A basterna was a kind of vehicle, or litter, in which Ancient Roman women were carried. It appears to have resembled the lectica; and the only difference apparently was, that the lectica was carried on the shoulders of slaves, and the basterna by two mules, according to Isaac Casaubon. Several etymologies of the word have been proposed. Salmasius proposes it to be derived from the Greek (Salm. ad Lamprid. Heliog. 21). A description of a basterna is given by a poet in the Anth. Lat. iii. 183. Oth… (More on Basterna)