Identification: Vicus Patricius E. Rodríguez-Almeida located this fragment group and the joining frs. 11e and 11i in the bottom left corner of slab VII-7, based on the similarities (such as marble color, thickness, smooth back, and sawing irregularities) between these fragments and those already securely placed in the top of the slab (Rodríguez-Almeida 1975-76, pp. 274-75, and fig. 8; 1992, pp. 66-68, figs. 15-16). In addition to these similarities, certain features, such as the horizontal street and the porticoed structure in this fragment group, correspond exactly to excavated remains between the Viminal and Cispian Hills (see Rodríguez-Almeida 1975-76, fig. 8). The horizontal street in this fragment can therefore be identified as the vicus Patricius, the street that marked the border between the fourth and the sixth Augustan regions of the city (Rodríguez-Almeida 1975-76, p. 274; LTUR V, p. 183). The vicus Patricius started at the clivus Suburanus in the south and ran north between the Cispian and Viminal Hills to the Viminal Gate in the Republican city walls (corresponding to modern Via Urbana)(see map in LTUR III, fig. 190). The majority of the architecture depicted in this group must have been located on the lower SE slope of the Viminal Hill. This would explain the long ramp that leads from the bottom of the hill, off the the vicus Patricius, towards the top.

Identification: A schola? The restricted access to the rectangular building in the upper right corner of this fragment group suggests it was semi-private in nature. It does not, however, seem like a residential unit. Can we perhaps associate it with the headquarters schola of one of Rome's many professional or religious organizations (collegia)? A collegium of either sort would have required a large room for meetings and communal dining, perhaps a sacellum or altar for the worship of the patron god, and the ability to restrict access to members only. The hall in this fragment seems to fulfill these requirements.

Identification: Area Candidi? The large, rectangular structure in the lower right corner of the fragment group defies identification. The authors of PM 1960, p. 148, suggest tentatively that the double rows of dots that surround the center of the building on three sides represent trees as opposed to colonnades. The three central clamp-like features are identified as arbors or hedges, similar to those that surround the Temple of Claudius in fragment group 5. Remains of this structure have been excavated at the foot of the Viminal Hill; with the exception of the circular structure in the center of the building (a fountain or a temple?), the remains correspond surprising well with the depiction in this fragment group (see Rodríguez-Almeida 1975-76, fig. 8 or LTUR I, fig. 63). The circular feature is perhaps a post-Severan addition to the structure (Rodríguez-Almeida 1975-76, p. 275). The building is sometimes referred to as the Palace of Decius (palatium Decii) but has also been associated with the area Candidi. Known from written sources only, both buildings were situated on the Viminal Hill (LTUR I, p. 114). The discovery of two statues of Greek poets in the building is occasionally quoted as support for the thesis that the building is to be identified with the area Candidi, perhaps a structure built by Ti. Iulius Candidus who was proconsul of Acaia (Greece) between 134 and 137 CE (LTUR I, p. 114). This identification must remain tentative at best.

Identification: Horrea Although R. A. Staccioli does not list the building in the left corner of this fragment among his examples of horrea on the Marble Plan (Staccioli 1962), it fits his Type 2 perfectly. Warehouses of this type have at least three rows of rooms facing a central courtyard, which is often colonnaded (Staccioli 1962, pp. 1432-1434 with examples in fig. 1). Rickman (1971, pp. 120-121) confirms its identification as a warehouse. Or might it represent a macellum or a small, specialized market?

Significance Rodríguez-Almeida's positioning of these fragments provides us with a vivid picture of a little-known, non-monumental neighborhood that seems to have been a mix of multi-storey apartment complexes, luxurious single-family residences, shops with courtyards (fr. 11e), of an elaborate public garden(?), warehouses or a market, and perhaps the headquarters of a local organization.

Text by Tina Najbjerg