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Moridunum (Carmarthen)
Moridunum was a Roman fort and town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Carmarthen, located in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire (formerly in the county of Dyfed). Fort Moridunum ( "sea fort") was the civitas capital of the Demetae tribe in Roman Wales and was recorded by Ptolemy and in the Antonine Itinerary. The initial fort is believed to date from about AD 75, possibly replacing the hillfort on Merlin's Hill. The fort lasted until about 120, when the associated civilian '' vicus'' took over and the place became a town. A map from 1723 by William Stukeley places Mori dunum (Caermarthen) at the western extremity of the network of Roman roads in Southern Wales. Town A street-grid was laid out in the town and a public bath house built, and possibly a ''mansio''. The forum and basilica were probably under the most built-up area of the present town on the cardo or main street. There were narrow shops fronting the streets, as well as evidence o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population of 14,636, and the built up area had a population of 16,455. It stands on the site of a Roman Britannia, Roman town, and has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales. In the middle ages it comprised twin settlements: ''Old Carmarthen'' around Carmarthen Priory and ''New Carmarthen'' around Carmarthen Castle. The two were merged into one borough in 1546. It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". It was overtaken in size by the mid-19th century, following the growth of settlements in the South Wales Coalfield. History Early history When Roman Britain, Britannia was a Roman province, Carmarthen was the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vicus (Rome)
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 . Each had its own board of officials who oversaw local matters. These administrative divisions are recorded as still in effect at least until the mid-4th century. The word "" was also applied to the smallest administrative unit of a provincial town within the Roman Empire, referring to an ''ad hoc'' provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby military fort or state-owned mining operation. Local government in Rome Each ''vicus'' elected four local magistrates ('' vicomagistri'') who commanded a sort of local police force chosen from among the people of the ''vicus'' by lot. Occasionally the officers of the ''vicomagist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Etymology
Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one through popular usage. The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reinterpreted as resembling more familiar words or morphemes. The term ''folk etymology'' is a loan translation from German ''Volksetymologie'', coined by Ernst Förstemann in 1852. Folk etymology is a productive process in historical linguistics, language change, and social interaction. Reanalysis of a word's history or original form can affect its spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. This is frequently seen in relation to loanwords or words that have become archaic or obsolete. Folk/popular etymology may also refer to a popular false belief about the etymology of a word or phrase that does not lead to a change in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caer
Caer (; or ') is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (''-ceaster'') now variously written as , , and .Allen, Grant"Casters and Chesters" in ''The Cornhill Magazine'', Vol. XLV, pp. 419 ff.Smith, Elder, & Co. (London), 1882. In modern Welsh orthography, caer is usually written as a prefix, although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The Breton equivalent is ''kêr'', which is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix ''Ker-''. Etymology The term is thought to have derived from the Brittonic *''kagro-'' and to be cognate with ''cae'' ("field, enclosed piece of land"). Although stone castles were largely introduced to Wales by the invading Normans, "caer" was and remains used to describe the settlements around some of them as well. An example is the Roman fort at Caernarfon, formerly known in Welsh as ' from its position on the Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavea
The ''cavea'' (Latin language, Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek and Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatres and Roman amphitheatre, amphitheatres. In Roman theatres, the ''cavea'' is traditionally organised in three horizontal sections, corresponding to the social class of the spectators: * the ''ima cavea'' is the lowest part of the ''cavea'' and the one directly surrounding the arena. It was usually reserved for the upper echelons of society. * the ''media cavea'' directly follows the ''ima cavea'' and was open to the general public, though mostly reserved for men. * the ''summa cavea'' is the highest section and was usually open to women and children. Similarly, the front row was called the ''prima cavea'' and the last row was called the ''cavea ultima''. The ''cavea'' was further divided vertically into ''cunei''. A ''cuneus'' (Latin for "wedge"; plural, ''cunei'') was a wedge-shaped division separated by the ''scalae'' or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for viewing". Ancient Greek Theater (structure), theatres were typically built on hillsides and semi-circular in design. The first amphitheatre may have been built at Pompeii around 70 BC. Ancient Roman amphitheatres were oval or circular in plan, with seating tiers that surrounded the central performance area, like a modern open-air stadium. In contrast, both ancient Greek and ancient Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatres were built in a semicircle, with tiered seating rising on one side of the performance area. Modern English parlance uses "amphitheatre" for any structure with sloping seating, including theater (structure), theatre-style stages with spectator seating on only one side, Theatre in the round, theatres in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Temple
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of Roman architecture".Summerson (1980), 25 Their construction and maintenance was a major part of Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, and all towns of any importance had at least one main temple, as well as smaller shrines. The main room ''(cella)'' housed the Cult (religious practice), cult image of the List of Roman deities, deity to whom the temple was votum, dedicated, and often a table for supplementary offerings or libations and a small altar for incense. Behind the cella was a room, or rooms, used by temple attendants for storage of equipment and offerings. The ordinary worshiper rarely entered the cella, and most public ceremonies were performed outside of the cella ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and custom. Scholars such as Christopher Snyder believe that during the 5th and 6th centuries – approximately from 410 when the Roman legions withdrew, to 597 when St Augustine of Canterbury arrived – southern Britain preserved an active sub-Roman culture that survived the attacks from the Anglo-Saxons and even used a vernacular Latin when writing. Arrival of the Romans Roman troops, mainly from nearby provinces, invaded in AD 43, in what is now part of England, during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Over the next few years the province of Britannia was formed, eventually including the whole of what later became England and Wales and parts of Scotland.Kinder, H. & Hilgemann W. ''The Penguin Atlas of Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardo
A ''cardo'' (: ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Rome, ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of Urban planning, city planning. The ''cardo maximus'', or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street. Etymology “Cardo” is the Latin word for "hinge". Being the hinge the turning point of the doors, the word ''cardo'' would also be used to designate other “turning points”, like the North Pole of the sky, or the four ''cardinal'' directions (quattuor ''cardines'' orbis terrarum). Also the “the principal line laid down in surveying land was called ''cardo''", which is also applied to the first street of a city: the street around which the city would be structured. Most Roman cities also had a ''Decumanus, decumanus maximus'', an east–west street that served as a secondary main street. Due to varying geography, in some cities the ''decumanus'' is the main street and the ''cardo'' is secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name to the ''basilica'' architectural form. Originally, a basilica was an ancient Roman public building, where courts were held, as well as serving other official and public functions. Basilicas are typically rectangular buildings with a central nave flanked by two or more longitudinal aisles, with the roof at two levels, being higher in the centre over the nave to admit a clerestory and lower over the side-aisles. An apse at one end, or less frequently at both ends or on the side, usually contained the raised tribunal occupied by the Roman magistrates. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town, usually adjacent to the forum and often opposite a temple in imperial-era forums. Basilicas were also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forum (Roman)
A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls. But such fora functioned secondarily for multiple purposes, including as social meeting places for discussion. Many fora were constructed at remote locations along a road by the magistrate responsible for the road, in which case the forum was the only settlement at the site and had its own name, such as Forum Popili or Forum Livi. Functions In addition to its standard function as a marketplace, a forum was a gathering place of great social significance, and often the scene of diverse activities, including political discussions and debates, rendezvous, meetings, et cetera. In that case, it supplemented the function of a '' conciliabulum''. Every municipality () ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was 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.James W. Ermatinger "The Roman Empire, A Historical Encyclopedia" ABC-CLIO 2018 pp 272-273 Background The roads which traversed the Ancient history, Ancient World were later surveyed, developed and carefully maintained by the Romans, featuring purpose-built rest stops at regular intervals, known as ''castra''. Probably originally established as simple places of military encampment, in process of time they included barracks and magazines of provisions (''Horreum, horrea'') for the troops. Over time the need arose for a more sophisticated form of shelter for travelling dignitaries and officials. The Latin term ''mansio'' is derived from ''manere'', signifying to pass the night a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
