In a fourth inscription we read: 'This way leads between the houses of Maras Castricius and of Maras Spurnius, where Vibius Seximbrius is in command.' In 1897, a fifth inscription became visible on the north side of Insula VIII. v-vi, where it had been concealed by a coat of plaster: 'This way leads to the city building (and) to Minerva.' The street referred to is seemingly the blind alley which formerly ran through the insula ([Plan I]). If this is correct, the sanctuary of Minerva is the Doric temple in the Forum Triangulare; but the 'city building' cannot be identified.
The five inscriptions evidently date from the siege of Sulla; they were intended for the information of the soldiers, belonging to the army of the Allies, who were quartered in the city to assist in its defence. At this time there must have been twelve towers, that near the Herculaneum Gate being reckoned last in the enumeration, as in [Plan I]; but the location of the two that have disappeared has not been determined. Another suggestive reminder of the same siege is the name L · SVLA, scratched by a soldier in the stucco on the inside of Tower 10, near a loophole.
The towers, which measure approximately 31 by 25 feet, were built in two stories, with strong vaulted ceilings. The floor of the second story was on a level with the top of the wall, and over this story was a terrace with battlements, as shown in [Fig. 110]; the roof seen on the two towers in [Fig. 101] was a later addition, made when the city walls were no longer needed as a means of defence. Stairways on the inside gave ready access to the lower part of the towers, which could be entered from the city by a door ([Fig. 109]) opening on the embankment. On the outside were loopholes. Below, at the right, was a sally port, placed thus in order that the soldiers when rushing forth might present their shields to the enemy, leaving the right hand free to use with offensive weapons; when returning to the wall they would, if possible, cut their way to the sally port in the next tower to the right, so as to avoid the danger of exposing their right sides to the enemy.
Fig. 110.—Tower of the city wall, restored.
Four of the gates have been excavated, the Porta Marina and the Stabian, Nola and Herculaneum gates; two others, the Vesuvius and Sarno gates, have been partly exposed to view. The remaining two are still completely covered. All bear evidence of extensive repairs, and one of them, the Herculaneum Gate, was entirely rebuilt at a comparatively late period; with this exception, however, they seem to have assumed their present form in the Tufa Period. Three of them still retain traces of decoration of the first style on the inner parts. The different gateways enter the walls at various angles.
The Stabian Gate may be taken as typical. Entering from the outside, at A, one came through a vaulted passage, B, about twelve feet wide, to a broad middle passage, or vantage court, open to the sky, into which missiles and boiling pitch could be hurled from above upon the heads of an enemy attempting to force the gates; then followed a second vaulted passage, a little wider than the other, in which were hung the heavy double doors, opening outward. The projecting posts of the doors are preserved, as are also the stones on which they rested when they were swung back against the wall; the vaulting has been restored. The gateway was paved throughout, with a raised walk on the right side. On one side of the inner entrance is a well (a), the Gorgon's head upon the curb reminding one of the protectress of the gate; on the other, the flight of steps already mentioned (b) leads to the top of the wall. Just beyond the steps are the remains of a small building, perhaps the lodge of the gate keeper (c).
