Short answers, pulled from the story.
The modern English word altar arrived from Middle English, which borrowed it from Old English alter. This term traces back to the Latin root altare meaning altar and may connect to adolere for burning or altus for high.
Augustus Caesar dedicated the Ara Pacis at the start of the Pax Romana. This monument honored Pax the goddess of peace and often inscribed the donor's name alongside the deity receiving the offering.
Abraham Isaac Jacob and Moses all built altars in conspicuous places using earth or unwrought stone according to the Hebrew Bible records. Archaeological finds include three rock-hewn altars discovered below Tel Zorah near Shiloh and at the foot of ancient Samaria.
By the sixth century orientation shifted so that ministers faced east toward the apse. In Western Europe altars eventually became permanently attached to the eastern wall of the chancel after previously being located at the west end under Constantine the Great.
The Holy Table in Byzantine rites stands approximately one meter high and is typically square with five legs including four corners plus a central pillar holding relics placed inside during consecration. A plain linen covering called an antimension binds to the table with cords and remains unremoved after consecration.