Fig. 54.—Plan of the temple of Venus Pompeiana.
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The first temple was erected in the early years of the Roman colony. An area approximately 185 Roman feet square was prepared for it by levelling off and filling up, terrace walls being built to hold in place the earth and rubbish used for filling. The foundations of the walls about the court (A-B, C-D-E) can still be traced except on the south side, where, perhaps in consequence of the earthquake at the time of the eruption, every vestige has disappeared, and at the southwest corner, where excavations for building materials in modern times have been carried below the Roman level, a part of the foundation of the temple itself having been removed. These walls conformed to the direction of the walls of the Basilica, the corners, as those of the Basilica, showing a noticeable divergence from a right angle.

Fig. 55.—Ruins of the temple of Venus Pompeiana, viewed from the southeast.
At the right, foundation of the front row of columns of the latest (unfinished) colonnade; then foundation of stylobate of earlier colonnade, with gutter. In foreground, entrance to subterranean passage. On the podium of the temple at the farther end is seen the pedestal of the statue of the divinity. The wall at the rear of the court is on the south side of the strada della Marina.

The front of the earlier colonnade is outlined by the gutter (F-G-G', G"-H-I), constructed of blocks of tufa, which show signs of long use, and the foundation of the stylobate behind the gutter, which is plainly seen ([Fig. 55]); in places (as indicated in the plan), the layer of mortar spread over this foundation shows the impressions made by the blocks of the stylobate which rested on it. At the middle of the north side (G'-G") both the gutter and the wall under the stylobate were removed when the foundations of the third temple were extended in that direction. Along the gutter were basins for water used in cleaning the floor of the court, which was made of fine concrete. The entrance to the court was at the northeast corner.

On the east side of the court were six rooms, the rear of which was formed by the wall A'B'. Two of these opened on the colonnade in their whole breadth, and four with narrow doors, the thresholds of which, of whitish limestone, are still in place. Their purpose cannot be determined. The cross walls shown in the plan on the west side (x, y, z) belonged to an earlier building, and have nothing to do with the temple.

In front of the temple are remains of a large altar of whitish limestone (III). On the east side of the court is the base of an equestrian statue (V), of the same material, which was afterwards veneered with marble; near it is a pedestal of a standing figure (VI), of masonry covered with stucco, and behind this is the small base of a fountain figure. Near the southeast corner is the entrance (IV) to a subterranean passageway which runs toward the south; it probably led to rooms of earlier houses which were preserved, when the area was filled up, for the use of the attendants of the temple.

The temple itself, as the other edifices, religious and secular, of the first years of the Roman colony, must have been built of common materials and coated with stucco. Of the existing remains only the inner part of the podium (I, II on the Plan) can be assigned to it; a series of small blocks of tufa at the rear end is perhaps a remnant of the cornice which was carried around the upper edge of the podium.