MURA E POSTERLA (RESTI) DI ETA' ROMANA

In 1970, excavation for a commercial building here unearthed a substantial stretch of Roman city wall. It runs straight for about 37 metres, northwest to southeast, surviving to varying heights, from a scant ten centimetres to nearly four metres, depending on the uneven ground and the caprices of decay.

The wall is built in opus mixtum, a composite technique of river pebbles, brick, and mortar typical of northern Italian defensive circuits. About three and a half metres from the southern end, a pointed archway cuts through, constructed entirely of brick. Its 24 courses of brick piers support an arch with three parallel brick bands, finished with a ring of trapezoidal bricks. The arch’s springing rests on a chequerboard brick pavement that continues inside, leading to a five-step stair. Each step, 25 to 30 centimetres deep, is brick laid over a double row of pebbles set in mortar. Flanking the stair are two oblique walls, one largely modern restoration. A modest but telling fragment of Roman urban infrastructure.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.