Rambles in Rome / An Archæological and Historical Guide to the Museums, Galleries, Villas, Churches, and Antiquities of Rome and the Campagna

by S. Russell Forbes

WALL OF THE LATINS,

built by the Latins under Ancus Martius, when he added the Aventine to the city.

The cliff has been scarped to the depth of 60 feet, and a terrace made on the ledge on which the wall stands, consisting of blocks of tufa. It was originally 12 feet thick, and in one part an arch is introduced for catapults, similar to those we have seen in ruins on the Palatine. The back of this part of the wall is a mass of concrete backing. At the foot of the wall was a trench, afterwards filled up, in which deep wells have been made for interments. Under the hill of S. Saba, below the cottage opposite, are traces of another early fortification formed of masses of concrete, originally faced with large blocks of tufa. The road here ran through the Porta Randusculana, in the fortifications of the seven hills.

In this vineyard are also some remains of