The Square of the Corporations
Tour of the mosaics
In the mosaics a number of features is seen repeatedly, and they will therefore not be described for each statio. We have already mentioned the marble strips demarcating the front rooms. Black mosaic bands may serve the same purpose, sometimes together with a marble strip. We also mentioned the division of the back room into a front and rear part.
Many of the main texts, in a frame or a tabula ansata, identifying the users, are slightly off-centre. Most ships have a convex bow, some a concave bow. The latter type is characteristic of military ships. It could be that the ships with this type of bow were faster, and could transport both cargos and passengers, but the matter is unresolved. In the discussion of the commodities that were imported, wine will not be taken into consideration, because there was a special Wine Forum (Forum Vinarium) in the harbours.
The back rooms of many stationes are separated from each other by walls of brick or brick-and-tuff. Most of these walls were added after the middle of the third century. For the interpretation the walls should be used with care, because often the current situation does not correspond to earlier plans. On old plans benches are drawn in several stationes, set against the walls of the back room. Of these nothing has been preserved.
East porticus North porticus West porticus Shrine
01
02
03
0405
06
07
08
0910
11
12
13
1415
16
17
18
1920
21
22
2324
25
26
27
2829
30
31
32
3334
35
36
37
3839
40
41
42
4344
45
46
47
4849
50
51
52
5354
55
56
57
5859
60
61
Shrine
The plan of the square seen below can also be opened on each page with a description of a statio. It will load in a new window. Masonry is indicated as follows: bricks - cyan; bricks-and-tufa - magenta; rubble masonry - yellow. Bands / strips between the stationes are indicated as follows: thin marble bands - thin red lines; thick marble bands - thick red lines; mosaic bands, perhaps imitation of a marble bands - blue line.
Click on the image to enlarge.
