Pompeii, Its Life and Art

by August Mau

KEY TO PLAN II

• A. The Forum.
  • 1. Pedestal of the statue of Augustus.
  • 2. Pedestal of the statue of Claudius.
  • 3. Pedestal of the statue of Agrippina.
  • 4. Pedestal of the statue of Nero.
  • 5. Pedestal of the statue of Caligula.
  • 6. Pedestals of equestrian statues.
  • 7. Pedestals of standing figures.
  • 8. Pedestal for three equestrian statues.
  • 9. Speaker's platform ([p. 48]).
  • 10. Table of standard measures ([p. 92]).
  • 11. Room of the supervisor of measures.
• B. The Basilica.
  • a. Entrance court.
  • 1. Corridor.
  • 2. Main room.
  • 3. Tribunal.
  • 4-4. Rooms at the ends of the tribunal.
• C. The Temple of Apollo.
  • 1. Colonnade.
  • 2. Podium.
  • 3. Cella.
  • 4. Altar.
  • 5. Sundial.
  • 6. Sacristan's room.
  • 7-7. Rooms made from earlier colonnade.
• D. D'. Market Buildings.
• E. Latrina.
• F. F. City Treasury.
• G. Commemorative Arch.
• H. Temple of Jupiter.
• I. Arch of Tiberius.
• K. The Provision Market—Macellum.
  • 1. Portico.
  • 2. Colonnade.
  • 3-3. Market stalls.
  • 4. Market for meat and fish.
  • 5. Chapel of the imperial family.
  • 6. Banquet room.
  • 7. Round structure with water basin—Tholus.
  • 8. Pen.
• L. Sanctuary of the City Lares.
  • 1. Main room, unroofed, with an altar in the centre.
  • 2. Apse, with shrine.
  • 3. Recesses with pedestals.
  • 4. Niche opening on the Forum.
• M. Temple of Vespasian.
  • 1. Colonnade.
  • 2. Altar.
  • 3. Cella.
  • 4. Portico.
• N. The Building of Eumachia.
  • See [plan on p. 110].
• O. The Voting Place—Comitium.
  • 1. Recess opening on the main room.
  • 2. Recess opening on the Forum.
• P-R. Municipal Buildings.
  • P. Office of the duumvirs.
  • Q. Hall of the city council.
  • R. Office of the aediles.
• S. Fountain.

PLAN II.—THE FORUM WITH THE ADJOINING BUILDINGS.
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PART I
PUBLIC PLACES AND BUILDINGS

CHAPTER VII
THE FORUM

The Forum is usually approached from the west side by the short, steep street leading from the Porta Marina. Entering, we find ourselves near the lower end of an oblong open space ([Plate I]), at the upper end of which, toward Vesuvius, stands a high platform of masonry with the ruins of a temple—the temple of Jupiter; the remains of a colonnade are seen on each of the other three sides. Including the colonnade the Forum measures approximately 497 feet in length by 156 in breadth; without it the dimensions are 467 and 126 feet. The north side, at the left of the temple, is enclosed by a wall in which there are two openings, one at the end of the colonnade, the other between this and the temple; at the right the wall bounding the open space has been replaced by a stately commemorative arch, while the end of the colonnade is closed by a wall with a passageway. Another arch, of much simpler construction, stands at the left of the temple, in line with the façade; it cuts off the area between the temple and the colonnade from the rest of the Forum. A third arch once stood in a corresponding position at the right.

The colonnade is nowhere intersected by a street passable for vehicles. Even the entrances on the north side form no exception. At the left you descend to the area by several steps, at the right by one only; yet here the exclusion of carts and wagons was made doubly sure by placing three upright stones in the passageway. Only pedestrians could enter the Forum, and they, too, could easily be shut out by means of gates in the entrances; the places where the gates swung can still be seen in the pavement, and one of them is shown in a painting ([Fig. 16]). No private houses opened on this area; it was wholly given up to the public life of the city and was surrounded by temples, markets, and buildings devoted to the civic administration.