Diritto augurale romano e concezione giuridico-religiosa delle mura

Roman jurists defined walls and gates as res sanctae and classified them as amongst the res divini iuris. This category constitutes a third group distinct from res sacrae, consecrated to the gods and res religiosae which were the province fo the gods of the underworld. The foundation of this classification, which goes back to an early period, was obscure to classical jurisprudence, as can be seen from Gaius’ definition: Sanctae quoque res, velut muri et portae, quodam modo divini iuris sunt (Gai. 2.8). The interdisciplinary approach which is proposed here is intended to consider the nature of sanctitas, and the relationship between phenomenological, legal and historiographical approaches to the sacredness of the walls and gates of Rome, and to how these may have influenced each other, and changed over time.