Roman Glossary
| Ager | The raised mound of a Roman road |
| Ala | A 'wing', used to describe a Roman auxiliary cavalry unit |
| Ansate | A panel, usually an inscription, with triangular projections on either side |
| Ashlar | Dressed stonework |
| Auxilia | Roman troops, normally non-citizens |
| Ballista | Catapult resembling a very large crossbow (also spelled ballistra) |
| Ballistarium | Derived front ballista, a catapult, and may mean either a workshop associated with production of artillery equipment or perhaps a catapult emplacement |
| Caldarium | Hot room in a bath-suite |
| Cheiroballista | Small catapult similar to large crossbow (also spelled cheiroballistra) |
| Cohort | Roman auxiliary infantry unit (cohors) |
| Cuneus | Roman
auxiliary irregular cavalry unit |
| Dattinatio memoriae' | Damnation of
his memory', normally expressed by erasing an individual's name from inscriptions |
| Denarius | Silver coin around the size of a modern penny- At the end of the first century a Roman legionary was paid 225 a year but this figure was steadily raised. Auxiliaries -ere paid significantly less |
| Diploma | Inscribed bronze tablet about, 130mm by
130mm, and the recording the official honourable discharge of troops after 25 years
service, and the grant of privileges. These privileges included citizenship for each man,
his children, and the legalisation of his marriage. Diplomas
(diplomata) name the units, the men concerned,
the emperor, the governor, and are normally dated to a specific day and year; the are
consequently exceptionally useful sources of evidence for provincial governors and
garrisons. The tablet was fastened to
another, bearing the names of witnesses, and sealed to ensure its authenticity. Each diploma was a miniature copy of the original
set up in Rome. The term is a modern one,
using the Latin word for an official letter of recommendation or favour written by the
emperor or a magistrate. |
| Frigidarium | Cold room in a bath-suite, normally a cold plunge pool |
| Horreum | Granary |
| Hypocaust | Heating system based on the
transmission of hot air through channels under |
| Laconicum | Dry-heat room in a bath-suite |
| Milecastle | Walled enclosure appearing every Roman mile attached to the south face of the Wall with a gate in the north (Wall) and south sides, enclosing about 250-300 square metres. The term is entirely modern and has no Roman equivalent. |
| Notitia Diginitatum | Late Roman document, surviving in
medieval copies, which lists Roman military units and their forts. It is compromised by
gaps and mistakes but is nevertheless a vital source. |
| Nutnerus | Irregular
auxiliary infantry unit |
| Onager | Wheel-mounted siege engine with ammunition ejected from an arm powered by twisted ropes |
| Praetorium | Commanding officer's house |
| Principia | Fort headquarters building |
| Short axis | Applied to a milecastle where the dimension between the north and south gates is less than the width of the milecastle |
| Stanegate | Roman road running west from Corbridge |
| Tepidarium | Warm room in a bath-suite |
| Trajan's Column | Stone column in Rome with a stone relief spiraling all the way up, depicting various scenes from Trajan's campaigns. It is an exceptionally valuable source for Roman military activity and buildings. Casts of the relief are in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London |
| Triclinium | Dining room |
| Turret | Small tower built at ½ mile intervals between milecastles on Hadrian's Wall. |
| Valectudinarium | Military hospital |
| Vallum | Literally a wall or rampart, but now used to describe the ditch and mound system to the south of Hadrian's Wall. |
| Via Principalis | The main road across a Roman fort, passing in front of the principia |
| Vicus | Civilian
settlement outside a fort |
| Wing walls | Short
stretches of Hadrian's Wall built on either side of a feature
such as a turret to receive the Wall when it was completed |