Abstract:

The archaeology, as a scientific discipline, has its own and specific terminology. One of the ways to create this terminology, especially in classical archeology, is to use original Greek-Latin terms. which is the chronological and cultural scope of his interest. Hence the abundance of Latin and Greek terms to define concepts, elements or actions. This terminology has been analyzed and it is verified that, often, it is constructed giving a false sense of truthfulness. In this paper, the etymological phenomenology of the architectural elements in classical archeology is partially analyzed. It focuses on the analysis of the classical references of the term Opus Signinum in which it is shown that its original meaning diverges completely from the currently: pavement made with lime mortar, sand and ceramic fragments. It is proposed to recover the original concept and replace the terminology of these pavements by cocciopesto (term of Italian origin) or, preferably, by terrazzo, a term sufficiently consolidated and defined in the usual language.