Note 585 — LIFE OF C. CÆSAR. (continued 2)

This scheme is not mentioned by any other author that I can find. Circæum, or Circeii, as the Romans called it, is the mountain promontory, now Circello or Circeo, between which and Tarracina lies the southern part of the Pomptine marshes. The intended cut must therefore run nearly in the direction of the Via Appia and to the west of it. But considerable cuttings would be required on that more elevated part of the Campagna which lies between the mountains of Alba and the nearest part of the coast. The basin of the Pomptine marshes is bounded by the offsets of the Alban mountains, the Volscian mountains, and the sea. In the central part it is only a few feet above the sea-level, and in some parts it is below it. When a violent south-west wind raises the sea on the coast between Tarracina and Circeo, the water would be driven into the basin of the Pomptine marshes instead of flowing out. There would therefore be no sufficient fall of water to keep the channel clear, even if the head of the cut, where it originated in the Tiber, were high enough; and that is doubtful. The scheme was probably a canal, which with some locks might be practicable; but if the work could be accomplished, it would probably have no commercial advantages.