1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Campus Martius
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The Campus Martius, was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 square kilometres in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome, the IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers a smaller section of the original area, bears the same name. Washing ashore further downriver, the brothers would return later to found a new city. Romulus, who became Rome’s sole king, ruled for years until sometime in the seventh century B. C. As he came to the end of his life, a cloud descended upon the center of the open field outside the city’s pomerium in order to lift the elderly king to heaven. This land, “between the city and the Tiber, ” became the property of Rome’s last Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus, after his defeat and exile, the plain was dedicated to the god Mars. Roman men assembled every spring before heading off to fight hostile tribes, surrounding Rome, with the exception of a small altar to Mars near the center of the field, it wasn’t until the fifth century B. C. that any visible changes were made to the field. In 435 B. C. the Villa Publica was established in a prepared 300m clearing, the area was meant to be a gathering space for citizens to congregate every five years, to be counted in a census. Free from any permanent structures, no additions would be made for two centuries. With the advent of the Punic Wars in the mid-third century B. C. Roman military expansion moved out of the Italian peninsula, the number of foreign wars, however, greatly increased the amount of wealth flowing into Rome. Generals who had sworn to various deities to build temples in their honor if victorious, besides temples and wooden markets, entertainment venues were built also, though they were to be temporary. Starting in the time of Sulla, building lots were sold or granted to influential Romans and it later became the place for comitia centuriata, civic meetings with weapons, and for the citys militia. In 55 BC, Pompey constructed a permanent theater made of stone, when the Curia Hostilia burnt down in 52 BC, the theater was sometimes used as a meeting place for the Senate. The area was used as the assembling ground for elections. Julius Caesar planned for the Saepta to be placed there, they were completed by his heir Augustus. In 33 BC, Octavian dedicated the Porticus Octaviae, built from spoils of the Dalmatian War, the Campus Martius also held the Ara Pacis, built by the Senate to mark the establishment of peace by Augustus. It was intended to symbolize the successful completion of Augustus efforts to stabilize the Empire, Marcus Agrippa had the original swampy ground made into a pool and baths in a setting of parkland and temples, the Laconicum Sudatorium or Baths of Agrippa. Also, he built the Porticus Argonautarum and the Pantheon, which was rebuilt by Hadrian as it still stands today
3.
Tiber Island
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The Tiber Island is the only island in the Tiber river which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 metres long and 67 metres wide, being a seat of the ancient temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing. The island has been linked to the rest of Rome by two bridges since antiquity, and was once called Insula Inter-Duos-Pontes which means the island between the two bridges. The Ponte Fabricio, the original bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to the Field of Mars in the rione SantAngelo. The Ponte Cestio, of only some original parts survived. There is a legend says that after the fall of the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus. His body then settled onto the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it, another version of the legend says that the people gathered up the wheat and grain of their despised ruler and threw it into the Tiber, where it eventually became the foundation of the island. In ancient times, before Christianity spread through Rome, Tiber Island was avoided because of the stories associated with it. Only the worst criminals and the ill were condemned there. This however changed when a temple was built on the island, Tiber Island was once the location of an ancient temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Accounts say that in 293 BC, there was a plague in Rome. Upon consulting the Sibyl, the Roman Senate was instructed to build a temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing, the delegation went on board a ship to sail out and obtain a statue. Following their belief system, they obtained a snake from a temple and it immediately curled itself around the ships mast and this was deemed as a good sign by them. Upon their return up the Tiber river, the snake slithered off the ship and they believed that this was a sign from Aesculapius, a sign which meant that he wanted his temple to be built on that island. This location may have chosen for the Aesculapius Temple because it was separate from the rest of the city. The island eventually became so identified with the temple it supported that it was modeled to resemble a ship as a reminder of how it came to be. Travertine facing was added in mid or late first century by the banks to resemble a ships prow and stern, walls were put around the island, and it came to resemble a Roman ship
4.
Tiber
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It drains a basin estimated at 17,375 square kilometres. The river has achieved lasting fame as the watercourse of the city of Rome. The river rises at Mount Fumaiolo in central Italy and flows in a southerly direction past Perugia. However, it does not form a delta, owing to a strong north-flowing sea current close to the shore, to the steep shelving of the coast. The source of the Tiber consists of two springs 10 metres away from each other on Mount Fumaiolo and these springs are called Le Vene. The springs are in a beech forest 1,268 metres above sea level, during the 1930s, Benito Mussolini placed an antique marble Roman column at the point where the river arises, inscribed QUI NASCE IL FIUME SACRO AI DESTINI DI ROMA. There is an eagle on the top of this column, the first miles of the Tiber run through Valtiberina before entering Umbria. It is probable that the genesis of the name Tiber was pre-Latin, like the Roman name of Tibur, the same root is found in the Latin praenomen Tiberius. There are also Etruscan variants of this praenomen in Thefarie and Teperie, the legendary king Tiberinus, ninth in the king-list of Alba Longa, was said to have drowned in the river Albula, which was afterward called Tiberis. Yet another etymology is from *dubri-, water, considered by Alessio as Sicel and this root *dubri- is widespread in Western Europe e. g. Dover, Portus Dubris. According to the legend, Jupiter made him a god and guardian spirit of the river and this gave rise to the standard Roman depiction of the river as a powerfully built reclining god, also named Tiberinus, with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. The Tiber was also believed to be the river into which Romulus and Remus were thrown as infants, according to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC on the banks of the Tiber about 25 kilometres from the sea at Ostia. The island Isola Tiberina in the centre of Rome, between Trastevere and the ancient center, was the site of an important ancient ford and was later bridged. Legend says Romes founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on its waters, the river marked the boundary between the lands of the Etruscans to the west, the Sabines to the east and the Latins to the south. Benito Mussolini, born in Romagna, adjusted the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, so that the springs of the Tiber would lie in Romagna and it was later used to ship stone, timber and foodstuffs to Rome. During the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the harbour at Ostia became a key naval base and it later became Romes most important port, where wheat, olive oil, and wine were imported from Romes colonies around the Mediterranean. Wharves were also built along the riverside in Rome itself, lining the riverbanks around the Campus Martius area, the Romans connected the river with a sewer system and with an underground network of tunnels and other channels, to bring its water into the middle of the city. Wealthy Romans had garden-parks or horti on the banks of the river in Rome up through the first century BC and these may have been sold and developed about a century later
5.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
6.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
7.
Arch bridge
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An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side, a viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today. Possibly the oldest existing bridge is the Mycenaean Arkadiko bridge in Greece from about 1300 BC. The stone corbel arch bridge is used by the local populace. The well-preserved Hellenistic Eleutherna Bridge has a corbel arch. The 4th century BC Rhodes Footbridge rests on an early voussoir arch, a more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, in as many as 26 different countries. Roman arch bridges were usually semicircular, although a number were segmental arch bridges, generally, Roman bridges featured wedge-shaped primary arch stones of the same in size and shape. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from an early time onwards flood openings in the piers, e. g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome, Roman engineers were the first and until the industrial revolution the only ones to construct bridges with concrete, which they called Opus caementicium. The outside was covered with brick or ashlar, as in the Alcántara bridge. The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction, trajans bridge over the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood. This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch, in medieval Europe, bridge builders improved on the Roman structures by using narrower piers, thinner arch barrels and lower span-rise ratios on bridges. Gothic pointed arches were introduced, reducing lateral thrust. The 14th century in particular saw bridge building reaching new heights, the bridge at Trezzo sullAdda, destroyed in the 15th century, even featured a span length of 72 m, not matched until 1796. Constructions such as the acclaimed Florentine segmental arch bridge Ponte Vecchio combined sound engineering with aesthetical appeal, the three elegant arches of the Renaissance Ponte Santa Trinita constitute the oldest elliptic arch bridge worldwide. In China, the oldest existing bridge is the Zhaozhou Bridge of 605 AD. The Zhaozhou Bridge, with a length of 167 feet and span of 123 feet, is the worlds first wholly stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge, Bridges with perforated spandrels can be found worldwide, such as in China
8.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
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Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric prisons. Piranesi was born in Mogliano Veneto, near Treviso, then part of the Republic of Venice, from 1740 he had an opportunity to work in Rome as a draughtsman for Marco Foscarini, the Venetian ambassador of the new Pope Benedict XIV. He resided in the Palazzo Venezia and studied under Giuseppe Vasi, Giuseppe Vasi found Piranesis talent was beyond engraving. According to Legrand, Vasi told Piranesi that you are too much of a painter, my friend, from 1743 to 1747 he sojourned mainly in Venice where, according to some sources, he often visited Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a leading artist in Venice. It was Tiepolo who expanded the restrictive conventions of reproductive, topographical and he then returned to Rome, where he opened a workshop in Via del Corso. In 1748–1774 he created a series of vedute of the city which established his fame. In the meantime Piranesi devoted himself to the measurement of many of the ancient edifices, in 1761 he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca and opened a printing facility of his own. In 1762 the Campo Marzio dellantica Roma collection of engravings was printed, the following year he was commissioned by Pope Clement XIII to restore the choir of San Giovanni in Laterano, but the work did not materialize. He combined certain ancient architectural elements, trophies and escutcheons, with a venetian whimsicality for the facade of the church and this was the only time he expressed himself in actual marble and stone. In 1767 he was made a knight of the Golden Spur, in 1776 he created his best known work as a restorer of ancient sculpture, the Piranesi Vase, and in 1777–78 he published Avanzi degli Edifici di Pesto. He died in Rome in 1778 after an illness, and was buried in the Church he had helped restore. His tomb was designed by Giuseppi Angelini, the idea of Enlightenment by theorists and artists traveled all over the Europe including Paris, Dresden, and London. The developing center of the Grand Tour was Rome, Rome became a new meeting place and intellectual capital of Europe for the leaders of a new movement in the arts. The city was attracting artists and architects all over the Europe beside the Grand Tourists, dealers. While many came though official institutions such as the French Academy, others came to see the new discoveries at Heraculaneum, Piranesi was not only aware of the engineering of the ancient buildings but also the poetic aspects of the ruins from his experience in Venice. One distinctive feature of Piranesis work is based on the interpretation of Classical antiquity by adding his imagination to increase the originality, through the works of Marco Ricci and particularly Giovanini Paolo Pannini, Piranesi became familiar with the architectonic values as well as the ruin fantasy. The remains of Rome kindled Piranesis enthusiasm, some of his later work was completed by his children and several pupils. Piranesis son and coadjutor, Francesco, collected and preserved his plates, twenty-nine folio volumes containing about 2000 prints appeared in Paris
9.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
10.
Roman bridge
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Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as the basic structure, most utilized concrete as well, which the Romans were the first to use for bridges. As with the vault and the dome the Romans were the first to realize the potential of arches for bridge construction. A more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, Roman arch bridges were usually semicircular, although a few were segmental. A segmental arch is an arch that is less than a semicircle, generally, Roman bridges featured wedge-shaped primary arch stones of the same in size and shape. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from an early time onwards flood openings in the piers, e. g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome, Roman engineers were the first and until the industrial revolution the only ones to construct bridges with concrete, which they called Opus caementicium. The outside was covered with brick or ashlar, as in the Alcántara bridge. The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction, trajans bridge over the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood. This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch, early Roman arch bridges, influenced by the ancient notion of the ideal form of the circle, often describe a full circle, with the stone arch continuing underground. A typical example is the Pons Fabricius in Rome, later, Roman masonry bridges rested mostly on semi-circular arches, or, to a lesser extent, on segmental arches. In addition, a number of arch forms make rare appearances. Built in 142 BC, the Pons Aemilius, later named Ponte Rotto is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome and they were most of the time at least 2 metres above the body of water. An example of temporary military bridge construction are the two Caesars Rhine bridges, the largest rivers to be spanned by solid bridges by the Romans were the Danube and the Rhine, the two largest European rivers west of the Eurasian Steppe. The lower Danube was crossed by least two and the middle and lower Rhine by four different bridges, for rivers with strong currents and to allow swift army movements, pontoon bridges were also routinely employed. Going from the lack of records of pre-modern solid bridges spanning larger rivers. Catalogo generale, Vol.2, Treviso, Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6 Gazzola, Piero, Ponti romani. org, Pontes longi - Roman bog bridges
11.
Pons Cestius
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The Pons Cestius is a Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy, spanning the Tiber to the west of the Tiber Island. The original version of bridge was built around the 1st century BC, after the Pons Fabricius. The Pons Cestius is the first bridge that reached the bank of Tiber from the Tiber Island. Several prominent members of the Cestii clan from the 1st century BC are known, in the 4th century the Pons Cestius was rebuilt by the Emperors Valentinian I, Valens and Gratian and re-dedicated in 370 as the Pons Gratiani. The bridge was rebuilt using tuff and peperino, with a facing of travertine, some of the rebuilding material came from the demolished porticus of the nearby Theatre of Marcellus. During the building of the walls along the embankment in 1888–1892. The ancient bridge, which had two arches, was simply not long enough. A new bridge, with three arches, was constructed in its stead, with its central arch reusing about two-thirds of the original material. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin
12.
Janus (mythology)
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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past and it is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus, but according to ancient Roman farmers almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war, the doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest assigned to him, Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year, and was ritually invoked at the beginning of each one, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own, three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god. The first one is based on the definition of Chaos given by Paul the Deacon, hiantem, hiare, be open, in this etymology the notion of Chaos would define the primordial nature of the god. Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius, Ianus would be Apollo and Diana Iana and this explanation has been accepted by A. B. It supports all the assimilations of Janus to the sky, the sun. It supposes a former *Dianus, formed on *dia- < *dy-eð2 from Indo-European root *dey- shine represented in Latin by dies day, Diovis, however the form Dianus postulated by Nigidius is not attested. Modern scholars have conjectured that it derives from the Indo-European root meaning transitional movement, iānus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *yā- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eō, ειμι. Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-, from Ianus derived ianua, and hence the English word janitor. Almost all of modern explanations were originally formulated by the ancients. The function god of beginnings has been expressed in numerous ancient sources, among them most notably Cicero, Ovid. As a god of motion, Janus looks after passages, causes actions to start, since movement and change are interconnected, he has a double nature, symbolised in his two headed image. He has under his tutelage the stepping in and out of the door of homes, the ianua, which took its name from him and he is also present at the Sororium Tigillum, where he guards the terminus of the ways into Rome from Latium. He has an altar, later a temple near the Porta Carmentalis, where the leading to Veii ended, as well as being present on the Janiculum. The connection of the notions of beginning, movement, transition, in general, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven, Jupiter himself can move forth and back because of Januss working. In one of his temples, probably that of Forum Holitorium, Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young peoples growth to adulthood
13.
Herma
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A herma, commonly in English herm, is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. The form originated in Ancient Greece, and was adopted by the Romans, in the earliest times Greek divinities were worshiped in the form of a heap of stones or a shapeless column of stone or wood. In many parts of Greece there were piles of stones by the sides of roads, especially at their crossings, and on the boundaries of lands. The religious respect paid to such heaps of stones, especially at the meeting of roads, is shown by the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on to the heap or anointing it with oil. Later there was the addition of a head and phallus to the column, before his role as protector of merchants and travelers, Hermes was a phallic god, associated with fertility, luck, roads and borders. The surmounting heads were not, however, confined to those of Hermes, those of gods and heroes. In this case a compound was formed, Hermathena, Hermares, Hermaphroditus, Hermanubis, Hermalcibiades, in Athens, where the hermai were most numerous and most venerated, they were placed outside houses as apotropes for good luck. They would be rubbed or anointed with oil and adorned with garlands or wreaths. This superstition persists, for example the Porcellino bronze boar of Florence, in Roman and Renaissance versions, the body was often shown from the waist up. The form was used for portrait busts of famous public figures, especially writers like Socrates. Sappho appears on Ancient Greek herms, and anonymous female figures were used from the Renaissance on. In 415 BC, on a night shortly before the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War and this was a horribly impious act and many people believed it threatened the success of the expedition. Though it was never proven, the Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or Spartan sympathizers from Athens itself, one suspect was the writer Xenophon. The J. Paul Getty museum in Los Angeles has a collection of Roman Herma boundary marker stones in its stored collection. An Aesops fable makes fun of statue of Hermes, when a pious dog offers to anoint it, the god hastily assures his worshipper that this is not necessary
14.
Cicero
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Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy family of the Roman equestrian order. According to Michael Grant, the influence of Cicero upon the history of European literature, Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. Though he was an orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars, following Julius Caesars death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. His severed hands and head were then, as a revenge of Mark Antony. Petrarchs rediscovery of Ciceros letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, humanism, according to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity. Cicero was born in 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town 100 kilometers southeast of Rome and his father was a well-to-do member of the equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being a semi-invalid, he could not enter public life, although little is known about Ciceros mother, Helvia, it was common for the wives of important Roman citizens to be responsible for the management of the household. Ciceros brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife, Ciceros cognomen, or personal surname, comes from the Latin for chickpea, cicer. Plutarch explains that the name was given to one of Ciceros ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. However, it is likely that Ciceros ancestors prospered through the cultivation. Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames, the family names of Fabius, Lentulus, and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this name when he entered politics. During this period in Roman history, cultured meant being able to speak both Latin and Greek, Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite, according to Plutarch, Cicero was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Ciceros fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the latter two became Ciceros friends for life, and Pomponius would become, in Ciceros own words, as a second brother, with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence. Cicero wanted to pursue a career in politics along the steps of the Cursus honorum
15.
Consul
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Consul was the title of one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently a somewhat significant title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other city states and also revived in modern states. The relating adjective is consular, from the consularis, in modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat. The American Heritage Dictionary defines consul as an appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country. Throughout most of southern France, a consul was an equivalent to the échevins of the north. The most prominent were those of Bordeaux and Toulouse, which came to be known as jurats and capitouls, the capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other towns the first consul, was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls. His main task was to levy and collect tax, the Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of consul in its Greek form Hypatos. The city-state of Genoa, unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of consul on various state officials, among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. This institution, with its name, was emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held power, soon making himself consul for life and eventually, in 1804. Chief magistrate, an office held for four months by one of the consuls. As noted above, Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history, while many cities had a double-headed chief magistracy, often another title was used, such as Duumvir or native styles such as Meddix, but consul was used in some. It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state, the founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation was called lex, law. The people elected each year were patricians, members of the upper class. org, see each present country
16.
Tuff
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Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is compacted into a rock in a process called consolidation. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly used as construction material. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered tuffaceous, Tuff is a relatively soft rock, so it has been used for construction since ancient times. Since it is common in Italy the Romans used it often for construction, the Rapa Nui people used it to make most of the moai statues in Easter Island. Tuff can be classified as either sedimentary or igneous rocks and they are usually studied in the context of igneous petrology, although they are sometimes described using sedimentological terms. The material that is expelled in a volcanic eruption can be classified into three types, Volcanic gases, a mixture mostly of water vapour, carbon dioxide. Lava, the name of magma when it emerges and flows over the surface, and tephra, chunks of solid material of all shapes and sizes ejected and thrown through the air. Tephra is made when magma inside the volcano is blown apart by the expansion of hot volcanic gases. It is common for magma to explode as the gas dissolved in it comes out of solution as the pressure decreases when it flows to the surface and these violent explosions produce solid chunks of material that can then fly from the volcano. When these chunks are smaller than 2 mm in diameter they are called volcanic ash and it is made of small, slaggy pieces of lava and rock that have been tossed into the air by outbursts of steam and other gases. Among the loose beds of ash that cover the slopes of many volcanoes, in addition to true ashes of the kind described above, there are lumps of the old lavas and tuffs forming the walls of the crater, etc. In some great volcanic explosions nothing but materials of the kind were emitted. The ashes vary in size from large blocks twenty feet or more in diameter to the minutest impalpable dust, the large masses are called volcanic bombs, they have mostly a rounded, elliptical or pear-shaped form owing to rotation in the air before they solidified. Many of them have ribbed or nodular surfaces, and sometimes they have a crust intersected by many cracks like the surface of a loaf of bread, any ash in which they are very abundant is called an agglomerate. But many volcanoes stand near the sea, and the ashes cast out by them are mingled with the sediments that are gathering at the bottom of the waters, in this way ashy muds or sands or even in some cases ashy limestones are being formed. As a matter of fact most of the found in the older formations contain admixtures of clay, sand, and sometimes fossil shells. The showers of ashes often follow one another after longer or shorter intervals, the coarsest materials or agglomerates show this least distinctly, in the fine beds it is often developed in great perfection
17.
Travertine
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Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored and it is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave. In the latter, it can form stalactites, stalagmites, and it is frequently used in Italy and elsewhere as a building material. Travertine is a sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters. Similar deposits formed from water are known as tufa. The word travertine is derived from the Italian travertino, itself a derivation of the Latin tiburtinus ‘of Tibur’ and its namesake is also the origin of Tivoli, a district near Rome. Modern travertine is formed from geothermally heated supersaturated alkaline waters, with raised pCO2, on emergence, waters degas CO2 due to the lower atmospheric pCO2, resulting in an increase in pH. Since carbonate solubility decreases with increased pH, precipitation is induced, precipitation may be enhanced by factors leading to a reduction in pCO2, for example increased air-water interactions at waterfalls may be important, as may photosynthesis. Precipitation may also be enhanced by evaporation in some springs, both calcite and aragonite are found in hot spring travertines, aragonite is preferentially precipitated when temperatures are hot, while calcite dominates when temperatures are cooler. When pure and fine, travertine is white, but often it is brown to yellow due to impurities, travertine may precipitate out directly onto rock and other inert materials as in Pamukkale or Yellowstone for example. The latter has a historic value, because it was one of the quarries that Gian Lorenzo Bernini selected material from to build the famous Colonnade of St. Peters Square in Rome in 1656-1667. Michaelangelo also chose travertine as the material for the ribs of the dome of St Peters Basilica. Travertine derives its name from the town, known as Tibur in ancient Roman times. The ancient name for the stone was lapis tiburtinus, meaning tibur stone, detailed studies of the Tivoli and Guidonia travertine deposits revealed diurnal and annual rhythmic banding and laminae, which have potential use in geochronology. Cascades of natural lakes formed behind travertine dams can be seen in Pamukkale, Turkey, in Central Europes last post-glacial palaeoclimatic optimum, huge deposits of tufa formed from karst springs. On a smaller scale, these karst processes are still working, travertine has been an important building material since the Middle Ages. Travertine has formed sixteen huge, natural dams in a valley in Croatia known as Plitvice Lakes National Park, clinging to moss and rocks in the water, the travertine has built up over several millennia to form waterfalls up to 70 m in height. In the U. S. the most well-known place for travertine formation is Yellowstone National Park, Oklahoma has two parks dedicated to this natural wonder
18.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
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The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms a source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life, the Corpus continues to be updated in new editions and supplements. CIL also refers to the organization within the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities responsible for collecting data on and it was founded in 1853 by Theodor Mommsen and is the first and major organization aiming at a comprehensive survey. The CIL collects all Latin inscriptions from the territory of the Roman Empire. The earlier volumes collected and published versions of all inscriptions known at the time—most of these had been previously published in a wide range of publications. The language of the CIL is Latin, the leading figure of this committee was Theodor Mommsen. Much of the work involved personal inspections of sites and monuments in an attempt to replicate the original as much as possible, the first volume appeared in 1853. The CIL presently consists of 17 volumes in about 70 parts, thirteen supplementary volumes have plates and special indices. The other volumes cover other topics, volume XVII, for instance, is entirely devoted to milestones. A volume XVIII is planned, which contain the Carmina Latina Epigraphica. A two-volume Index of Numbers, correlating inscription numbers with numbers, was published in 2003. The Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften continues to update and reprint the CIL, epigraphy Inscriptiones Graecae Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae Prosopographia Imperii Romani Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. English translations of selected inscriptions from CIL. attalus. org
19.
Pope Innocent XI
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Pope Innocent XI, born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 21 September 1676 to his death in 1689. He is known in Budapest as the Saviour of Hungary, much of his reign was concerned with tension with Louis XIV of France. A conservative, he lowered taxes in the Papal States during his pontificate, because of this surplus he repudiated excessive nepotism within the church. Innocent XI was frugal in matters of governing the Papal States, once he was elected to the papacy, he applied himself to moral and administrative reform of the Roman Curia. He abolished sinecures and pushed for greater simplicity in preaching as well as greater reverence in worship—requesting this of both the clergy and faithful. Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como on 16 May 1611, the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi and his siblings were Carlo, Lucrezia, Giulio Maria, Constantino, Nicola and Paolo. He also had several descendants of note through his sister, her grandson Cardinal Baldassare Erba-Odescalchi, Cardinal Benedetto Erba Odescalchi. The Odescalchi, a family of nobility, were determined entrepreneurs. In 1619, Benedettos brother founded a bank with his three uncles in Genoa which quickly grew into a successful money-lending business, after completing his studies in grammar and letters, the 15-year-old Benedetto moved to Genoa to take part in the family business as an apprentice. Lucrative economic transactions were established with clients in the major Italian and European cities, such as Nuremberg, Milan, Kraków, in 1626 Benedettos father died, and he began schooling in the humane sciences taught by the Jesuits at his local college, before transferring to Genoa. In 1630 he narrowly survived an outbreak of plague, which killed his mother, some time between 1632 and 1636, Benedetto decided to move to Rome and then Naples in order to study civil law. He subsequently became legate to Ferrara, when he was sent to Ferrara in order to assist the people stricken with a severe famine, the Pope introduced him to the people of Ferrara as the father of the poor. In 1650, Odescalchi became bishop of Novara, in which capacity he spent all the revenues of his see to relieve the poor, with the permission of the pope he resigned as bishop of Novara in favor of his brother Giulio in 1656 and went to Rome. While there he took a prominent part in the consultations of the congregations of which he was a member. Odescalchi was a papal candidate after the death of Pope Clement IX in 1669. After Pope Clement X died, Louis XIV of France again intended to use his influence against Odescalchis election. On 21 September 1676, Odescalchi was chosen to be Clement Xs successor and he chose this name in honour of Pope Innocent X, who made him a cardinal in 1645. He was formally crowned as pontiff on 4 October 1676 by the protodeacon, immediately upon his accession, Innocent XI turned all his efforts towards reducing the expenses of the Curia
20.
Ancient Roman architecture
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Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but differed from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are considered one body of classical architecture. Roman architecture flourished in the Roman Republic and even more so under the Empire and it used new materials, particularly concrete, and newer technologies such as the arch and the dome to make buildings that were typically strong and well-engineered. Large numbers remain in some form across the empire, sometimes complete, Roman Architecture covers the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC to about the 4th century AD, after which it becomes reclassified as Late Antique or Byzantine architecture. Almost no substantial examples survive from before about 100 BC, and most of the major survivals are from the later empire, after about 100 AD. They moved from trabeated construction mostly based on columns and lintels to one based on walls, punctuated by arches. The classical orders now became largely decorative rather than structural, except in colonnades, however, they did not feel entirely restricted by Greek aesthetic concerns, and treated the orders with considerable freedom. Innovation started in the 3rd or 2nd century BC with the development of Roman concrete as a readily available adjunct to, or substitute for, stone, more daring buildings soon followed, with great pillars supporting broad arches and domes. The freedom of concrete also inspired the colonnade screen, a row of decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In smaller-scale architecture, concretes strength freed the floor plan from rectangular cells to a more free-flowing environment, factors such as wealth and high population densities in cities forced the ancient Romans to discover new architectural solutions of their own. The use of vaults and arches, together with a knowledge of building materials. Examples include the aqueducts of Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla and these were reproduced at a smaller scale in most important towns and cities in the Empire. Some surviving structures are almost complete, such as the walls of Lugo in Hispania Tarraconensis. The administrative structure and wealth of the empire made possible very large even in locations remote from the main centres, as did the use of slave labour. Especially under the empire, architecture often served a function, demonstrating the power of the Roman state in general. The influence is evident in many ways, for example, in the introduction and use of the Triclinium in Roman villas as a place, Roman builders employed Greeks in many capacities, especially in the great boom in construction in the early Empire. The Roman Architectural Revolution, also known as the Concrete Revolution, was the use in Roman architecture of the previously little-used architectural forms of the arch, vault. For the first time in history, their potential was fully exploited in the construction of a range of civil engineering structures, public buildings
21.
Roman engineering
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Romans are famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments, although some of their own inventions were improvements on older ideas, concepts and inventions. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, the architecture used in Rome was strongly influenced by Greek and Etruscan sources. Roads were common at time, but the Romans improved their design. Moreover, their contributions were described in detail by authors such as Vitruvius, Frontinus and Pliny the Elder, so there is a printed record of their many inventions. 1,000 cubic metres of water were brought into Rome by 14 different aqueducts each day, per capita water usage in ancient Rome matched that of modern-day cities like New York City or modern Rome. Most water was for use, such as baths and sewers. De aquaeductu is the two volume treatise on 1st century aqueducts of Rome, written by Frontinus. The aqueducts could stretch from 10–100 km long, and typically descended from an elevation of 300 m above sea level at the source, Roman engineers used inverted siphons to move water across a valley if they judged it impractical to build a raised aqueduct. The Roman legions were largely responsible for building the aqueducts, maintenance was often done by slaves. The Romans were among the first civilizations to harness the power of water and they built some of the first watermills outside of Greece for grinding flour and spread the technology for constructing watermills throughout the Mediterranean region. It is known that they were capable of building and operating mining equipment such as crushing mills. Large diameter vertical wheels of Roman vintage, for raising water, have been excavated from the Rio Tinto mines in Southwestern Spain, Roman bridges were among the first large and lasting bridges ever built. They were built with stone, employing the arch as basic structure, built in 142 BC, the Pons Aemilius, later named Ponte Rotto is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. They were normally at least 18 meters above the body of water, an example of temporary military bridge construction are the two Caesars Rhine bridges. The Romans built many dams for water collection, such as the Subiaco dams, one of the Subiaco dams was reputedly the highest ever found or inferred. They built 72 dams in Spain, such as those at Mérida, at one site, Montefurado in Galicia, they appear to have built a dam across the river Sil to expose alluvial gold deposits in the bed of the river. The site is near the spectacular Roman gold mine of Las Medulas, tanks for holding water are also common along aqueduct systems, and numerous examples are known from just one site, the gold mines at Dolaucothi in west Wales. Masonry dams were common in North Africa for providing a water supply from the wadis behind many settlements
22.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
23.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
24.
Ponte Milvio
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The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. A bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC after he had defeated the Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Metaurus, in 115 BC, consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. In 63 BC, letters from the conspirators of the Catiline conspiracy were intercepted here, in AD312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. During the Middle Ages, the bridge was renovated by a monk named Acuzio, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridge was modified by two architects, Giuseppe Valadier and Domenico Pigiani. The bridge was damaged in 1849 by Garibaldis troops, in an attempt to block a French invasion. In 2000s, the bridge began attracting couples, who use a lamppost on the bridge to attach love padlocks as a token of love, the ritual involves the couple locking the padlock to the lamppost, then throwing the key behind them into the Tiber. The ritual was invented by author Federico Moccia for his popular book, after April 13,2007, couples had to stop this habit because that day the lamppost, due to the weight of all padlocks, partially collapsed. However, couples decided to attach their padlocks elsewhere, in fact, all around the bridge, road posts and even garbage bins have been used to place these love padlocks. As an online replacement, a web site has been created allowing couples to use virtual padlocks, in 2007, the mayor of Rome introduced a 50 euro fine on couples found attaching padlocks to the bridge. Similar love padlocks traditions have appeared in Italy and the rest of Europe, in September 2012, the city council decided to remove all padlocks by force. There was a risk that the bridge would collapse under the weight. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Milvio at Wikimedia Commons Pons Mulvius at Structurae Ritual draws sweethearts to Rome bridge article describing the padlock ritual Google Map
25.
Ponte Sant'Angelo
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The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with five arches, three of which are Roman, it was approached by means of ramp from the river. The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a vista of the Castel SantAngelo. It links the rioni of Ponte, and Borgo, to whom the bridge administratively belongs, dante writes in his Comedy that during the jubilee of 1300, due to the large number of pilgrims going and coming from Saint Peter, two separate lanes were arranged on the bridge. During the 1450 jubilee, balustrades of the bridge yielded, due to the crowds of the pilgrims. In response, some houses at the head of the bridge as well as a Roman triumphal arch were pulled down in order to widen the route for pilgrims. For centuries after the 16th century, the bridge was used to expose the bodies of the executed in the nearby Piazza di Ponte, in 1669 Pope Clement IX commissioned replacements for the aging stucco angels by Raffaello da Montelupo, commissioned by Paul III. They are now in the church of SantAndrea delle Fratte, also in Rome, for the Great Jubilee in 2000, the Lungotevere on the right bank between the bridge and the castle became a pedestrian area. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering Notes Sources O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, satellite image Angels of the Passion Multimedia feature from Beliefnet. com
26.
Pons Neronianus
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There is no direct evidence that Nero actually built the bridge named after him. The Emperor Caligula built a circus on the bank of the Tiber. The people of Rome most likely crossed the Pons Neronianus to get to the Circus of Nero, starting with Titus, the victorious Emperors celebrating their Triumphs entered Rome marching across the Pons Neronianus along the Via Triumphalis. Neros bridge was also called Pons Vaticanus, because it connected the Ager Vaticanus to the left bank, the bridge may well have been in ruins in the fourth century. Certainly, by the Middle Ages the bridge was called Pons ruptus, in the fifteenth century Pope Julius II planned to restore it. Neither is it mentioned in Procopius’ account of the siege of Rome by the Goths in 537, the evidence that the Pons Neronianus was out of use by the fourth century was first cited by Henri Jordan. It is based on a passage in Prudentius
27.
Pons Agrippae
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The Pons Agrippae was an ancient bridge across the River Tiber in Rome. It was restored in 147 AD, the bridge is named after Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close friend of the Emperor Augustus. Agrippa married Julia, the daughter of Augustus, and the lived in a villa on the opposite bank of the River Tiber. To connect his villa to the Field of Mars, where Agrippa had built several important monuments, the remains of four piers from the bridge were discovered in 1887, these are still somewhat visible on the right bank, but are mostly under water. These piers are misaligned with the modern current, the Pons Agrippae survived into the Middle Ages, connecting the area of the Palazzo Farnese with the Villa Farnesina, supposedly built on the site of Agrippas villa. One arch of a bridge connected the Palazzo Farnese to the Pons Agrippae is still intact. The Pons Agrippae was demolished when Pope Sixtus IV ordered a new bridge to be constructed, list of Roman bridges The Tiber River, Tiber Bridges, and Tiber Island in Rome
28.
Ponte Sisto
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Ponte Sisto is a bridge in Romes historic centre, spanning the river Tiber. It connects Via dei Pettinari in the Rione of Regola to Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere, currently traffic on the bridge is restricted to pedestrians. The Pons Antoninus was partially destroyed in 772, at the time the Lombard king Desiderius took Rome, the bridge still carries the water of the Acqua Paola across the river in eight large pipes. In 1877, two large cast-iron pedestrian gangways resting on consoles were added to the sides of the bridge
29.
Pons Aemilius
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The Pons Aemilius, today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. Preceded by a version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium with Trastevere, the oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the Via Aurelia was constructed in the mid-2nd century BC. Titus Livius recorded that a bridge in the same location existed in 192 BC. The first stone bridge was constructed by Censor Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in the year 179 BC, the bridges piers date from this early period, although its arches were constructed in 142 BC. The bridge kept its place for several hundred years, although it was repaired, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bridge was damaged several times by floods, with each flood taking a greater and greater toll on the overall structure. It was first severely damaged in 1230 AD, after which it was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XI, finally, floods in 1575 and 1598 carried the eastern half away, resulting in its abandonment as a functioning bridge for several centuries. For many years, it was used as a fishing pier, in 1853, Pope Pius IX had the remnants of the bridge connected to the mainland via an iron footbridge, but the heavy metal weakened the structural integrity of the stone. The remaining half was demolished in 1887 to make room for the Ponte Palatino, list of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 67f. ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Rotto at Wikimedia Commons Pons Aemilius at Structurae The Waters of Rome, Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
30.
Pons Sublicius
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The Pons Sublicius is the earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, spanning the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium downstream from the Tiber Island, near the foot of the Aventine Hill. According to tradition, its construction was ordered by Ancus Marcius around 642 BC, Marcius wished to connect the newly fortified Janiculum Hill on the Etruscan side to the rest of Rome, augmenting the ferry that was there. The bridge was part of public projects that included building a port at Ostia. Legend tells us that the bridge was entirely of wood. The name comes from Latin pons, pontis, bridge, as a sublica was a pick, sublicae implies pointed sticks, that is, the bridge was supported by pilings driven into the riverbed. Julius Caesar’s engineers used this construction to bridge the Rhine, the date of its final disappearance is not known, but it is not in classical times. The Via Latina went over the bridge and connected to the Via Cassia, the bridge was a favorite resort for beggars, who used to sit upon it and demand alms, hence the Latin expression aliquis de ponte for a beggar. The bridge was downstream from the Pons Aemilius, a stone bridge with which it is sometimes confused. Between the two, the Cloaca Maxima, or Great Sewer, was effluent into the Tiber, in the drawing by Friedrich Polack included with this article the pile bridge is falsely shown as a pile pier. Presumably some structure existed prior to 1896, which was incorrectly identified. Otherwise the drawing appears to be accurate in the major details, the observer is standing on the Via Ostiensis at the foot of the Aventine, which is at his back. The stone bridge in evidence is the Pons Aemilius, the Servian Wall goes along the bank of the river, is pierced by the Porta Trigemina and starts up the Aventine. Beyond the gate is the Forum Boarium, in the immediate foreground are the docks, or Navalia. The pier is highly unlikely, as any ship tied up at it as shown would be unstable in the force of the current. Moreover, the masts would have to be shipped for passage under the bridges, one can readily see how unsuitable the river was for sea-going traffic and how necessary the port of Ostia would have been to Rome. The opening of the Cloaca Maxima is between the docks and the stone bridge, beyond the bridge you can just see the Aesculapium on Tiber Island. Looming over the scene is the Capitoline, with the temple of Juppiter Capitolinus upon it. The rising ground on the side of the stone bridge is the Janiculum
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Pons Probi
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The Pons Probi was a bridge over the River Tiber in Ancient Rome, just south of Porta Trigemina. The Pons Probi connected the Aventine Hill to the Trastevere, the Roman bridge was probably built during the reign of the Emperor Probus. In 374 there was a flood of the Tiber. Between 381 and 387 the bridge was renovated or completely rebuilt under the Emperors Theodosius I, in the Middle Ages the bridge became known as the Pons Novus and Pons Marmoreus Theodosii. The bridge was again in the 11th century and later partially destroyed. The remains were demolished in 1484 by order of Pope Sixtus IV. Remains of the bridges ancient piers were visible until the 1870s at low level in the Tiber. The piers of the Pons Probis were finally removed in 1878, list of Roman bridges Pons Probi on The Tiber River, Tiber Bridges, and Tiber Island in Rome Taylor, Rabun Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
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Chesters Bridge
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Chesters Bridge was a Roman bridge over the River North Tyne at Chollerford, Northumberland, England, and adjacent to Chesters Roman fort on Hadrians Wall. The fort, mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, and now identified with the fort found at Chesters, was known as Cilurnum or Cilurvum, in 2016, public access to Chesters Roman bridge abutments was suspended due to flood damage. The remains of the bridge on the east bank of the River North Tyne are approached along a footpath from near Chollerford Bridge and these remains were first located in 1860. They form one of the most impressive and massive structures to be seen on Hadrians Wall. An early inscription on a dedicated to Disciplina, found in 1978, indicates the earliest known military presence was a wing of cavalry. There were at least two bridges on this spot, the first, less massive than its successor, was probably contemporary with the construction of the Wall in AD 122-4. It crossed the river on a series of at least eight hexagonal stone piers about 13 feet apart, the overall length of the bridge between abutments was 200 feet. The masonry appears to have been plain but substantial, and the surviving hexagonal pier bears traces of dovetail cramps of iron set in lead which would have held the stones tightly together. The second bridge was far more massive and the new eastern abutment was a far more massive affair than before, the lewis-holes widen as they penetrate. The lewis consisted of a wedge which, after being inserted in the hole, was widened out to lock into it by the insertion of a strip of metal between the two halves of the wedge. The hook of the crane was passed through the head of the lewis. From this solid abutment there sprang an elegant bridge with four arches supported on three substantial river piers,34 feet apart and its overall length was 189 feet and was intended to take a road carriageway. This second bridge seems to date from the early 3rd century, there is no evidence for any further repair or alteration to the bridge after that date. There is a fertility symbol carved into the northern face of the eastern abutment. However his son John Clayton, an antiquarian, removed all his fathers work, exposing the fort, excavating. John Clayton also made excavations at Housesteads Fort, Carrawburgh Mithraic Temple, Cilurnum Chollerford Bridge Hadrians Wall Low Brunton Petrosomatoglyph Male fertility symbol Roman bridge List of Roman bridges
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Piercebridge Roman Bridge
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Piercebridge Roman Bridge is the ruin of a Roman bridge over the River Tees near the village of Piercebridge, County Durham, England. The bridge carried Dere Street Roman road across the river, Piercebridge Roman Fort guarded the bridge. The Tees has narrowed and changed its course over the centuries so the remains lie in a field around 90 metres south of the current course of the river, what remains of the bridge are massive masonry blocks that formed its piers. The lower courses of one of the abutments still stand, partially complete, all of the timber has disappeared in the nearly 16 centuries since the end of the Roman occupation. From this, and other evidence he argues that the Romans made far greater use of transport than is generally recognised. His views are set out in his books The Piercebridge Formula, On the Trail of the Legions, list of Roman bridges Roman Britain Brigantes Nation - Piercebridge
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Pons Aelius
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Pons Aelius was a fort and Roman settlement at the original eastern end of Hadrians Wall, at the site now occupied by The Castle, Newcastle. The Latin name means Aelian Bridge and can be traced back to when emperor Hadrian visited Britain in AD122, the towns population is estimated to have been around 2,000. The fort is estimated to have been 1.53 acres, as Pons Aelius was a wall fort it is very likely a military road led from it and followed the Wall, linking its forts and milecastles. The bridge and its fort were built at the end of a road, Cades Road, which is speculated to have run from Brough-on-Humber, passing through York. Although the fort was to be the eastern end, it was not long before the wall was extended to Segedunum. There is evidence to suggest the fort was rebuilt in stone and it is also suggested Pons Aelius may have been built to replace an earlier fort at the south of the Tyne at Gateshead. The fort is mentioned once in the Notitia Dignitatum in the 4th/5th centuries, the bridge was the only bridge outside Rome named after an emperor, suggesting a particular importance. Strategically, the fort was sited here to guard the important river-crossing and it would have given the Roman Army an excellent view of the surrounding areas and more importantly it commanded an excellent position at the northern bridgehead. It is also unusual among other forts in being placed at the promontory at Newcastle and this would only allow it to use the west gate for dispersion of troops, while normally all four gates would be used. Despite the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not important among the northern Roman settlements, the most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum through Hadrians Wall and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger, the fort was abandoned around 400 AD and the site was built on by the Anglo-Saxons. Excavations in the 1970s to 1990s found over 600 Anglo-Saxon graves, much of the fort remains buried underneath the medieval Castle Keep. Few excavations have taken place and there is little to see due to the castle, however, the forts praetorium, principia and two granaries are known to be in the environs of the castle adjacent to the castle keep. The remains of a milecastle were found behind the Newcastle Arts Centre. The precise line of Hadrians Wall in the vicinity of the fort has not been found, so it is not known for example if the fort was attached to the Wall, excavations around the castle keep and dredging of the Tyne yielded finds typical of Roman encampments. Here they included pottery shards, engravings, seven altar stones, around eleven building inscriptions, the collection is housed at the Great North Museum, Hancock. The altar stones and inscriptions suggest the gods worshipped included Jupiter, mother goddesses, water-related gods such as Neptune and Oceanus have also been recovered, probably worshipped because of the forts proximity to the river. Some remains of the bridge were thought to have discovered in 1872 during the construction of the Swing Bridge over the Tyne
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Pont Ambroix
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The Pont Ambroix or Pont dAmbrussum was a 1st-century BC Roman bridge in the south of France which was part of the Via Domitia. It crossed the Vidourle at Ambrussum, between todays Gallargues-le-Montueux in the Gard department and Villetelle in the Hérault department, in the High Middle Ages, a chapel devoted to St Mary was added to the structure. Today, only one of the original eleven arches remains in the middle of the river, the bridge was sketched by Anne Rulman in 1620 and the drawing shows only four arches. A1839 lithograph and a painting by Gustave Courbet show two arches, the Vidourlades are violent floods or crues on the Vidourle, During a crue, the water flow increases from a minimum of 3 m3/s to over 3000 m3/s. Floods were recorded 8 October 1723, the floods of 18 November 1745 reduced the bridge from four arches to three. Further major floods occurred 6 October 1812,21 October 1891,21 September 1907, the floods of 7 September 1933 reduced the bridge from two arches to the one we see today. The bridge is a Mérimée list National Monument No, the oppidum is a Mérimée list National Monument No. PA00103760 O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, p
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Pont Flavien
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The Pont Flavien is a Roman bridge across the River Touloubre in Saint-Chamas, Bouches-du-Rhône department, southern France. The single-arch crossing, which was built from limestone, was on a Roman road - the Via Julia Augusta - between Placentia, Italy and Arles, the bridge probably replaced an earlier wooden structure on the same site. It measures 21.4 metres long by 6.2 metres wide, the two arches at either end, each standing 7 metres high with a single wide bay, are constructed of the same local stone as the bridge and are broader than they are tall. At the corners of the arches are fluted Corinthian pilasters at the top of which are carved eagles, lucius Donnius Flavos was evidently a figure of some importance and probably owned land in the vicinity of the bridge. He was a Romanised Gaul who is likely to have been an aristocrat of the Avatici and he was probably also a significant player in the affairs of the nearby city of Arelate, as he served the imperial cult, most likely in one of the citys temples. He may have built his mausoleum nearby, though its location remains unknown, as the inscription indicates, the bridge was constructed at Flavos instigation following his death. Its stylistic elements are typical of funerary monuments, the frieze of the arches decorated with a wave pattern symbolises the constant rebirth of life. The combination of arches and a bridge may have intended to symbolise the passage of life. Because the Pont Flavien was a monument it did not have the triumphal imagery normally associated with Roman arches and does not bear any portrait of Flavos. He would most likely have been depicted in figure at his tomb but this, in the 20s BC, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa carried out a programme of road building in Provence on behalf of the Emperor Augustus, constructing the Via Julia Augusta. This would have given Flavos an opportunity to make his mark in a visible way, proclaiming his dedication to Roman values. Considering also the date of the stylistic elements, the Pont Flavien was most likely built some time between 20 and 10 BC. The bridge was used until as late as the latter part of the 20th century. It has been resurfaced to prevent the collapse of the bridge. The western arch has collapsed at least twice, the first time was in the 18th century and it was rebuilt in 1763 by Jean Chastel, who also restored the sculptures. The second collapse was during the Second World War, when the arch was first damaged when a German tank collided with it and it was rebuilt in 1949 and some years later a modern bridge was built 50 metres to the south to bypass it. The Pont Flavien is now reserved for use only. In 1977, prior to the landscaping of the surrounding area, list of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering Media related to Pont Flavien at Wikimedia Commons Pont Flavien at Structurae Pont Flavien
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Pont du Gard
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The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. The Pont du Gard is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts and it was added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance. The aqueduct bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50-kilometre system built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus. Because of the terrain between the two points, the mostly underground aqueduct followed a long, winding route that called for a bridge across the gorge of the Gardon River. The bridge has three tiers of arches, stands 48.8 m high, and descends a mere 2, the aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 200,000 m3 of water a day to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. After the Roman Empire collapsed and the fell into disuse. It attracted increasing attention starting in the 18th century, and became an important tourist destination, today it is one of Frances most popular tourist attractions, and has attracted the attention of a succession of literary and artistic visitors. The location of Nemausus was somewhat inconvenient when it came to providing a water supply, the only real alternative was to look to the north and in particular to the area around Ucetia, where there are natural springs. The Nîmes aqueduct was built to water from the springs of the Fontaine dEure near Uzès to the castellum divisorum in Nemausus. From there, it was distributed to fountains, baths and private homes around the city, the straight-line distance between the two is only about 20 km but the aqueduct takes a winding route measuring around 50 km. This was necessary to circumvent the southernmost foothills of the Massif Central and they are difficult to cross, as they are covered in dense vegetation and garrigue and indented by deep valleys. It was impractical for the Romans to attempt to tunnel through the hills, a roughly V-shaped course around the eastern end of the Garrigues de Nîmes was therefore the only practical way of transporting the water from the spring to the city. The aqueducts average gradient is only 1 in 3,000 and it varies widely along its course, but is as little as 1 in 20,000 in some sections. The Pont du Gard itself descends 2.5 cm in 456 m, the average gradient between the start and end of the aqueduct is far shallower than was usual for Roman aqueducts – only about a tenth of the average gradient of some of the aqueducts in Rome. This height limit governed the profile and gradients of the entire aqueduct, the gradient profile before the Pont du Gard is relatively steep, descending at 0.67 metres per kilometre, but thereafter it descends by only 6 metres over the remaining 25 kilometres. It is estimated that the aqueduct supplied the city with around 200,000 cubic metres of water a day that took nearly 27 hours to flow from the source to the city. The water arrived in the castellum divisorum at Nîmes – an open, shallow and it would have been surrounded by a balustrade within some sort of enclosure, probably under some kind of small but elaborate pavilion. When it was excavated, traces of a roof, Corinthian columns
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Pont Julien
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The Pont Julien is a Roman stone arch bridge over the Calavon river, in the south-east of France, dating from 3 BC. The supporting columns are notable for openings to allow floodwater to pass through and it is located in the territory of the commune of Bonnieux, north of the village of the same name, and 8 km west of Apt. Originally, it was built on the Via Domitia, an important Roman road which connected Italy to the Roman territories in France and it was used for car traffic until 2005, when a replacement bridge was built to preserve it from wear and tear. This amounts to approximately 2000 years of uninterrupted use, list of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering Murati, Philippe. O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 96f, ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Pont Julien at Wikimedia Commons Pont Julien at Structurae Traianus – Technical investigation of Roman public works
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Pont sur la Laye
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The Pont sur la Laye or Pont roman de Mane is an old stone arch bridge across the stream Laye in the French Provence close to the town Mane. The 40 m long and 3.2 m wide bridge features three arches with a span to rise ratio of up to c. Its spans are 2.80 m,7.90 m and 11, the bridge was built of local limestone whose shape varies according to its function, the arches consist of voussoirs, the spandrel walls of irregular stonework. The main pier is protected both upstream and downstream by large triangular cutwaters out of blocks of stone. The paved roadway rises sharply from the bank to the main arch. The parapet, which has reported as partly removed by O’Connor in 1993, has been apparently repaired in the meantime. Structurae, though, ascribes an early Romanesque origin to the structure, following the Mane homepage, the two side arches, along with their breakwaters, were added as late as the 17th century, which means that the segmental arches are of a relatively late date. O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp
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Pont des Marchands
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The Pont des Marchands is a historic bridge in Narbonne, southern France. It serves as a foundation for a row of houses and shops underneath which the Canal de la Robine runs through the old town and its segmental arch has a span of ca.15 m. In Roman times the structure featured as many as six arches
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Caesar's Rhine bridges
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Caesars Bridge across the Rhine, the first two bridges to cross the Rhine River on record, were built by Julius Caesar and his legionaries during the Gallic War in 55 BC and 53 BC. Strategically successful, they are considered masterpieces of military engineering. During Caesars conquest of Gaul it became necessary to secure the border of the new provinces against marauding Germanic tribes. The tribes felt safe on the side of the Rhine river. He also wanted to support for the Ubians, an allied German tribe across the Rhine. The construction of Caesars first bridge took place most likely between Andernach and Neuwied, downstream of Koblenz on the Rhine River, Book 4 of his commentaries gives technical details of this wooden beam bridge. Double timber pilings were rammed into the end of the river by winching up a large stone and releasing it. The most upstream and downstream pilings were slanted and secured by a beam, conflicting models have been presented based on his description. Separate upstream pilings were used as barriers against flotsam and possible attacks while guard towers protected the entries. The length of the bridge has been estimated to be 140 to 400 m, the depth of the river can reach up to 9.1 m. The construction of this showed that Julius Caesar, and Rome, could go anywhere. Since he had over 40,000 soldiers at his disposal and he crossed with his troops over to the eastern site and burned some villages but found that the tribes of the Sugambri and Suebi had moved eastward. The tribes had come together and were prepared to meet Caesars army in battle and he was only in the area for 18 days and without any major battle he returned to Gaul and cut the bridge down. Two years later, close to the site of the first bridge, possibly at todays Urmitz, Caesar erected a bridge, built in a few days. His expeditionary forces raided the countryside, but did not encounter significant opposition as the Suebi retreated, upon returning to Gaul, the bridge was again taken down. Caesars strategy was effective, as he was able to secure the border of Gaul. He demonstrated that Roman power could easily and at will cross the Rhine, further, his feat served him in establishing his fame at home. With Roman colonization of the Rhine valley more permanent bridges were built later at Castra Vetera, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, Confluentes, speculation about the location of the bridges is due to the temporary nature of the construction and the lack of a precise location in Caesars report
Media related to Pons Fabricius at Wikimedia Commons
