Candentia Moenia: The symbolism of Roman city walls

Fortifications were often the first feature a visitor would notice approaching a Roman city. While their most obvious function was defence and deterrence, city walls also served other purposes within the urban landscape. In the relatively peaceful Augustan period, for example, city walls were donated by the emperor or a member of the imperial family, adding status to an existing city and stressing its connection with Rome. In the same period, new colonies were founded, enclosed by – at times - highly ornate city walls monumentalising the urban appearance. An exploration of the legal sources reveals, furthermore, that the city wall was also used as a reference point for various regulations. They marked the limit inside which certain aspects were prohibited, for example, the burial of the dead. By examining ancient literary sources, inscriptions and archaeological evidence, this paper focuses on the symbolic functions of fortifications and on how they organised the social, legal and religious space within a Roman city.