Museum The Macellum

Along viale dei Platani, a street corresponding to one of the main decumani of the city, there are evident archaeological remains organized on several levels and identified as the macellum of Teanum Sidicinum, the city market used for the retail sale of meat, fish and exotic foods. The small thickness of the foundations of these walls, just 50cm, suggests that they may be the remains of the central pavilion of the macellum. From an architectural point of view, the macellum of Teano finds a generic comparison with the macellum of Leptis Magna in Cyrenaica.

Another clue in favor of the macellum hypothesis is the presence, inside the rooms, of numerous amphorae and containers for foodstuffs. Last clue, the thin thickness of the foundations of the octagonal structure and the presence of water systems, elements that find comparison with the tholoi of the butchers.

The material visible on site, i.e. suspensurae for floors and walls, would lead us to hypothesize that this room could be the calidarium of a thermal facility, a hypothesis that could be supported by the higher altitude of this room compared to the other surrounding ones and by the presence of the same column which could act as a base for the labrum as in the case of the Herculaneum baths. As regards the environments identified as horrea, there are no elements to refute or confirm this hypothesis. If this interpretation were to be confirmed, then it would be another clue against the macellum hypothesis.