Identification: Porticus Pompeianae These two fragments show a large section of the porticus Pompeia (Prop. 2.32.11), or Pompeianae (Vitr. 5.9.1)(PM 1960, pp. 103-104, pl. 32; AG 1980, pl. 28; LTUR IV, p. 148). Part of the latter name may be visible in the now missing fr. 39d (see PM 1960, pl. 32). The porticus was one of the components of Pompey's immense theater complex in the Campus Martius, constructed as a whole and inaugurated in 55 BCE (LTUR IV, p. 148) or 52 BCE (Richardson 1992, p. 318). Other parts of the porticus Pompeianae are visible in frs. 37a, 37b (missing), 37d, 37e, 37l, 39b, 39d (missing), and 39g (PM 1960, p. 103, pl. 32; AG 1980, p. 148, pls. 28, 32). In addition to the porticus, the complex comprised a theater and temples (see fr. 39f for more info on the temples and on the theater itself). Vitruvius (5.9.1) explains that Pompey built the porticus behind the theater as a shelter for the spectators in the case of rain, as a place for them to relax and converse, and as a storage area for stage machinery (LTUR IV, p. 148; Richardson 1992, p. 318). Fountains, trees, and expensive art works created an atmosphere of luxury and relaxation. The niches visible in the back wall of the covered portico in fr. 39a may have held some of these pieces of art, and the large, rectangular features in the upper right corner of fr. 39a may have represented pools of water with fountains. According to Propertius (2.32.11-13) the porticus also contained trees that were trimmed to an equal height. Richardson (1992, p. 318) has suggested that the dotted squares surrounding the rectangular pools represent such trees. This, however, would be inconsistent with the use of dotted squares elsewhere on the Plan where they seem to denote columns on plinths (see Reynolds 1996 fig. 2.28).

Identification: Hecatostylum The second of the two covered porticoes depicted in fr. 39a is identified by the letters OSTYLUM as the Hecatostylum, a covered portico of 100 columns that is recorded by Martial (2.14.9) as being next to but separate from the porticus Pompeianae (PM 1960, p. 105; LTUR III, p. 9; Richardson 1992, p. 185). It consisted of a two-aisled covered portico, with the outer colonnade separated from the inner with a step (line 7). The E end of the Hecatostylum is visible in fr. 37c (AG 1980, pl. 28). Martial (3.19.1) associated the portico with plantations of trees which Richardson (1992, p. 185) suggests must have been a park north of the porticus Pompeianae. Does line 9 perhaps delineate the S end of such a park? F. Coarelli has suggested that the Hecatostylum is to be identified with the porticus Lentulorum, a portico known from ancient sources to have been adjacent to the Theater of Pompey. The porticus Lentulorum was probably constructed by P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther (consul in 57 BCE) and P. Cornelius Lentulus Crus (consul in 49 BCE). Years later, when the Lentili had disappeared from the political arena, the portico with the hundred columns became known by a name that reflected its architecture rather than its donors (LTUR III, pp. 9-10; LTUR IV, pp. 125-6).

Significance Fragment 39ac depicts part of one of the most famous buildings of ancient Rome, the theater and portico of Pompey the Great. As only few remains have been revealed by excavations, these fragments are our only visual clue to the nature of this important complex. Excavations reveal, however, that the width of the porticus as represented on the Plan corresponds to its actual width, while the length does not (PM 1960, p. 105). This fragment is also crucial for the identification of the large rectangular fields within the porticus proper: Are they pools of water, garden plots, or built structures? Precursor for solving the problem is determining the symbolic meaning of dotted squares on the Marble Plan: Do they always denote columns on plinths, or can they in some instances represent something non-architectural like trees or plants? This fragment also helps locate the Hecatostylum and clarify its architectural relationship with the porticus Pompeianae. Fr. 37e shows that the S side of the porticus Pompeianae was closed off and lined with stalls and tabernae; this fragment demonstrates that the Hecatostylum would have served as a formal, perhaps the primary, entrance into the porticus and theater complex.

Text by Tina Najbjerg