Oldtidsagre - Genstandskundskab

170 Nr.1
the use of broad fields. On the other hand, the Germanic mould-board plough made
possible the use of long and narrow fields.
However, RIEITZEN has undervalued the tillage of the Roman farmers. The Romans
possessed all the most important elements of the mould-board plough: the
mould-board, the iron plough-share, and the coulter. This appears from the Roman
agricultural litterature which BEHLEN cites in his book from 1904. Two mouldboards,
one on each side of the plough, were used for the drawing of water-furrows
(BEHLEN 1904, pp. 44-45). It is not so certain that a single m ould-board was used
by the Romans (LESER 1931, p. 238). The eoulter is mentioned by PLINIUS in his
description of the plough in Gallic Rhaetia (Historia naturalis XVIII, XLVIII). Tl1e
coulter was hardly in general use in old Italy. Outside of Italy, however, in the northern
provinces of the Roman empire, the coulter was used, as proven by
archaeological finds (LESER 1931, pp. 232 seq.), e. g. in England (cf. above
pp. 164-165).
Two Roman authors are generally cited in support of the opinion that the Romans
knew the wheel-plough. VERG11. (Georgica I, 169-175), describing the making
of the plough from several kinds of wood, mentions wheels (currus). PLINIUS (Historia
naturalis XVIII, XLVIII) relates that it has lately been invented in Gallic Rhaetia
to give the plough two wheels, “quod genus vocant plaumorati". The word plaumorati
contains apparently in its first syllable the same root as the word plough; for
the rest, it is probably somewhat corrupt. Some people have wanted to find, in the
last part of the word, the same root as in German “Rad”. Others have proposed to
read the sentence this way, “quod genus vocant ploum Raeti", which would indicate
a Rhaetian origin of the word plough (cf. BLOCH 1931, p. 53, note 43).
Unfortunately, there is some doubt regarding the reading of both these sources.
(Cf. (low 1914, pp. 271-275, and A. G. DRACHMANN,S article “Pflug" in PAULY­
\VISSO\VA 1936). If VERGIL knew the wheel-plough when he wrote Georgica, about
30 B.C., it seems queer that PLINIUS could regard this implement as a new invention
about a hundred years later.
If, in spite of philological doubts, it may be admissible to draw any conclusions
from the two sources, it should he observed that both \7ERGIL and Puxivs
place the plough with wheels in Northern Italy. VERGIL knew from his childhood
the region near l\lantua. Gallic Rhaetia was probably in Northern Italy. If the
wheel-plough was known in Italy in antiquity, it was probably used only in the north.
Then as now, the heavy plough could hardly be useful in the subtropical region
of dry summers and wet winters. Implements of the arð-type are also in our days
used in most of the Mediterranean region. It is probable, however, that heavy ploughs
were used in Northern Italy when PL1N1us wrote. The heavy plough is mentioned
by PLINIUS, not only in the famous passage about the Rhaetian plough, but also
where he compares the tillage in Syria and Italy: “Syria quoque tenui sulco arat,
cum multifariam in Italia octoni boves ad singulos vomeres anhelent" (Historia na­