Glossary
Surveying and planning terms, both Roman and contemporary.
Roman City Planning Terms
Glossary of terms that Romans used to describe city planning elements.
- Term
- Definition
- Basilica
- Courthouse or market building
- Capitolium
- Temple to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva
- Cardo, cardines
- Primary north-south streets
- Chora
- Land/country of an area
- Civitas
- Local government, citizenship
- Colonia
- A colonial city with its territorium
- Curia
- Senate house
- Decumanus
- Primary east-west streets
- Forum
- The center of the Roman city
- Insula
- “Island;” city block
- Lex
- Law
- Macellum
- A market building
- Mundus
- The central point of the planned Roman city
- Municipium
- A city with Latin rights or Roman citizenship
- Oppidum
- A (walled) town
- Pomerium
- The religious boundary around a city
- Propylaea
- Entrance-way or gate
- Quaestor
- The financial officer of a municipium or colonia
- Stoa
- Public covered walkway with shops
- Temenos
- An enclosed sacred space
- Territorium
- The land outside the limits of a Roman city that belonged to the city
- Vectigalis
- Taxable; refers to a colony's land
Roman Surveying Terms
Glossary of terms that Romans used to describe aspects of land surveying.
- Term
- Definition
- Actus, (pl) actus
- A linear measure of 120 Roman feet; a square “actus” was equal to 14,400 square Roman feet.
- Ager
- Land
- Ager arcifinius
- Unsurveyed land
- Ager publicus
- Public land
- Agrimensor
- A Roman land surveyor
- Cadaster
- A large scale land survey undertaken for purposes of taxation
- Cardo, cardines
- A “limes” parallel to the “cardo maximus”
- Cardo maximus
- One of the two principal axes (usually N-S) of a “centuriation”
- Centuria
- An area of land equal to 100 “heredia”
- Centuriation
- “Limitatio,” or, the division of land in which “limites” divide the land into regular squares or rectangles
- Century
- A square or rectangle of a centuriation often divided into 100 plots of land
- Decumanus
- A “limes” parallel to the “decumanus maximus”
- Decumanus maximus
- One of the two principal axes (usually E-W) of a “centuriation”
- Deductio
- Foundation of a colony; the formal act of colonization
- Fines
- Boundary or boundaries
- Forma
- Map or plan
- Groma
- The “groma” was the principal Roman surveying instrument. It was composed of a vertical staff with horizontal cross pieces mounted on a bracket. Each cross piece had a plumb line and plumb bob hanging vertically. Its main use was to survey straight lines, squares, and rectangles.
- Heredium
- An area of land equal to 2 “iugera,” or 0.504 ha.
- Insula, insulae
- Island, a city block
- Iter
- Roadway, journey
- Iter populo non debetur
- “A public right-of-way does not exist over private land.”
- Iugerum, iugera
- Two square “actus” or 28,800 square Roman feet or .0252 ha.
- Lex agraria
- Law from 111 B.C.E. that parsed out land for colonists in Corinth
- Limes, limites
- A road or track or path that forms a division between neighboring centuries
- Limitatio
- “Centuriation” or the division of land by intersecting “limites”
- Mensor
- Measurer
- Mundus
- Central point of the city
- Per strigas
- Regular division of land parallel to the long axis of the colony
- Pes
- Foot. The Roman foot measure is documented in a number of different measures, usually 0.2957 m.
- Quintarius
- A “limes” at a multiple of 5 “centuries” from one of the two principal axes of a “centuriation”
- Rigor
- Straight line boundary without width
- Subsecivum, subseciva
- Unallocated land
- Terminus
- Boundary mark
- Tetrans
- Main intersection
Modern Surveying Terms
Glossary of terms that contemporary surveyors use to describe aspects of land surveying.
- Term
- Definition
- Azimuth
- Angles that are measured clockwise from any reference meridian
- Bearing
- A system of designating direction of lines by means of an angle and quadrant letters
- EDM
- A device for measuring distances using an infrared, radio wave, or laser source to a remote prism, reflector, or solid surface normally integral with an angle measuring device; see also “Total station”
- Global Positioning System (GPS)
- A collection of orbiting satellites transmitting decodable data to ground based receivers for position fixing originally developed for US military use. Differential computations from known based control will allow for more accurate results.
- Grid
- A rectangular pattern of intersecting lines superimposed onto a project drawing to enable plan co-ordinates to be derived. The origin of the grid could be Geographic, National Grid or of Local Assumed Origin. On Local grid an indication of North is usually shown. With the advent of GPS, increasing use will be made of an International standard known as WGS84 as a grid origin especially for trans-frontier projects. A grid of levels or spot heights is often required – it is not economic to observe on a rigid set out basis and is usually according to scale and terrain at an average density of spot heights.
- Survey stations
- A marker established to control a survey, to be given co-ordinates for subsequent setting out or further survey, usually peg, pin in concrete, road nail or ground anchor.
- Total station
- An instrument capable of measuring and recording, by electronic means, bearing, distance and difference in height to another point; see also “EDM”
- Traverse
- A series of consecutive lines whose lengths and directions have been determined from field measurements
- Triangulation point
- Usually a concrete pillar or high ground having co-ordinates relative to a National grid and height datum now being largely superseded by Global Positioning System (GPS) to fewer points but more accessible; also known as geodetic point
- Trigonometrical levelling
- Obtaining height differences by vertical angle and distance using a total station as opposed to conventional spirit levelling using an automatic level (or similar) and vertical staff. Not normally used for monitoring or precise levelling but good accuracy may be obtained for other purposes when using modern instrumentation in correct adjustment.