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{{Short description|North–south street in ancient Roman cities}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Italics title}}
[[File:Jerash cardo-maximus.jpg|thumb|Roman ''cardo'' in [[Jerash]], Jordan]]A '''''cardo''''' ({{plural form}}: ''cardines'') was a north–south street in [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] cities and military [[castra|camps]] as an integral component of [[Urban planning|city planning]]. The '''''cardo maximus''''', or most often the ''cardo'',<ref>''The City Walls of Pompeii: Perceptions and Expressions of a Monumental Boundary'' by Ivo van der Graaff, M.A. dissertation. Graduate School of The University of Texas, p. 90.</ref> was the main or central north–south-oriented street.

==Etymology==
“Cardo” is the Latin word for "hinge".<ref>J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref> Being the hinge the turning point of the doors, the word ''cardo'' would also be used to designate other “turning points”, like the North Pole of the sky, or the four ''cardinal'' directions (quattuor ''cardines'' orbis terrarum).<ref>Notice that the English expression ''cardinal'' keeps the original root of ''cardo''; cf. J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref>
Also the “the principal line laid down in surveying land was called ''cardo''",<ref>J. Y. and W. W., “Cardo” in 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities', ed. William Smith, William Wayte. G. E. Marindin (London: John Murray, 1890) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cardo-cn</ref> which is also applied to the first street of a city: the street around which the city would be structured.

Most Roman cities also had a ''[[Decumanus|decumanus maximus]]'', an east–west street that served as a secondary main street. Due to varying geography, in some cities the ''decumanus'' is the main street and the ''cardo'' is secondary, but in general the ''cardo maximus'' served as the primary street. The [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] was normally located at, or close to, the intersection of the ''decumanus'' and the ''cardo''.

==Examples==

===Apamea, Syria===
{{Main|Great Colonnade at Apamea}}
[[File:Apamea Cardo 2010.jpg|thumb|''Cardo maximus'' of Apamea, Syria]]

The ''cardo maximus'' of [[Apamea, Syria]], ran through the centre of the city directly from North to South, linked the principal gates of the city, and was originally surrounded by 1,200 columns with unique spiral fluting, each subsequent column spiralling in the opposite direction. The thoroughfare was about 1.85 kilometres long and 37 metres wide, as it was used for wheeled transport. The great colonnade was erected in the 2nd century and it was still standing until the 12th. The earthquakes of 1157 and 1170 demolished the colonnade. The ''cardo'' was lined on both sides with civic and religious buildings.

===Cologne, Germany===
[[File:Hohe-Straße-Köln-1895.jpg|thumb|Hohe strasse, in Cologne, Germany, was the ''cardo maximus'' of the city in Roman times. (Pictured 1895)]]
[[Hohe Straße|Hohe Strasse]] and [[Schildergasse]] in [[Cologne]], Germany, are examples of streets that have maintained their course and function of ''cardo'' and ''decumanus maximus'' to this day.

===Jerash, Jordan===
The excavations at [[Jerash]], Jordan, have unearthed the remains of an ancient Roman city on the site, with the main feature of the city being a colonnaded ''cardo''. The original road surface survived.
[[File:Jerusalem Cardo 2.JPG|thumb|Remnants of [[The Cardo (Jerusalem)|the ''Cardo'']] of the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]]]]

===Jerusalem===
{{Main|The Cardo (Jerusalem)}}
[[File:Madaba Jerusalem Mosaic.jpg|thumb|[[Madaba Map]] showing the Roman ''cardo'' in Jerusalem]]
During the visit of [[Hadrian]] to [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judea]] in the 130s AD, Jerusalem's ruins were surveyed, and Hadrian decided to build a Roman colony in its place, naming it Colonia [[Aelia Capitolina]], after the Roman deities [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and [[Minerva]] (the [[Capitoline Triad]]), worshiped at the [[Capitoline Hill]] temple in Rome.<ref>Golan 1986.</ref> Like many Roman colonies, Aelia Capitolina was laid out with a [[Hippodamus of Miletus|Hippodamian]] [[grid plan]] of narrower streets and wider avenues.<ref>Bosanquet (1915) discusses at some length the use of Hippodamian street plans in Roman towns. See also Ward Perkins 1995: 141–43.</ref> Notably, the decision was one of the main causes of the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], which shortly encompassed the region.

The main north–south thoroughfare, the ''cardo maximus'', was originally a paved avenue approximately 22.5 meters wide (roughly the width of a six lane highway) which ran southward from the site of the [[Damascus Gate]], terminating at an unknown point. The southern addition to the ''cardo'', constructed under [[Justinian I|Justinian]] in the 6th century AD, extended the road further south to connect the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] with the newly built [[Zion Gate]].<ref>Avigad 1984: 226.</ref> Along its length, the roadway was divided into three parts: two colonnaded covered walks flanking a 12 meter wide road.<ref>Avigad 1984: 221.</ref> The shaded porticoes provided separation of pedestrian traffic from wheeled carts, shelter from the elements, space for small-scale commerce, as well as opportunities for residents and visitors to gather and interact.<ref>At least until the end of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]], the open space of the agora or forum was still the locus of economic activity in the city. The ''cardo'' most likely did not eclipse the open markets in economic importance until after the Islamic Conquest. See Kennedy 1985: 4–5, 12–13.</ref> The central open pavement provided commercial access as well as ritual space. The ''cardo''<nowiki/>'s most striking visual feature was its [[colonnade]], clearly depicted on the [[Madaba Map]].

Simple bases supported monolithic shafts, spaced 5.77 meters apart.<ref>Avigad 1984: 221; Chen 1982: 45.</ref> The shafts supported Byzantine-style [[Corinthian order|Corinthian capitals]] – intricately carved, but more stylized versions of their Classical counterparts. Although this combination of elements was uniform the preserved examples display some variation in the profile and size of the bases, and in the pattern of the capitals.<ref>Avigad 1984: 221, Fig. 273.</ref> Despite aesthetic differences, the approximate height of the base, column, and capital units of the colonnade was five meters, a height which contributed to the spaciousness of the porticoes.<ref>Avigad 1984: 221.</ref> The wall of the ''cardo''<nowiki/>'s eastern portico featured an arcade that housed various stalls and workshops leased by craftsmen and merchants.<ref>For a detailed discussion of the relationship between state and business under the Roman Empire, see Jones 1955.</ref>

The line of the ''cardo maximus'' is still visible on the Jewish Quarter Street, though the original pavement lies several meters below the modern street level. In the 7th century, when Jerusalem fell under Muslim rule, the ''cardo'' became an Arab-style marketplace. Remains of the Byzantine ''cardo'' were found in the Jewish Quarter excavations beginning in 1969.<ref>See Geva 2000 for the final report on stratigraphy of the area. Volumes 1–3 have been published, and the Byzantine ''cardo'' is expected to be included in the 4th volume.</ref>

In 1971, a plan for preserving the ancient street was submitted by architects Peter Bogod, Esther Krendel and [[Shlomo Aronson (landscape architect)|Shlomo Aronson]].<ref>Avigad 1984: 216.</ref> Their proposal relied heavily on the sixth century Madaba Map, a mosaic map of Jerusalem found in 1897 in [[Madaba]], Jordan. The map clearly showed the Roman ''cardo'' as the main artery through the Old City. The architects proposed a covered shopping arcade that would preserve the style of an ancient Roman street using contemporary materials. Their plan was based on the hope that archeologists would find remains of the southern end of the ''cardo'', an extension of the north–south Roman thoroughfare built during the Byzantine era (324–638).

Time was of the essence and mounting pressure to repopulate the Jewish Quarter led to the construction of a superstructure which allowed the residential buildings to be built. At the same time, the archaeologists continued to work below. The project was 180 meters in total and was divided into eight sections to allow for construction teams to move quickly from one section to another. By 1980, 37 housing units and 35 shops were built, incorporating archaeological finds such as a [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] wall from the second century BC and rows of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] columns. The combination of old and new is also visible on the Street of the Jews, where the shops have been set into old vaults and the gallery is covered by an arched roof containing small apertures to allow for natural lighting.[[File:Roman street in Bet She'an National Park, Israel.jpg|thumb|Roman ''cardo'' in Beit She'an, Israel]]

===Beit She'an, Israel===
[[Beit She'an]] was one of a group of 10 [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] cities known as [[Decapolis]] on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Syria and Judea. It was a self-governed city established by the Romans to promote Roman culture. It was built with a central ''cardo'', temples, theaters, baths and other public buildings, and minted its coins.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Cafe-Oleh/Ask-The-Expert/Beit-Shean-revisited Beit She'an revisited], ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''</ref>

===Beirut, Lebanon===
The ''cardo maximus'' was the main north–south street of Roman [[Berytus]]. A section of the street – 100 meters long or so – was discovered during excavation works, flanked by two rows of limestone pedestals. These pedestals once carried 6-meter-high columns supporting roofed colonnades on either side of the street. A stairway in the eastern colonnade gave access to a large building complex.

The ''cardo maximus'' connected the forum to another complex that extended from the present Al-Azariyeh building to [[Riad Al Solh Square]]. Archaeological excavations uncovered two successive levels of the street, the oldest dating to the 2nd century CE. The later, wider street was laid out during the 4th century AD. The floors of the colonnades on both levels of the ''cardo maximus'' were embellished with mosaic pavements. These were covered, in the 6th century CE, with a thin coat of white lime plaster. Fragments of the floors remained in use until the 19th century. Roman columns were re-used in the foundations of later buildings constructed within the pavement of the ''cardo'', reducing the main street of Roman Berytus into a small alley.<ref>Saghieh-Beydoun, Muntaha, 'Allam, Mahmoud, 'Ala'Eddine, Abdallah and Abulhosn, Sana (1998–9), "The Monumental Street ''Cardo Maximus'' and the Replanning of Roman Berytus", Bulletin d'Archéologie et d'Architecture Libanaises 3:95-126.</ref>

===Poreč, Croatia===
In the seaside resort of [[Poreč]], Croatia, both ''cardo maximus'' and ''[[decumanus]]'' have retained their original names and still serve as the main streets of the historic town centre.

== See also ==

* [[Ancient Baths of Alauna]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Avigad, N.  1984.  Discovering Jerusalem.  London: Basil Blackwell.
*Bahat, D.  1990.  The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem, translated by S. Ketko.  New York and London: Simon and Schuster.
*Bosanquet, R. C.  1915.  "Greek and Roman Towns I: Streets".  The Town Planning Review, Vol. 5, No. 4: 286–93.
*Chen, D.  1982.  "Dating the Cardo Maximus in Jerusalem".  Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 114, January–June: 43–45.
*Geva, Hillel, ed.  2000.  Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, Vol. 1.  Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University.
*Golan, D.  1986.  "Hadrian’s decision to supplant 'Jerusalem' by 'Aelia Capitolina".  Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 35, No. 2: 226–39.
*Jones, A.H.M.  1955.  "The Economic Life of the Towns of the Roman Empire".  Recueils de la Societe
*Jean Bodin, VII: la ville.  Brussels: La Librairie Encyclopedique.
*Kennedy, Hugh.  1985.  "From Polis to Madina: Urban Change in Late Antique and Early Islamic Syria". Past and Present, Vol. 106: 3–27.
*Ward Perkins, J. B.  1955.  "Early Roman Towns in Italy".  The Town Planning Review, Vol. 26, No. 3: 126–54.

== External links ==
{{commons category|Cardines}}
*[https://madainproject.com/cardo_maximus Exhaustive and progressing list of cardos with photographs]
*[http://www.jerusalemshots.com/img_en108_1388p1.html Cardo Street] on a Jerusalem photo portal
*[http://www.3disrael.com/jerusalem/cardo_inside.cfm Cardo Virtual Tour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116232009/http://www.3disrael.com/jerusalem/cardo_inside.cfm |date=16 January 2008 }}

[[Category:Ancient Roman city planning]]
[[Category:Meridians (geography)]]
[[Category:Geopositioning markers]]