Fig. 46.—The temple of Vespasian, restored.
The rooms at the rear of the temple (shown on the plan) were entered by a door at the right. They may have served as a habitation for the sacristan, or as a place of storage for the sacrificial utensils. The north room was also connected with rooms belonging to the sanctuary of the Lares, the purpose of which is unknown.
CHAPTER XV
THE BUILDING OF EUMACHIA
Fig. 47.—Plan of the building of Eumachia.
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- 1. Portico, forming part of the colonnade of the Forum.
- 2, 3. Small niches for statues.
- 4, 4. Apsidal niches.
- 5, 5. Large niches, accessible by means of steps.
- 6. Entrance.
- 7. Passage room to stairway.
- 8. Porter's room.
- 9, 9. Colonnade.
- 10. Pedestal of the statue of Concordia Augusta.
- 11, 11. Light courts.
- 12, 12. Corridor.
- 13. Broad niche with the statue of Eumachia.
- 14. Passage leading from Abbondanza Street, with a door opening into the corridor.
- 15. Stone with ring.
- 17, 17. Rectangular elevations.
- 18, 18. Remains of masonry.
The plan of the large building on the east side of the Forum, between the temple of Vespasian and Abbondanza Street, is simple and regular. In front is a deep portico (1), facing the Forum. The interior consists of a large oblong court with three apses at the rear and a colonnade about the four sides (9); on three sides there is a corridor behind the colonnade, with numerous windows opening upon it (12). The corridor could be entered by three doors, two at the front end of the court, connecting with the colonnade, and a third at the rear, entered from the end of a passage leading up from Abbondanza Street (14), the grade of which at this point is considerably below the pavement of the building ([Fig. 50]).
An inscription appears in large letters on the entablature of the portico, and again on a marble tablet over the side entrance in Abbondanza Street: Eumachia L. f., sacerd[os] publ[ica], nomine suo et M. Numistri Frontonis fili chalcidicum, cryptam, porticus Concordiae Augustae Pietati sua pequnia fecit eademque dedicavit,—'Eumachia, daughter of Lucius Eumachius, a city priestess, in her own name and that of her son, Marcus Numistrius Fronto, built at her own expense the portico, the corridor (cryptam, covered passage), and the colonnade, dedicating them to Concordia Augusta and Pietas.'