ALETRIUM (mod. Alatri)

This article appears in Volume V01, Page 543 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: AJA-ALL

ALETRIUM (mod. Alatri) , a town of the Hernici, about 6 m. due N. of Frusino, Italy, mentioned in 306 B.C. for its fidelity to Rome. In Cicero's time it was a municipium, and continued in this position throughout the imperial period. It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved fortifications constructed of tetrahedral and polygonal blocks of local limestone well jointed, with maximum dimensions of about 3 by 1 ft.; the outer circuit of the city

wall

WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the
original
- ORIGINAL
O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

measures

MEASURES

about 2 m. It is almost entirely an embanking

wall

WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the
original
- ORIGINAL
O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

, as is the

rule

RULE

in the cities of this part of Italy, with a maximum height, probably, of about 30 ft. Two of the gates (of which there were perhaps five) are still to some extent preserved, and three posterns are to be found. In the centre of the city rises a hill (1647 ft.) which was adopted as the citadel. Remains of the fortifications of three successive periods can be traced, of'which the last, perhaps a little more

recent

RECENT

than that of the city wall, is the best preserved. In the first two periods the construction is rough, while in the third the blocks are very well and finely jointed, and the faces smoothed; they are mostly polygonal in form and are much larger (the maximum about ro by 6 ft.) than those of the city wall. A flat surface was formed partly by smoothing off the

rock

and partly by the erection of huge

terrace

TERRACE (Fr. terrace, terrasse, from It. terraccia, terrazzo, Lat. terra, earth)

walls which rise to a height of over 50 ft., enclosing a roughly rectangular area of 235 by 115 yds. Two approaches to the citadel were constructed, both passing through the wall; the openings of both are rectangular. The

architrave

ARCHITRAVE (from Lat. arcus, an arch, and trabs, trabem, a beam)

of the larger, known as Porta di Civita,

measures

MEASURES

about 17 ft. in length, 5 ft. in height, 6 ft. in thickness; while that of the smaller is decorated with three phalli in relief. Later, though probably in ancient times, a ramp was added on the northern side. In the centre of the arx was a building on the site of the present

cathedral

CATHEDRAL

, of which only a small portion is preserved. Remains of a high-pressure aqueduct, which supplied the town with water and was constructed with other public buildings (Corp. Inscr. Lat. x., Berlin, 1883, p. 5807) by L. Betilienus Varus, may still be traced. A temple was excavated in 1889 about :1m. to the north of the town, and many fragments of the painted terra-cottas with which it was decorated were found. A reconstruction of it has been erected in the Museo di Villa Giulia at Rome. The present town (pop. in 1Q01, 15,322) has a picturesque aspect, and contains many buildings in the

Gothic

GOTHIC

style.
See R. Bassel, Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung, 1881, I21, p. 134; H. Winnefeld, Ramische Mitteilungen, 1889, 126; G. Fiorelli in Notizie degli Scavi, 1882, 417. (T. As.)

End of Article: ALETRIUM (mod. Alatri)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/AJA_ALL/ALETRIUM_mod_Alatri_.html">
ALETRIUM (mod. Alatri)
</a>

(Previous)
ALETHIOLOGY (from the Gr. aX170sta, truth)

(Next)
ALEURITES (Gr. a))evpirlr, pertaining to iiXevp...

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email