DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13855#0420
YESTIBULUM.
412
VIA.
pomoerium. The}' were attired in a stola
over 'which was an upper vestment made of
linen, and in addition to the infula and white
woollen vitta, they wore when sacrificing a
peculiar head-dress called suffibulum, con-
sisting of a piece of white cloth bordered with
purple, oblong in shape, and secured by a
clasp. In dress and general deportment they
were required to observe the utmost sim-
plicity and decorum, any fanciful ornaments
in the one or levity in the other being always
regarded with disgust and suspicion. Their
hair was cut off, probably at the period of
their consecration : whether this was re-
peated from time to time does not appear,
but they are never represented with flowing
locks. The following cut represents the
vestal Tuccia who, when wrongfully accused,
Vestal Virgin. (From a Gem.)
appealed to the goddess to vindicate her
honour, and had power given to her to carry
a sieve full of water from the Tiber to the
temple. The form of the upper garment is
well shown.
VESTIBULUXI. [Domtjs, p. 142, a.]
VETERAXUS. [Tiro.]
VEXILLARII. [Exf.rcitt.-s, p. 170, b.]
VEXILLUM. [Signa Militaria.]
VIA, a public road. It was not until the
period of the long protracted Samnite wars
that the necessity was felt of securing a safe
communication between the city and the
legions, and then for the first time we hear
of those famous paved roads, which, in after
ages, connected Rome with her most distant
provinces, constituting the most lasting of
all her works. The excellence of the prin-
ciples upon which they were constructed is
sufficiently attested by their extraordinary
durability, many specimens being found in
the country around Rome which have been
used without being repaired for more than
a thousand years. The Romans are said to
have adopted their first ideas upon this
subject from the Carthaginians, and it is
extremely probable that the latter people
may, from their commercial activity and the
sandy nature of their soil, have been com-
pelled to turn their attention to the best
means of facilitating the conveyance of mer-
chandise to different parts of their territory.
The first great public road made by the
Romans was the Via Appia, which extended
in the first instance from Rome to Capua,
and was made in the censorship of Appius
Claudius Caecus (b. c. 312.) The general con-
struction of a Roman road was as follows :—
In the first place, two shallow trenches {sulci)
were dug parallel to each other, marking
the breadth of the proposed road ; this in
the great lines is found to have been from
13 to 15 feet. The loose earth between the
sulci was then removed, and the excavation
continued until a solid foundation (grcmium)
was reached, upon which the materials of
the road might firmly rest; if this could not
be attained, in consequence of the swampy
nature of the ground or from any peculiarity
in the soil, a basis was formed artificially by
driving piles (Jistucationibus). Above the
gremium were four distinct strata. The
lowest course was the statumen, consisting
of stones not smaller than the hand could
just grasp; above the statumen was the
rutins, a mass of broken stones cemented
with lime, (what masons call rubble-work,)
rammed down hard, and nine inches thick;
above the rudus came the nucleus, composed
of fragments of bricks and pottery, the
pieces being smaller than in the rudus, ce-
mented with lime, and six inches thick.
Uppermost was the pavimentum, large poly-
gonal blocks of the hardest stone (silex),
usually, at least in the vicinity of Rome,
basaltic lava, irregular in form, but fitted
and jointed with the greatest nicety, so as to
present a perfectly even surface, as free from
gaps or irregularities as if the whole had
been one solid mass. The general aspect
will be understood from the cut given below.
The centre of the way was a little elevated,
so as to permit the water to run off easily.
Occasionally, at least in cities, rectangular
slabs of softer stone were employed instead
of the irregular polygons of silex, and hence
the distinction between the phrases silice
sternere and saxo quadrato sternere. Nor
was this all. Regular foot-paths (margines,
crepidines, umbones) Tere raised upon each
412
VIA.
pomoerium. The}' were attired in a stola
over 'which was an upper vestment made of
linen, and in addition to the infula and white
woollen vitta, they wore when sacrificing a
peculiar head-dress called suffibulum, con-
sisting of a piece of white cloth bordered with
purple, oblong in shape, and secured by a
clasp. In dress and general deportment they
were required to observe the utmost sim-
plicity and decorum, any fanciful ornaments
in the one or levity in the other being always
regarded with disgust and suspicion. Their
hair was cut off, probably at the period of
their consecration : whether this was re-
peated from time to time does not appear,
but they are never represented with flowing
locks. The following cut represents the
vestal Tuccia who, when wrongfully accused,
Vestal Virgin. (From a Gem.)
appealed to the goddess to vindicate her
honour, and had power given to her to carry
a sieve full of water from the Tiber to the
temple. The form of the upper garment is
well shown.
VESTIBULUXI. [Domtjs, p. 142, a.]
VETERAXUS. [Tiro.]
VEXILLARII. [Exf.rcitt.-s, p. 170, b.]
VEXILLUM. [Signa Militaria.]
VIA, a public road. It was not until the
period of the long protracted Samnite wars
that the necessity was felt of securing a safe
communication between the city and the
legions, and then for the first time we hear
of those famous paved roads, which, in after
ages, connected Rome with her most distant
provinces, constituting the most lasting of
all her works. The excellence of the prin-
ciples upon which they were constructed is
sufficiently attested by their extraordinary
durability, many specimens being found in
the country around Rome which have been
used without being repaired for more than
a thousand years. The Romans are said to
have adopted their first ideas upon this
subject from the Carthaginians, and it is
extremely probable that the latter people
may, from their commercial activity and the
sandy nature of their soil, have been com-
pelled to turn their attention to the best
means of facilitating the conveyance of mer-
chandise to different parts of their territory.
The first great public road made by the
Romans was the Via Appia, which extended
in the first instance from Rome to Capua,
and was made in the censorship of Appius
Claudius Caecus (b. c. 312.) The general con-
struction of a Roman road was as follows :—
In the first place, two shallow trenches {sulci)
were dug parallel to each other, marking
the breadth of the proposed road ; this in
the great lines is found to have been from
13 to 15 feet. The loose earth between the
sulci was then removed, and the excavation
continued until a solid foundation (grcmium)
was reached, upon which the materials of
the road might firmly rest; if this could not
be attained, in consequence of the swampy
nature of the ground or from any peculiarity
in the soil, a basis was formed artificially by
driving piles (Jistucationibus). Above the
gremium were four distinct strata. The
lowest course was the statumen, consisting
of stones not smaller than the hand could
just grasp; above the statumen was the
rutins, a mass of broken stones cemented
with lime, (what masons call rubble-work,)
rammed down hard, and nine inches thick;
above the rudus came the nucleus, composed
of fragments of bricks and pottery, the
pieces being smaller than in the rudus, ce-
mented with lime, and six inches thick.
Uppermost was the pavimentum, large poly-
gonal blocks of the hardest stone (silex),
usually, at least in the vicinity of Rome,
basaltic lava, irregular in form, but fitted
and jointed with the greatest nicety, so as to
present a perfectly even surface, as free from
gaps or irregularities as if the whole had
been one solid mass. The general aspect
will be understood from the cut given below.
The centre of the way was a little elevated,
so as to permit the water to run off easily.
Occasionally, at least in cities, rectangular
slabs of softer stone were employed instead
of the irregular polygons of silex, and hence
the distinction between the phrases silice
sternere and saxo quadrato sternere. Nor
was this all. Regular foot-paths (margines,
crepidines, umbones) Tere raised upon each