Identification E. Rodríguez-Almeida was able to join this fragment to fr. 327ab based on similar characteristics such as marble color, thickness, and sawing irregularities (zigrinature) on the back (Almeida 1992, p. 63, fig. 12). Together, the fragments depict a long row of tabernae, faced with a covered arcade. The solid line to the right probably depicts a step, or the edge of a precinct, as opposed to a wall. Rows of tabernae are ubiquitous on the Plan, and the type depicted here are of the most common type seen on the FUR. Each shop consisted of a single room with a wide opening towards the street that could be screened off a night. The luxury of having a covered sidewalk or arcade in front of a row of shops was apparently not restricted to such grandiose areas as the slopes of the Palatine, facing the Circus Maximus (see fr. 8bde). Frs. 33abc, 34a, 34b and 34c depict a large, predominantly commercial area by the Tiber which abounds with rows of tabernae and arcades. This fragment might belong to either such areas. These covered arcades or porticos signify that there was a second storey or a mezzanine level above the shops, which would have provided the shop owners with additional living room (Reynolds 1996, p. 158).

Significance This fragment is typical of non-identified fragments of the Plan. No monumental buildings are represented, and the fragment instead provides a view of the lesser known structures that made up the urban fabric of Rome: the residential and commercial buildings.

Text by Tina Najbjerg