A dictionary of Greek and Roman . ad used in sounding (eV t£ &oXi£eiv), or fathom-ing the depth of water in navigation. The modeof employing this instrument appears to have un-dergone no change for more than two thousandyears, and is described with exactness in the ac-count of St. Pauls voyage and shipwreck at Me-lite. (Acts, xxvii. 28.) A cylindrical piece oflead was attached to a long line, so as to admit ofbeing thrown into the water in advance of thevessel, and to sink rapidly to the bottom, the linebeing marked with a knot at each fathom, to mea-sure the depth. (Isid. Orig.
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . ad used in sounding (eV t£ &oXi£eiv), or fathom-ing the depth of water in navigation. The modeof employing this instrument appears to have un-dergone no change for more than two thousandyears, and is described with exactness in the ac-count of St. Pauls voyage and shipwreck at Me-lite. (Acts, xxvii. 28.) A cylindrical piece oflead was attached to a long line, so as to admit ofbeing thrown into the water in advance of thevessel, and to sink rapidly to the bottom, the linebeing marked with a knot at each fathom, to mea-sure the depth. (Isid. Orig. xix. 4 ; Eustath. inII. v. 396.) By smearing the bottom of the leadwith tallow (unctum, Lucilius, ap. Isid. I. c), spe-cimens of the ground were brought up, showingwhether it was clay (Herod, ii. 5), gravel, or hardrock. [J. CATAPULTA. [Tormentum.] CATARACTA (KaTappdKrrjs), a portcullis, socalled because it fell with great force and a loudnoise. According to Vegetius (De lie Mil. iv. 4),it was an additional defence, suspended by iron. CATENA. rings and ropes, before the gates of a city, in sucha manner that, when the enemy had come up tothe gates, the portcullis might be let down so as toshut them in, and to enable the besieged to assailthem from above. In the accompanying plan ofthe principal entrance to Pompeii, there are twosideways for foot passengers, and a road betweenthem, fourteen feet wide, for carriages. The gateswere placed at A, A, turning on pivots [Cardo],as is proved by the holes in the pavement, whichstill remain. This end of the road was nearest tothe town; in the opposite direction, the road ledinto the country. The portcullis was at B, B, andwas made to slide in grooves cut in the walls. Thesideways, secured with smaller gates, were roofedin, whereas the portion of the main road betweenthe gates (A, A) and the portcullis (B, B) was opento the sky. When, therefore, an attack wasmade, the assailants were either excluded by theportcullis; or, if they force
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithwilliam18131893, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
