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The architectural antiquities of Rome - University of Notre Dame ...

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TR I U MPHA L ARC H OF SEPTI M I US SEVE RUS.<br />

PLAT E X I.<br />

VI EW OF THE EAST SIDE OF THE ARCH, TOWARD THE ROMAN FORUM.<br />

PIWCRDI~\0 from the An;h <strong>of</strong> Titus, which was described in the first Number <strong>of</strong> this Work, and<br />

pursuingthecourx<strong>of</strong>thcSou:redWay,wefindoothewestside<strong>of</strong>thcForum,andatthe lOot <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Capitoline Hill,theAn:hoiSEPTIMIUS SEVERUS. It is c:onstructcd <strong>of</strong> whire matbll:,and has<br />

lhro;:aperttii"CIIOI'opcnings.communiealingwithcacbothcrbylater.:U;arches.<br />

Bythcintaiptionontheatticwcan::inf~lha t theSenate:andRoma n l'eopledcdicatedthis<br />

Triumplul An;h in honour <strong>of</strong> lhe Emperor Septimius Sevcrus. fOI' the scvc:r::al victorie~ obtained b}' him<br />

intheEast,inc:onjunctioowithhi•lW'o$0R$,CaracalbandGeta.<br />

Spanianusn::l:neslkltCarnca.lla'shatn:d tow;trds hisbrother(li;Q.Sjoncd himlOer.ueGeta'sname<br />

from all public monumeni.B; and this is confirmed by Fontanini, who discovered lhat the fourth line,<br />

Hoptimi., fortissimisque prindpibus,~ was sunk below theonlim~.rysurf:u:c <strong>of</strong> the m.arble; and by mon:<br />

c,~.rdulobservatiOtl.,hefoundtheholes<strong>of</strong>thecramP"that!ieeuredtheoriginalinscription,and trae:ed it<br />

to have been MEt l'ublio Septimio Ge~ Czs. J>ontif. " 1\ similar erasure <strong>of</strong> the m~.me, and also <strong>of</strong> a<br />

basrelief<strong>of</strong> thefigure<strong>of</strong>Geta,isobservabk intheGold.smithiArcb<br />

T hisArchisdcroratedwith four fluted oolumns on each from <strong>of</strong> thcCompositeOrdcr,dcUched<br />

from the building and placed on pedesWs having pilasters behind them, and iUJiprting a. rich<br />

cnublatu~.ovcrwhichisanatticextendingunintcrru ptedlyinonepanclto theoute r col u mns.<br />

lktweo:n th..c:piloutersarebasreliefs,which,though<strong>of</strong> b;uldesign,nothnvingtheadvant.o.ge<strong>of</strong><br />

pc:rspectiv.:in thdrdi~tribution, and executed in mth.er an inferior manner, yet an: vcryinten:sting,as<br />

they represent the luiXCSiiful expeditions <strong>of</strong> Severus against the l'arthians, Arabians, &c.; :.nd the<br />

.,v.,ntsreo:ordedonthemrnaybo:de>.tlytrae«!byrefaencctotbeaccounts<strong>of</strong>ancientauthors.•<br />

Onbotbfa.ees<strong>of</strong>theArch,aboV

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