site had remarked the blocks rising from the
soil, but had not perceived the grand relic of antiquity at
his feet. Grand it is, for the vault is not inferior to the
Cloaca Maxima in span, or about fourteen feet, while the
masonry is on a much larger scale.8 The arch opens in a
8 The voussoirs are from five to six ima are scarcely two feet and a half;
feet in depth ; those of the Cloaca Max- but there is a triple row of them.
To reach the other site on the right bank of the Marta,
it is necessary on leaving Corneto to take the road to
Leghorn, as far as the Marta, a mile distant; then,
crossing the bridge, turn at once to the left, and after a
couple of miles in a country-road, you will reach some
Roman ruins by the way-side. A few furlongs beyond is
an eminence, some thirty or forty feet high, on and around
which are scattered sundry large blocks of tufo, and frag-
ments of travertine columns. This I take to be the site of
Graviscse. That more than a temple or villa occupied it,
is clear, from the extent of the broken pottery, and from
several circumstances presently to be mentioned. True,
it is almost two miles from the sea, yet scarcely a furlong
from the Marta, which here swells into a respectable
stream, and bears palpable evidence of having been of
much more importance in ancient times than at present,
and of having been in direct connexion with this eminence.
To discover these traces of antiquity, you must follow
the course of the stream from the point where you first
meet with the Roman ruins ; and at the distance of two
or three furlongs you will come upon some large blocks
rising from the soil. Further examination will show them
to be the crest of an arch. Look over the bank—you will
perceive the vault beneath you; and if you clamber down,
you will find it to be one of the finest specimens of an
ancient arch in all Etruria. My astonishment on making
this discovery was great. A friend who had previously
visited this site had remarked the blocks rising from the
soil, but had not perceived the grand relic of antiquity at
his feet. Grand it is, for the vault is not inferior to the
Cloaca Maxima in span, or about fourteen feet, while the
masonry is on a much larger scale.8 The arch opens in a
8 The voussoirs are from five to six ima are scarcely two feet and a half;
feet in depth ; those of the Cloaca Max- but there is a triple row of them.