Copyright © 2012 by Nigel G Wilcox · All Rights reserved · E-Mail: ngwilcox@gmx.co.uk
The Roman Empire - Glossary of Terms Used
·abutment
masonry platform or earth embankment supporting the central structure of a bridge
·agger
cambered embankment-mound carrying a Roman road
·ala
unit of cavalry in the Roman auxiliary army
·ambulatory
covered portico surrounding the inner shrine of a temple
·amphitheatre
a place where Romans went to watch animals and people fighting
·apodyterium
undressing room in a bath-suite
·architrave
the horizontal member above two columns (piers, etc.), spanning the interval between them
·bailey
fortified enclosure in a medieval castle
·ballista
artillery- weapon discharging arrows and stone balls
·basilica
town hall
·berm
in military defences, the level space between two features (e.g. ditch and rampart)
·bonding-course
bands of brickwork (or occasionally stone slabs) which alternate with wider sections of regular stonework; they normally run through the entire thickness of the wall, presumably to give cohesion and stability to the mortared rubble-core; they were also useful as levelling courses during construction
·breastwork
the vertical timber-work built on top of the earth rampart of a fort to provide screening for the sentry
·caldarium
hot room (moist heat) in a bath-suite
·cella
inner shrine of a temple
·centuria
unit of 80 legionary soldiers, commanded by a centurion
·chi- rho
Christian symbol composed of the first two letters of the Greek name for Christ (Xp-Cros); see
·civitas
tribal unit
·clavicula
in a Roman camp, curved extension of rampart (and ditch) protecting a gateway
·cohort
unit of infantry soldiers, legionary or auxiliary
·colonia
settlement of retired legionaries; for York a title of honour
·crop-mark
colour-differentiation in standing crops or vegetation (best seen from the air), indicating the presence of buried ancient features
·cross-hall
covered assembly- area in the headquarters building of a fort
·culvert
drainage- channel
·curtain
wall of fortification
·dado
continuous border round the lower part of a wall decorated with painted plaster
·field-system
regular pattern of rectangular fields attached to an ancient farming settlement
·flue-arch
underfloor arch in a hypocaust allowing hot air to pass from furnace to room, or from one heated room to another
·flue-tiles
open-ended, box-shaped tiles built in the thickness of the walls of a room heated by hypocaust
·frieze
horizontal band above an architrave, sometimes carved with sculpture
·frigidarium
cold room in a bath-suite
·graffito
writing scratched on tile, pottery, plaster, etc.
·guilloche
on mosaics, decorative feature consisting of two or more intertwining bands herringbone. descriptive of a style of construction in which stonework or tiles are set in zig-zag pattern
·hypocaust
Roman method of central heating: The floor was raised, usually on pilae, and flue-tiles acting as 'chimneys' were built in the thickness of the walls. The draught created by these flues enabled hot air to be drawn from the stoke-hole on the right in fig 4), where brushwood or other fuel was burnt, to circulate under the floor, and to escape up the wall-flues to the air outside. In the channelled type of hypocaust, the hot air circulated not around pilae but through narrow channels built under the floor
·imbrex
semi-circular roofing-tile, linking two flat tiles (tegulae)
·in situ
Latin expression meaning "in its original position"
·jamb
side-post of a doorway or window
·laconicum
hot room (dry heat) in a bath-suite
·latrine
Lavatory
·leet
a special annual or semiannual court in which the lords of certain manors had jurisdiction over local disputes.
·Lintel
wooden beam or stone slab lying horizontally above a doorway (or window)
·mansio
an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.
·milestone
A Roman mile is 1,000 paces and a milestone was set up to mark each mile. Each milestone had a dedication to the Emperor of the day. At the high of the expansion of the Empire, roads were built at the rate of 1 kilometre every day.
·monogram
set of letters combined into one (used of Chi-Rho)
·mosaic
floor composed of pieces of coloured tesserae to form geometric or figured designs
·parapet
top of a Roman fortification consisting of a wallwalk and battlements
·pediment
triangular gabled end of a roof (usually used of temples)
·pilae
pillars of brick (or stone) supporting the floor of a room with a hypocaust
·pilaster
column or pillar incorporated in, but projecting from, a wall
·piscina
swimming-bath in a public bath- house
·plinth
projecting course at the foot of a wall; also used of a base, e.g. for an altar
·podium
raised platform (especially used of temples)
·portal
doorway or carriageway, especially of a fort-gateway
·post-hole
hole dug to receive a wooden upright
·postern
minor gate or door in a late Roman town- or fortwall
·posting-station
small town on a main road, where travelling officials could find an inn (mansio)
·principia
headquarters building of a Roman fort
·procurator
government financial administrator
·putlog holes
row(s) of square or rectangular holes in a masonry wall which held horizontal scaffolding timbers during construction; on completion of the work they were plugged with loose material, since fallen out
·relieving arch
arch built as part of a solid wall to take the weight of the construction above, and to divert it from weak points such as doors and windows lower down revetment. facing of one material given to a structure of a different material (eg stone wall given to an earth bank) roundel. circular panel containing a design (eg on mosaics)
·sacellum
shrine in a fort's headquarters building
·samian
high-quality, red-coated pottery, imported from the continent (mainly from France)
·sarcophagus
coffin of stone or lead
·Saxon Shore
coast of SE England exposed to Saxon pirate raids
·sleeper wall
low wall supporting a raised floor, especially in a granary
·springer
the voussoir which rests on the cap above a jamb and marks the beginning of an arch stoke-hole. furnace-area for a hypocaust
·street- grid
regular pattern of streets crossing at right-angles
·sudatorium
hot room (dry heat) in a bath-suite
·tepidarium
warm room (moist heat) in a bath-suite
·tessellated
composed of tesserae, usually of a floor without decoration tesserae small cubes of coloured stone, glass or tile, of which a mosaic or tessellated floor is composed
·titulum
short detached stretch of rampart (and ditch) protecting the gateway of a marching camp
·tribunal
platform for commanding officer in principia, or on a parade-ground
·triclinium
dining-room
·vexillatio
detachment of a legion (normally 1,000 men)
·vexillalion fortress
campaign base for legionaries and auxiliaries
·via decumana
road in a fort running from back of principia to back gate
·via principalis
road in a fort linking the gates in the long sides and passing in front of the principia
·vicus
small civilian settlement, especially one outside a fort
·voussoir
wedge-shaped stone forming one of the units of an arch
·wall-walk
level platform for the sentry on top of a fortification (see parapet)
·wattle-and-daub
wall-construction consisting of wickerwork plastered with mud
masonry platform or earth embankment supporting the central structure of a bridge
·agger
cambered embankment-mound carrying a Roman road
·ala
unit of cavalry in the Roman auxiliary army
·ambulatory
covered portico surrounding the inner shrine of a temple
·amphitheatre
a place where Romans went to watch animals and people fighting
·apodyterium
undressing room in a bath-suite
·architrave
the horizontal member above two columns (piers, etc.), spanning the interval between them
·bailey
fortified enclosure in a medieval castle
·ballista
artillery- weapon discharging arrows and stone balls
·basilica
town hall
·berm
in military defences, the level space between two features (e.g. ditch and rampart)
·bonding-course
bands of brickwork (or occasionally stone slabs) which alternate with wider sections of regular stonework; they normally run through the entire thickness of the wall, presumably to give cohesion and stability to the mortared rubble-core; they were also useful as levelling courses during construction
·breastwork
the vertical timber-work built on top of the earth rampart of a fort to provide screening for the sentry
·caldarium
hot room (moist heat) in a bath-suite
·cella
inner shrine of a temple
·centuria
unit of 80 legionary soldiers, commanded by a centurion
·chi- rho
Christian symbol composed of the first two letters of the Greek name for Christ (Xp-Cros); see
·civitas
tribal unit
·clavicula
in a Roman camp, curved extension of rampart (and ditch) protecting a gateway
·cohort
unit of infantry soldiers, legionary or auxiliary
·colonia
settlement of retired legionaries; for York a title of honour
·crop-mark
colour-differentiation in standing crops or vegetation (best seen from the air), indicating the presence of buried ancient features
·cross-hall
covered assembly- area in the headquarters building of a fort
·culvert
drainage- channel
·curtain
wall of fortification
·dado
continuous border round the lower part of a wall decorated with painted plaster
·field-system
regular pattern of rectangular fields attached to an ancient farming settlement
·flue-arch
underfloor arch in a hypocaust allowing hot air to pass from furnace to room, or from one heated room to another
·flue-tiles
open-ended, box-shaped tiles built in the thickness of the walls of a room heated by hypocaust
·frieze
horizontal band above an architrave, sometimes carved with sculpture
·frigidarium
cold room in a bath-suite
·graffito
writing scratched on tile, pottery, plaster, etc.
·guilloche
on mosaics, decorative feature consisting of two or more intertwining bands herringbone. descriptive of a style of construction in which stonework or tiles are set in zig-zag pattern
·hypocaust
Roman method of central heating: The floor was raised, usually on pilae, and flue-tiles acting as 'chimneys' were built in the thickness of the walls. The draught created by these flues enabled hot air to be drawn from the stoke-hole on the right in fig 4), where brushwood or other fuel was burnt, to circulate under the floor, and to escape up the wall-flues to the air outside. In the channelled type of hypocaust, the hot air circulated not around pilae but through narrow channels built under the floor
·imbrex
semi-circular roofing-tile, linking two flat tiles (tegulae)
·in situ
Latin expression meaning "in its original position"
·jamb
side-post of a doorway or window
·laconicum
hot room (dry heat) in a bath-suite
·latrine
Lavatory
·leet
a special annual or semiannual court in which the lords of certain manors had jurisdiction over local disputes.
·Lintel
wooden beam or stone slab lying horizontally above a doorway (or window)
·mansio
an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.
·milestone
A Roman mile is 1,000 paces and a milestone was set up to mark each mile. Each milestone had a dedication to the Emperor of the day. At the high of the expansion of the Empire, roads were built at the rate of 1 kilometre every day.
·monogram
set of letters combined into one (used of Chi-Rho)
·mosaic
floor composed of pieces of coloured tesserae to form geometric or figured designs
·parapet
top of a Roman fortification consisting of a wallwalk and battlements
·pediment
triangular gabled end of a roof (usually used of temples)
·pilae
pillars of brick (or stone) supporting the floor of a room with a hypocaust
·pilaster
column or pillar incorporated in, but projecting from, a wall
·piscina
swimming-bath in a public bath- house
·plinth
projecting course at the foot of a wall; also used of a base, e.g. for an altar
·podium
raised platform (especially used of temples)
·portal
doorway or carriageway, especially of a fort-gateway
·post-hole
hole dug to receive a wooden upright
·postern
minor gate or door in a late Roman town- or fortwall
·posting-station
small town on a main road, where travelling officials could find an inn (mansio)
·principia
headquarters building of a Roman fort
·procurator
government financial administrator
·putlog holes
row(s) of square or rectangular holes in a masonry wall which held horizontal scaffolding timbers during construction; on completion of the work they were plugged with loose material, since fallen out
·relieving arch
arch built as part of a solid wall to take the weight of the construction above, and to divert it from weak points such as doors and windows lower down revetment. facing of one material given to a structure of a different material (eg stone wall given to an earth bank) roundel. circular panel containing a design (eg on mosaics)
·sacellum
shrine in a fort's headquarters building
·samian
high-quality, red-coated pottery, imported from the continent (mainly from France)
·sarcophagus
coffin of stone or lead
·Saxon Shore
coast of SE England exposed to Saxon pirate raids
·sleeper wall
low wall supporting a raised floor, especially in a granary
·springer
the voussoir which rests on the cap above a jamb and marks the beginning of an arch stoke-hole. furnace-area for a hypocaust
·street- grid
regular pattern of streets crossing at right-angles
·sudatorium
hot room (dry heat) in a bath-suite
·tepidarium
warm room (moist heat) in a bath-suite
·tessellated
composed of tesserae, usually of a floor without decoration tesserae small cubes of coloured stone, glass or tile, of which a mosaic or tessellated floor is composed
·titulum
short detached stretch of rampart (and ditch) protecting the gateway of a marching camp
·tribunal
platform for commanding officer in principia, or on a parade-ground
·triclinium
dining-room
·vexillatio
detachment of a legion (normally 1,000 men)
·vexillalion fortress
campaign base for legionaries and auxiliaries
·via decumana
road in a fort running from back of principia to back gate
·via principalis
road in a fort linking the gates in the long sides and passing in front of the principia
·vicus
small civilian settlement, especially one outside a fort
·voussoir
wedge-shaped stone forming one of the units of an arch
·wall-walk
level platform for the sentry on top of a fortification (see parapet)
·wattle-and-daub
wall-construction consisting of wickerwork plastered with mud
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