They say, too, Romulus was the first that consecrated holy fire, and instituted holy virgins to keep it, called vestals; others ascribe it to Numa Pompilius; agreeing, however, that Romulus was otherwise eminently religious, and skilled in divination, and for that reason carried the Lituus, a crooked rod with which soothsayers describe the quarters of the heavens, when they sit to observe the flights of birds.
"Plutarch-Lives-of-the-noble-Grecians-and-Romans"
Clough, Arthur Hugh
This sort of staff is crooked at one end, and is called Lituus; they make use of it in quartering out the regions of the heavens when engaged in divination from the flight of birds; Romulus, who was himself a great diviner, made use of it.
"Plutarch-Lives-of-the-noble-Grecians-and-Romans"
Clough, Arthur Hugh
Others attribute this to Numa, though they say that Romulus was a very religious prince, and learned in divination, for which purpose he used to carry the crooked staff called Lituus, with which to divide the heavens into spaces for the observation of the flight of birds.
"Plutarch's Lives, Volume I (of 4)"
Plutarch