Description of the Temple (Reg VII, Ins 9, 3) This building lies next to the Macellum on the east side of the Forum. Built after the earthquake of AD62, it measures 18 by 21 metres and consists of three sides round a central court. The sanctuary, in brickwork, reticulatum and incertum, was not completely finished at the time of the eruption. It consists of a large unroofed atrium and a large apse which occupies the back wall. .. .. The few remains of the opus sectile pavement and a central altar (detail pictured left) are preserved in the atrium. A row of purely ornamental columns was set on the socle which runs along the wall of the apse. The side and end walls contained niches holding statues of the city's tutelary gods (the Lares Publici). The temple was thus a sanctuary dedicated to the protective deities, probably in the wake of the AD62 earthquake. It has been suggested that the altar of the sanctuary is depicted in the scene of sacrifice made by the citizens in a frieze from the lararium found in the House of L. Caecilius Jucundus.

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