space, Tullius’ temple donation turns out to be quite ambitious. With all available
means it tries to attract the attention of passers-by: along its northern street side,
the precinct is accented by the tiles of the pavement for the entire length of the
temple podium. The full width of the frontal marble staircase overruns the pedes-
trian walkway, even extending into the street. The Porticus Tulliana(2) south of
the temple also cuts into the walkway, albeit to a lesser extent. The columns of its
facade blend in with those of the public buildings in the Forum, which are fronted
by similar colonnades.
The central location, guaranteeing the privately financed temple a large number
of visitors, did have its price: since the limited space did not allow for a front area,
the altar (G) was incorporated into the stairs. The sacrificial ceremonies were con-
ducted in an extremely confined space – almost out on the street: cult officials and
audience had to stand on the steps around the altar. In order to offset the temple
at least minimally from the busy street, an iron fence was erected around the stairs,
with only two small doors on both sides of the altar. The two corners facing the
traffic in the street were protected by large bumper stones.
An outward-jutting half-niche (C) was added to the rear wall of the cellain a later
modification. Its marble shrine was intended for the cult image of Fortuna. Like many
other buildings, the temple of Fortuna Augusta was damaged severely in the great
earthquake ofad 63, and had not been repaired by the time of the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius inad 79. As can be deduced from the unfinished marble blocks in the area
of the workshop (A), masonry work for the neighboring cellawas carried out here.
Cult activity would not have been suspended for such a long period: the utterly unchar-
acteristic placement of the founder’s inscription inside the niche, where it would
not have been visible to the public, lends support to the assumption that temporary
solutions were applied. Obviously it was expected that the restored temple cella
would be back in use before the external work was finished, and the inscription had
therefore – temporarily – been put up inside.
Fromad 3 onward, a four-member collegiumwas in charge of organizing cult
activities. According to the rules of their association, the ministri– in the majority,
wealthy slaves – were required to dedicate statues in the cellaupon the accession
of a new emperor. For their meetings and communal meals, the collegiummay
have used the hall (F) of the attached residential building. This would explain
not only the investment of a permanent kitchen (B), but also the narrow stonework
ledges on its outer wall, most likely the foundations of a hot plate, where food
could be kept warm for a short time. The interior of the kitchen contained the usual
combination of a stove with a vaulted pantry and a latrine. A staircase led to the
upper level, which may have served as a living quarters for the service personnel.
The close relationship between functional ancillary rooms and the representative
temple is underlined by the narrow corridor (D) that had originally been a passageway
between the rear wall of the temple and the neighboring house (4), granting
unobtrusive entrance to cult personnel, as well as easy access for deliveries from the
northern main road. As a result of the changed design for the cella, the back entrance
was then closed, and two arches were inserted between the cellaand the neighbor-
ing house to support the niche protruding from the rear wall: the light-less corridor
220 Ulrike Egelhaaf-Gaiser