PORTA TIBURTINA
a gate in the Aurelian wall (III. 44), by which the
VIA
TIBURTINA (q.v.) left the city (DMH). In the eighth century it was known
as Porta S. Laurentii, because it led to the church of that name (GMU 88;
R ii. 406). There seems to be no trace in the present gate of any work
by Aurelian, who may have simply restricted himself to flanking with two
towers the arch by which the aquae Marcia, Tepula and Iulia crossed the
road. This was rebuilt by Augustus in 5 B.C., and also bears inscriptions
of Vespasian and Septimius Severus, relating to the aqueducts (
CIL vi.
1244-1246). From the bull's head on the keystone of the arch came the
name porta Taurina, which we find in the Liber Pontificalis in the lives
of Alexander I (
LPD i. 127) and Anastasius I (ib. 258) as well as in the
Mirabilia (
Jord. ii. 319-328); while Magister Gregorius (
JRS 1919, 20,
46) gives both porta Tiburtina and porta Aquileia, que nunc Sancti
Laurentii dicitur, in his list.
The gate was restored by Honorius, as the inscription over the stone
outer arch records (
CIL vi. 1190).
1 He also built the inner arch
2 in stone,
most of which was removed by Pius IX in 1869, and, according to
Lanciani, raised the level, here and elsewhere, from 9 to 13 feet; but the
difference between the levels of the Augustan and Flavian periods has
now been more accurately determined as 1.38 metre (41 feet), while there
was a rise of only 1 cm. up to the time of Honorius (Jord. i. I. 356-358;
LR 76-77;
PBS iii. 85-88; T viii. 9-14;
BC 1892, 111;
1917, 207-214).
