Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (560 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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porphyry
[Ma].
A type of granite that can be found in red, green, and black varieties, which was quarried in the eastern desert of Egypt for making sculptures and statues during Roman times. There is some evidence that the quarries were under the direct control of the emperors.
port
[Ge].
1
Generally taken as a settlement situated on a river or coast whose occupants were engaged in water-borne trade, commerce, and industry, including fishing.
2
In early medieval England a port was also a specialized kind of market town at which tolls could be collected and which was not necessarily on a river or the coast.
porta decumana
[Co].
Latin name for the rear gate of a Roman fort or camp.
portal
[Co].
A doorway or carriageway in a gate structure.
portal dolmen
[MC].
A class of small stone-built chambered tomb of the early and middle Neolithic along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. The characteristic feature is an H-shaped setting of three slabs taken to be the front of the structure, behind which are further smaller slabs forming the walls of the chamber. The portal setting and the back slabs support a massive capstone which is usually set on a tilt with the highest part over the portal setting and projecting slightly proud of it. A low cairn or platform surrounds the structure, but there is no evidence of covering mounds. Grave goods are scarce, and little is known of the original burial rites.
porta praetoria
[Co].
Latin name for the front gate of a Roman fort or camp, approached by the
via praetoria
leading from the headquarters building, or from the general's tent.
BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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