Are you ready? Did you stock enough food and refreshments? February 23rd is the celebration of Terminalia, which honors the Roman god Terminus who was called on to protect boundaries. It also marked year’s end (terminus) in the Roman calendar. This year it was appropriately chosen as the 2011 ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey Standards become effective.
The stone monuments placed on the boundaries between properties were dedicated to Terminus. On the festival day adjacent property owners would place garlands and offer produce in sacrifice such as honey, wine, grain and a young pig or lamb slaughtered. The festival continued with song and praise of the god.
If you own property, it almost certainly has (or once had) monuments (iron pins or pipes or marks in stone or possibly something else) placed usually by a surveyor to mark the corners and critical points on the boundary. They are as important today as when the Romans honored Terminus.
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