Amburbium
amburbium city circuit ambire go around urb city plural amburbia ancient roman festival purifying city lustration lustratio urbis took form procession perhaps along old servian wall though length kilometer would seem impractical circumambulate distinct festival held annually likely month february date recorded ritual may performed crisis rite needed amburbium hard distinguish ambarvalia ancient source either similar set ritual procedure performed behalf city instead field rural area arva originated priesthood arvales brother field vopiscus see two closely related city purified hymn chanted amburbium celebrated ambarvalia carried festival seem involved sacrifice pig sheep bull suovetaurilia amburbiums sacrificial victim hostiae amburbiales according servius ambarvalia hostia capacity produce felicitas fecundity blessedness led around ritual circuit three time ceremony say called amburbium city circumambulated encircling circuire identical purification lustrare amburbium appear ancient calendar thus assumed annual one feria conceptivae moveable feast macrobius antiquarian writer late antiquity say semilegendary second king rome numa added ianuarius februarius end tenmonth calendar romulus instituted lustration city february sacrifice offered di mane amburbium named passage hh scullard thought might meant festival activity february pertained care propitiation dead scarcity evidence may indicate imperial period amburbium celebrated irregularly needed performed late ad according historia augusta january year emperor aurelian ordered consultation sibylline book collection prophetic utterance god fata deorum resulting lustration city mean amburbium ambarvalia ritual compared lustral sacrifice described iguvine tablet conducted fratres atiedii brotherhood priest iguvium presentday gubbio one several ceremony ancient roman religion sacred topography marked procession neronian poet lucan describes ritual circumambulation city may amburbium though account could also fictional composite epic poem caesar civil war lucan say julius caesar returned gaul marched troop toward city panic broke number omen prodigia reported religious specialist called among etruscan prophet vates named arruns order sequence ritual procedure beginning destruction freak nature monstra unspeakable fetus sterile womb sterilique nefandos ex utero fetus burnt using wood unlucky tree religiously infelix arruns set motion amburbium described densely religious term bid city circumambulated urbem ambiri fearful citizen pontiff encircle length sacred boundary pomerium along outer perimeter fine purifying city wall mean festal lustration festo … lustro throng lesser rank follow wearing gabinian cincture female priest fillet lead vestal chorus alone right look upon minerva brought troy came conserve god utterance fata deorum priestly college quindecimviri arcane chant carmina call back cybele bathed little almo learned augur observes bird flight left septemvir present festal banquet sodality titii salian priest bearing sacred shield gladly shoulder flamen towering conical hat wellborn point lucan follows procession sacrifice bull whose entrails reveal dire omen prophetic speech nigidius figulus based astronomical observation unclear whether amburbium crisis rite actually held bc figment poetic imagination terminalia supplicatio argei