Internet Archaeol. 17. Allison. Glossary

Section 10: Glossary

Term	Definition
apsidal	refers to a building which has an apse in one or more walls
Augst	oldest Roman colony on the Rhine, established 44 - 43 BCE (Colonia Raurica), now in Switzerland. City (Augusta Raurica) developed in 2nd century CE (see Kaiseraugst)
Augustus	Octavius (63 BCE - 14 CE), first Roman emperor, founder of Julio-Claudian imperial family
BCE	before the Christian era
Bézier ‘splines’	also called Bézier curves. A mathematically precise and efficient method for drawing curves, shapes and lines using computer graphics software. Named after Pierre Bézier who discovered the mathematical formula for creating the splines
Bézier drawing tools	Bézier drawing tools are used to create and edit Bézier splines. Bézier drawing tools are incorporated into many computer graphics applications, for example, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand and Corel Draw
born-GIS data	New GIS data that is created without reference to, or derived from, other data sources
CAD software	Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) software is widely used for drawing architectural and engineering plans. CAD is similar to GIS in that it uses vector-based graphics to represent graphic entities and attributes
Caesar	Gaius Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE), became dictator in 49 BCE
canabae	term used for small village which was established outside walls of fort, usually of a legionary fortress and at same time as fortress (see also vicus) (Latin)
Casa del Menandro	so-called House of the Menander (I 10,4) in Pompeii (Italian)
Cassius Dio	Roman author and Greek senator (c. 164 - after 229 CE). Author of history of Rome from foundation to 229 CE
CE	of the Christian era
centurion	principal professional officer in the Roman army, in charge of eighty men (a century). Six centurions in each cohort (see legion)
century	literally 100 soldiers, later only 80, under the command of a centurion. Smallest unit in a legion (see legion)
cingillum	girdle or belt, reputedly worn by women (Latin)
Claudius	Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (10 BCE - 54 CE), Roman emperor (41 - 54 BCE)
control points	part of Bézier ‘splines’ and can be modified by users to change the attributes of the spline
Correspondence analysis	multivariate statistical analysis that assesses the frequency of occurrence of a set of variables in relation to another set
cross-tab queries	Microsoft Access term describing a method of summarizing large amounts of data using a variety of calculations on data in database tables
cuirass	body armour consisting of breast-plate and back-plate, usually buckled together and reaching to waist
dbf files	database file format used in DBase IV, a popular database in the 1980s that is still widely used for data exchange
epigraphic	pertaining to epigraphy - collective term for inscriptions and term for the study of inscriptions
fibula (fibulae)	brooch or clasp (Latin)
freeborn	not born into slavery and born to freeborn Roman citizen parents
Fürstenberg	hill to north-east of Vetera I
geo-referenced data	data that establishes the relationship between XY co-ordinates on a planar map and known real-world co-ordinates
gagat	jet (German)
Germanicus	Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (born 16/15 BCE), adopted by the emperor Tiberius (4 CE), hence adopted grandson of Augustus, served as commander-in-chief in Gaul and Germany from 13 CE
GIS	Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically-referenced information in a relational database
GPS	Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) is a technology that enables users to accurately locate their geographic position, typically from information transmitted by orbiting satellites and received by hand-held GPS devices
Hadrian's Wall	3m wide wall and forward ditch, built across northern England, from near Newcastle on east to Willowford on west, during the reign of the Roman emperior, Hadrian (possibly c. 117 - 119 CE)
'head-down' digitisation	GIS term referring to a method of data capture that involves the conversion of data in analogue form, such as maps and plans, into a digital form that is directly readable by a computer. 'Head-down' digitization refers to an operator moving a cursor, or puck, over a printed work on a digitising table
'head-up' digitisation	as 'head-down', but 'head-up' digitization refers the digitization of scanned maps that are imported in a computer and digitised, or traced, by an operator using a computer mouse, or tablet
Herodian	Roman author of 3rd century CE, born in eastern empire, wrote history of Roman empire during period 180 - 238 CE
immunes	soldiers with special tasks, e.g. craftsmen, who were excused from routine duties (Latin)
insula	city block (Latin)
Insula del Menandro	city block in Pompeii which includes the Casa del Menandro (Latin)
intaglio	stone with a design incised into it (Italian)
Juvenal	Roman satirist, born between 60 - 70 CE and writing some time between c. 98 - 138 CE
Kaiseraugst	Roman military fort established on Rhine in 3rd century CE, after destruction of city of Augst
Kragenfibeln	collared brooches (German)
Late La Tène	Late phase of La Tène (c. 100 BCE - 100 CE). La Tène is name given to Celtic period (c. 450 BCE - c. 100 CE), taken from site, La Tène, near the Neuenburger Lake in the western part of Switzerland
legacy data	data from obsolete information systems
legatus legionis	Commander of a legion (Latin)
legion	military unit of some 6,000 soldiers under the command of a legate (see legatus legionis). Divided into ten cohorts each of six centuries (see century)
lorica segmentata	name, invented during Renaissance, for Roman armour composed of bands of iron fastened together with buckles and strips of leather (Latin)
milites gregarii	ordinary soldiers or privates, legionaries (Latin)
multivariate analyses	statistical analyses that use two or more variables (e.g. a number of measurements on a pot) to assess for similarities and differences (e.g. between pots) and groups the objects accordingly (see Shennan 1988, 241-291)
New Archaeologists	practitioners, mainly American, of New Archaeology, introduced in the 1960s and popularised by Lewis Binford. Goals of New Archaeology are to 'explain the similiarities and differences in cultural behaviour' (see Trigger 1993, 289-328)
normalised related tables	a relational database term referring to a series of steps followed to obtain a database design that allows for consistent storage and efficient access of data. These steps reduce data redundancy and the chances of data becoming inconsistent
Nz function	Visual Basic function in Access, used to replace null values in tables and queries with a zero, zero length string or other value
OCR	Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is computer software designed to translate images of printed text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text
ODBC driver	Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard software protocol for connecting to relational database management systems. In addition to the ODBC software, a separate module or driver is needed for each database to be accessed
OLE DB provider	OLE is an abbreviation of "Object Linking and Embedding", a proprietary Microsoft technology used to link its software products to database and other software applications
oppidum (oppida)	town, or collection of dwellings (Latin)
Ostia	harbour town of the ancient city of Rome which flourished in 2nd and 3rd centuries CE
Polybius	Greek historian (c. 200 - 118 BCE) who wrote on Rome's rise to dominate the Mediterranean region
polygon	GIS term describing a feature used to represent areas. A polygon is defined by the lines that make up its boundary and a point inside its boundary for identification
praefectus (praefecti)	literally prefect or superintendent, leader of the cohorts, usually of aristocratic status (Latin)
praetorium	camp superintendent's residence, near the principia (Latin)
principia	staff building usually placed at the centre of the fort, with offices and weaponry rooms. Opposite entrance was an assembly area and court room (Latin)
Pseudo-Hyginus	Unknown Roman author, whose essay De munitionibus castrorum (camp fortifications), has survived
puck	GIS term referring to a hand-held device used in association with a digitising table for accurately digitising maps, plans and aerial photographs
relational databases	databases that feature a relational data model that permits the designer to create a consistent logical model of the information to be stored. Data is processed and retrieved using SQL statements. Microsoft Access is the most commonly used relational database management system
sacellum	sanctuary (Latin)
Scole	village in Norfolk, England
senatorial class	highest social class, members eligible to be selected to senate
Septimius Severus	Lucius Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (193 - 211 CE)
'shape' files	GIS term referring to the file format used to exchange data for ArcView or ArcGIS. The filename extension is named .shp
SQL	Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard computer language used with relational databases
strigil	bronze or iron instrument with a curved blade, for scraping the sweat and dirt from the skin after exercise or in bath
stylus (styli)	pointed instrument used as a pen (Latin)
taberna (tabernae)	place of business, shop, office or stall (Latin)
Tacitus	P(?). Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian, born c. 56 CE
terra sigillata	literally 'stamped clay', refers to type of red burnished Roman pottery that often had a maker's stamp in the base (Italian)
tetrarchs	Four emperors who ruled together - Diocletian, Maximian, Galerian and Constantius (293 - 324 CE)
TIFF	Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is a commonly used raster or bitmap graphics file format. A bitmap file represents images as a collection of pixels (dots)
tribune	one of six officer's beneath the commanding officer of a legion, or aristocratic status
unguentarium (unguentaria)	term invented by archaeologists for small bottle, thought to have contained unguents (Latin)
valetudinarium	sick room or hospital (Latin)
Varus	Publius Quintilius Varus ( 46 - 9 CE), Roman general whose three legions were utterly defeated by Germans in the Teutoberg Forest, east of the Rhine (near modern Kalkriese) in 9 CE. Led to withdrawal of Roman army from east bank of Rhine
vector graphics	describes the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons to represent images in computer graphics software
vertices	GIS term describing one of a set of ordered XY co-ordinates that constitute a line
via principalis	main street running across centre of camp, in front of principia (Latin)
vicus (vici)	term used for small village which was often established outside walls of fort, usually at same time as fort (see also canabae) (Latin)
Vindolanda	Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall ( c. 85 - 130 CE)
Vindonissa	Roman legionary fortress (15 - c. 100 CE), in north-west Switzerland, modern Windisch/Brugg
XY coordinates	GIS term describing a two-dimensional, planar co-ordinate system in which X measures horizontal distance and Y measures vertical distance. An XY co-ordinate defines each point on the plane. Relative measures of distance, area, and direction are constant throughout the co-ordinate plane