Parker, John Henry: The archaeology of Rome (1,2): Illustrations to I. The primitive fortifications. II. The walls and gates of Rome. III. The historical constructions of walls (Oxford [u.a.], 1874)

Construction of Walls.

Plate X.
1. Travertine. From the tomb of Caecilia Metella, b.c. 103,
two miles from Rome. This is the earliest example known of the
use of travertine, and it is merely a veneer over a rubble wall of
enormous thickness. The open cell for the sarcophagus in the
centre is comparatively small, considering the enormous size of the
mausoleum as a whole. The eye readily distinguishes travertine
with its fine joints from the old tufa walls, and the plates of traver-
tine are not nearly so large as the blocks of tufa.
There is some doubt as to the date of this tomb, the one here
given is that generally considered as correct by the Roman anti-
quaries, but others think b.c. 50 more probable. Cecilia Metella
was a family name, and we know of at least two of that name; this
one was married to Crassus, but that also is a family name, and
in either case it may be of one or the other generation. Crassus,
who was Triumvir with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, b.c. 50, was
called the rich Crassus, and this tomb has evidently been built for
a wealthy family.
2. Temple of Fortuna, a.d. 10. The temple is of two periods
and two building materials. The porticus or portico is of traver-
tine, and has a richly-sculptured cornice; the intervals between
the columns are filled up with medieval brick wall, with a stone
doorway of the same period. But the cella to which the portico
had originally belonged is in some parts of tufa, and the cornice is
quite plain. The portion here given belongs to the oldest part, and
the columns are cut on the face of the blocks, not worked as sepa-
rate detached columns placed against the walls. The exact date of
the early part is doubtful, but b.c. 90 is the most likely one. It
is probably one of the earliest examples of fluted Ionic columns
in Rome.