‹‹‹ Vitr. 5.9.7 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 5.9.9 ›››
8In these places the antients also made depôts for the reception of things necessary for the use of the city. For in case of the city being under blockade, all things are more easily provided than wood. Salt is with facility laid in beforehand; corn, from the public or private stores, is soon collected; and the want of that is remedied by the use of garden herbs, flesh, or pulse. Water is obtained either by digging new wells, or by collecting it from the roofs of buildings; but wood, which is absolutely necessary for cooking the food, is provided with difficulty and trouble; and that which is slowly procured is quickly consumed.
8Furthermore, our ancestors in establishing these works provided cities with storehouses for an indispensable material. The fact is that in sieges everything else is easier to procure than is wood. Salt can easily be brought in beforehand; corn can be got together quickly by the State or by individuals, and if it gives out, the defence may be maintained on cabbage, meat, or beans; water can be had by digging wells, or when there are sudden falls of rain, by collecting it from the tiles. But a stock of wood, which is absolutely necessary for cooking food, is a difficult and troublesome thing to provide; for it is slow to gather and a good deal is consumed.