Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Caementicius

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

CAEMENTI'CIUS. Built of unhewn stones. The ancients adopted two ways of building with rough quarry stones; one, in which very large irregular masses were laid together without mortar but having the interstices filled in with the smaller chippings, as shown in the illustration (Caementicius/1.1) above, which represents a portion of the very ancient walls of Tiryns; this kind they termed caementicia structura antiqua. (Vitruv. ii. 8. Liv. xxi. 11.) The other, very generally practised by the Romans, consisted of small irregular pieces, imbedded in mortar, so as to take any architectural form, as shown by the annexed illustration (Caementicius/1.2), which represents a portion of the Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli, the ancient Tibur. This was called caementicia structura incerta (Vitruv. ii. 8.), and was mostly intended to be covered over by a coating of cement.

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  Caementicius/1.1
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  Caementicius/1.2