In the 1920's a short description of this building was published by the excavator, Guido Calza. The original masonry is opus mixtum with brick piers, dated to c. 120 AD. There was a sidewalk along the west facade, and perhaps along the north facade. Traces of thin plaster can be found on the facade, inside are remains of thin and thick plaster. The floor level of the north-west part (floors with basalt blocks) is at the same height as the thresholds and the street. The floors of the remaining rooms (including the oven-room 12) are lower, up to 0.70. Beamholes are at an average height of 2.50 above the higher floor. The total area covers roughly 280 square metres.
Plan of the building. After SO I.Rooms 1 to 6 were shops. Several shop-entrances were blocked with latericium and vittatum. In rooms 2 and 3 is a floor of basalt blocks. Against the west wall of room 6 was a large basin, that has now disappeared. A well is indicated on an old plan in room 9, but it too has disappeared. In the same room a vittatum pier, partly round and resting on a travertine slab, was set against the central part of the north wall. Inside the pier is a rectangular terracotta drainage pipe. The water may have been led to the nearby well. Room 10 contains a staircase, of which 19 travertine steps have been preserved. The lower part of the south wall of the understairs and of room 11 is made of large tufa blocks. In room 12 an oven was installed. The podium of the oven and the casing of the cupola are of opus vittatum (meas. of podium: north-south 4.50, west-east 4.20, h. c. 1.20).The opening of the oven is on the north side. The lower two rings of the cupola have been preserved, made of large tufa blocks (inside diam. 3.35).
Floors of basalt blocks, a basin and an oven of the kind found in bakeries strongly suggest that a bakery was installed here. Originally the building consisted of shops along the facade, connected by wide passages. It is difficult to tell what was the intended use of rooms 7, 8, 9 and 12. Room 4 was probably planned as a corridor (even though a shop-threshold is present), given the L-shaped north-west corner of the west wall, and the double doors in the west and east wall. The vittatum of the oven probably belongs to the late third or fourth century, but the date of the installation of the bakery is unknown.
Photos
Room 4 seen from the north.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.
Rooms 6-7-8 and staircase 10, seen from the west.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.
The late drainage pipe in room 9, seen from the south.
Photo: Daniel González Acuña.
The oven in room 12, seen from the north.
Photo: Daniel González Acuña.
