Atrium Vestae

The precinct of Vesta just E of the *Forum (e.g., Pliny, Ep. 7.19.2: atrio Vestae), which contained living quarters for the 6 Vestal Virgins, a paved court and, after 12 B.C., the *Domus Publica which Augustus donated to the Vestals (Dio Cass. 54.27.3). The complex was renovated in the 1st c. B.C., probably under Julius Caesar (Scott 1993, 173; contra, van Deman, who postulates an Augustan rebuilding). Recent excavations suggest that the form of this 1st-c. B.C. building complex was maintained through the 1st c. A.D. (Scott, LTUR 138). The limits of the complex are relatively well-defined. The Atrium was bordered on the W by the ramp to the *Palatine, the *Scalae Graecae; on the N by a precinct wall which separated the complex from the *Sacra Via; and to the E by a party wall shared with the Domus Publica (Carettoni). The S border during the Augustan period is less distinct, though the *Via Nova and rising slope of the Palatine form probable limits. The structures within these bounds during the Augustan period remain elusive, due to later Imperial construction on the site which substantially altered the 1st c. B.C. complex. Scott’s restored plan of the precinct (Scott 1993, fig. 15) forms the basis of the rendering here. The grove of Vesta (lucus Vestae) mentioned by Cicero (Div. 1.101) once stood in this region, though its continued existence in the Augustan era is doubtful (Scott, LTUR 140).