A dictionary of Greek and Roman . PLASTICA. [Statuaria.] PLAUSTRUM or PLOSTRUM, dim. PLOS-TELLUM (afxa^a, dim. a^alis), a cart or vehicle had commonly two wheels, but some-times four, and it was then called the plaustrummajus. The invention of four-wheeled waggons isattributed to the Phrygians. (Plin. H. N. vii. 56.) Besides the wheels and axle the plaustrum con-sisted of a strong pole (temo), to the hinder part ofwhich was fastened a table of wooden blocks of stone, or other things to be carried,were either laid upon this table without any othersupport, or
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . PLASTICA. [Statuaria.] PLAUSTRUM or PLOSTRUM, dim. PLOS-TELLUM (afxa^a, dim. a^alis), a cart or vehicle had commonly two wheels, but some-times four, and it was then called the plaustrummajus. The invention of four-wheeled waggons isattributed to the Phrygians. (Plin. H. N. vii. 56.) Besides the wheels and axle the plaustrum con-sisted of a strong pole (temo), to the hinder part ofwhich was fastened a table of wooden blocks of stone, or other things to be carried,were either laid upon this table without any othersupport, or an additional security was obtainedby the use either of boards at the sides (virepTepia,Horn. Od. vi. 70 ; Plato, Theaet. p. 467, Heindorf.)or of a large wicker basket tied upon the cart(veipivs, Horn. //. xxiv. 267, Od. xv. 131). Theannexed woodcut, taken from a bas-relief at Rome,exhibits a cart, the body of which is supplied by abasket. Similar vehicles are still used in manyparts of Europe, being employed more especiallyto carry In many cases, though not universally, thewheels were fastened to the axle, which moved, asin our childrens carts, within wooden rings adapt-ed for its reception and fastened to the rings were called in Greek a/jLa^oirodes, inLatin arbusculae. The parts of the axis, which re-volved within them, were sometimes cased withiron. (Vitruv. x. 20. § 14.) The commonest kindof cart-wheel was that called tympanum, thedrum, from its resemblance to the musical instru-ment of the same name. (Varro, de Re Rust. iii. 5 ;Virg. Georg. ii. 444.) It was nearly a foot inthickness, and was made either by sawing thetrunk of a tree across in an horizontal direction, orby nailing together boards of the requisite shapeand size. It is exemplified in tho preceding woodcut, and in the sculptures on the arch ofSeptimius Severus at Rome. Although thesewheels were excellent for keeping the roads inrepair and did not cut up the fields, yet theyrendered it n
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithwilliam18131893, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
