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To the north of the eastern side of the Forum, the covered market for food sales was built in the Augustan age. The main entrances, adorned with shops, were from the Forum and from Via degli Augustali, while the secondary entrance opened onto the vico del Balcone Pensile, then obstructed by the construction of the sanctuary of the Public Lares.
From the entrance into the portico of the Forum - divided into two gates by a votive kiosk - you enter the courtyard that was originally a portico. On the right side of the Macellum there were a series of shops. On the bottom you can see three rooms.
The central one had the function of a sacellum dedicated to the imperial house. It consists of four niches on the side walls (where two unidentified statues were found) and a base on the bottom. The environment on the left was used instead for sacrificial banquets, while the one on the right, with a continuous masonry counter and water drainage channels, was intended for the sale of fish.