Expert: Maria - 1/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Maria,  

My question is about the Aurelian walls of Rome.    

When my wife and I last visited Rome we spent some time visiting and walking along these impressive Roman walls.  
(We found it a fascinating and wonderful experience that we  will never forget.  I could hardly believe that we were actually walking by the ancient walls of the city of Rome!!)

Anyway, I am wondering about the arches and openings  in these walls.

For example,  by  the ancient Roman Porta Asinaria and the renaissance gate Porta San Giovanni,  there are many arches built into wall. Some of these arches span modern highways below that go through the wall.   

I am wondering if these arches were always part of these walls and, if so, did these arches have something to do with  ancient defenses.   Or, were these arches and the openings below   added in modern times.  If so, were these sections of wall torn down (I hope not) and then rebuilt with the arches?

Thank you so much for your help.  

Sincerely,

Rich  



ANSWER: Dear Rich,

the Aurelian walls, as well as the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Colosseum, the triumphal arches  and all the other fascinating ruins of ancient Rome, witness still today the past power and prosperity, in short the magnificence of the Roman Empire.

As for the arches and openings  in the Aurelian  walls [long  about 20 kilometres, 60 feet high,  built of brick-faced concrete  with  square massive towers at intervals of about 100 Roman feet] constructed under the Emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD) to keep out invading barbarians, some  of them date back to the 3rd.century when the walls were first constructed, while others are much earlier like e.g. the Porta Prenestina (today Porta Maggiore), which was built centuries before the wall in 52 AD by the emperor Claudius, and is formed by arches through two aqueducts(the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus), or the Porta Appia (today Porta San Sebastiano) which seems to have incorporated the so-called Arch of Drusus, a marble decorated arch of the Aqua Antoniniana aqueduct over the Via Appia, sometimes  identified with the arch said to have been erected on the death of Nero Claudius Drusus, the father of the emperor Claudius, in 9 BC.

The  arches you refer to were often part of some aqueducts like e.g. the Porta Tiburtina (or Porta San Lorenzo) incorporated in the Aurelian Walls, though originally it was an arch, built under Augustus, in the point in which three aqueducts (Aqua Marcia, Aqua Julia and Aqua Tepula) passed over the Via Tiburtina.

In short, the Aurelian walls first constructed in the second half of the 3rd century AD by the emperor Aurelian, improved under the emperor Honorius in the early 5th century, and restored by Theodoric the Great in the 6th century and by several medieval popes, have  often  incorporated preexisting arches and were remodelled so that e.g. in the 5th century AD doubled their height, by which time the circuit possessed 383 towers and 18 main gates.

Anyway, as far as I know, being not an archaeologist, these arches and the openings were not added in modern times and modern highways you mention are merely the ancient Roman consular roads like via Salaria, via Nomentana, via Tiburtina, via Latina, via Appia, via Tuscolana, via Flaminia, via Aurelia.

This because modern Italian roads often follow the traced route  of the ancient Roman roads, since the Romans were famous for their roads that were essential for the growth of their Empire,just because an excellent road system enabled the Romans to move their legions.

Hope this can be helpful to you.
Best regards,
Maria


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Maria,  

Thank you again for your help with my question.   

I understand that the openings I saw in the walls by Porta San Giovanni exist because this section of the wall was originally part of an aqueduct.

Examining my photographs, I see  4 openings that are adjacent to each other at this location.  One being the Porta Asinaria. One being  Porta San Giovanni.  The other two (which I think are more to the East) is where I saw the vehicular traffic.  I now understand that all 4 openings exist because they were originally arches in an aqueduct.  

I was confused because I had thought that the Romans, for defensive purposes,  would have had only one opening in the wall at his location.    

I find this an extremely interesting subject and really appreciate your insight.  Thank you very, very much.

Sincerely,

Rich

Answer
Dear Rich,

Actually the Aurelian walls, as well all the walls the Romans built all over their empire, had more than only one opening as each gate must be the entrance to the city from different parts of the surroundings.

It’s obvious that every gate must be fortified and defended not only by soldiers, but also by military machines like the catapult or the ballista which stayed on the wall fortifications.

Best regards,
Maria