Glossary of Roman Terms   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