Chorobates
χωροβάτης
Chorobates (χωροβάτης), an instrument for determining the slope of an aqueduct and the levels of the country through which it was to pass. From the description given of it by Vitruvius, it appears to have differed but very slightly from a common carpenter's level, which consists of a straight rule supporting a perpendicular piece, against which hangs a plumb-line. The chorobates had two perpendiculars and plumb-lines, one at each end, instead of a single one in the middle. (Vitr. 8.5, 1; cf. Hesych. s. χωροβατεῖν.)
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.