---
title: "Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52 - Pompeii Online"
description: "Pompeii’s Macellum was the city’s principal food market, combining shops and work areas with spaces connected to the imperial cult."
url: "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places/regio-vii/macellum-vii-9-7-8-19-and-52"
date: "2026-09-16T12:43:59+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52

Pompeii’s **Macellum**, at the north-eastern corner of the Civil Forum, was the city’s principal **food market**. Its inhabitants could buy chiefly meat and fish here, but probably also other goods for everyday consumption.

The location was particularly advantageous: very close to Pompeii’s political and religious centre, but set to one side of the great square, it concentrated commercial activity without directly occupying the Forum’s monumental space.

The Macellum, however, was more than a collection of shops. It was a public building arranged around a large courtyard, where **trade, imperial cult and social life** coexisted within the same complex.

### Pompeii’s food market

In Roman cities, the term **macellum** denoted a market specialising chiefly in foodstuffs.

At Pompeii, this trade was initially distributed among the numerous shops surrounding the Forum. During the city’s great monumental transformation between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, the food trade was gradually concentrated in a building designed for this specific purpose.

The creation of the Macellum therefore formed part of a wider process that profoundly altered the city centre: while the **Basilica** accommodated business and judicial activity, the food market occupied a specialised space on the square’s eastern side.

This organisation made the Forum both more monumental and more functional.

### The entrances

The Macellum had several entrances.

The principal entrances connected the market with the **Civil Forum** and the street along its northern side, while another passage provided access from the east.

Anyone arriving directly from the Forum passed through a façade integrated into the square’s portico.

The building’s unusual position, not perfectly aligned with the Forum, required ingenious architectural solutions: the shops along the western façade were different sizes to compensate for the structures’ varying orientation.

### The great central courtyard

Beyond the entrance lay a large **internal courtyard**, originally surrounded at least in part by a portico.

Shops and rooms used for the market’s various activities opened around it.

In AD 79, the complex still bore the consequences of changes and construction work carried out after the earthquake of AD 62. Some parts had been rebuilt, while other interventions may not yet have been completed.

To imagine the Macellum in operation, one must picture a space very different from the silent ruins visible today: vendors, customers, goods, animals, water and noise would have filled the great courtyard continuously.

### The circular structure at the centre of the market

At the centre of the courtyard, **twelve stone bases arranged in a circle** remain visible.

They probably supported a roofed structure traditionally described as a *tholos*. A basin and water installations also occupied this area.

The structure’s precise function has been much debated.

It was formerly associated in particular with the **cleaning and preparation of fish**, certainly an important activity in the Macellum. It is more cautious, however, to regard the central area as part of the market’s functional and monumental equipment without assigning it an exclusive purpose that cannot be established with certainty.

Water was essential in a building where perishable food was processed and sold.

### The sale of fish

The area most clearly identifiable with the food trade stands on the eastern side.

One room preserves a long **masonry counter**, together with channels that allowed water to flow towards the drain.

These features make it highly likely that the room was used for the **sale and processing of fish**.

Running water, washable surfaces and drainage systems made it possible to clean the goods and maintain the conditions required for trade.

The discovery of fish remains during excavation played a decisive role in correctly identifying the entire building as a market.

### Meat and other foods

Other shops were probably used to sell **meat and various foodstuffs**.

Archaeologists found food remains in the complex that helped establish the building’s true function.

This evidence is particularly interesting because the Macellum was not immediately recognised as a market during the first excavations.

The presence of bases, statues and rooms of religious character initially led excavators to interpret it as a kind of **Pantheon**, a building dedicated to several deities.

Only through the study of the rooms and food remains was the complex’s commercial function gradually recognised.

### The imperial cult in the market

**Three large rooms** open at the eastern end of the courtyard.

The central room had a particularly important function and was associated with the **cult of the imperial household**.

Statues occupied the lateral niches, while a base at the rear supported an image of higher rank. The finds included part of an imperial statue.

The presence of imperial cult within a market may seem unusual to modern visitors, but religion, politics and the economy were not rigidly separate spheres in the Roman world.

Even a place used for the daily sale of food could contribute to celebrating the emperor and the Roman political order.

### The statues

Several **marble sculptures** came from the rooms on the eastern side.

Some represented members of the imperial family or prominent public figures.

The statues reminded those using the market of the connection between the city’s everyday life and the power of Rome.

Looking at the empty niches today, it is easy to underestimate the room’s original effect. It should instead be imagined filled with sculpted figures, its walls decorated and its monumental setting far richer than what survives.

### The banquets

The room to the left of the central shrine has been interpreted as a space used for **banquets associated with religious ceremonies**.

In the Roman world, sacrifice and feasting were often parts of the same ritual.

Some of the meat from sacrificed animals could be eaten at communal meals, turning religious ritual into a social occasion as well.

The presence of such rooms within the Macellum once again shows that the market was more than a simple commercial space.

### The wall paintings

The Macellum also had an important painted decorative scheme.

Some walls were decorated in the **Fourth Pompeian Style**, with large panels, fantastic architecture and mythological scenes.

The subjects documented included episodes involving **Ulysses and Penelope**, **Medea** and other figures from Greek mythology.

Such images were not confined to wealthy private domus. Public buildings could also use a refined visual language to enhance spaces used by the population every day.

The Pompeian market was therefore also a richly decorated setting.

### The relationship with the Forum

One of the Macellum’s most interesting features is its close relationship with the **Civil Forum**.

The market opened directly onto the city’s monumental heart, while remaining sufficiently separate to prevent the everyday business of selling from interfering excessively with the square’s political and religious functions.

This position reveals much about Pompeii’s urban organisation.

Buildings with very different functions stood around the same central space: temples, the Basilica, administrative offices, honorary monuments and the market.

The Forum was therefore not merely a ceremonial square, but the place where almost all the community’s principal activities converged.

### The market and the Pompeian economy

Pompeii occupied a favourable position for trade.

The Vesuvian territory produced wine, oil, grain, fruit and other agricultural goods, while the nearby sea and port system brought fish and merchandise from other parts of the Mediterranean.

The Macellum was the final destination of part of this economic network.

Products from the countryside, the coast and commercial circuits could be purchased here directly by the city’s inhabitants.

Behind a simple everyday purchase therefore lay a much wider economic system connecting Pompeii with its territory and the Mediterranean.

### The earthquake of AD 62

The great earthquake of **AD 62** also damaged the Macellum.

Major reconstruction and decoration were undertaken over the following years.

Walls and rooms were rebuilt, new paintings were produced and some of the courtyard structures were altered.

The market may still have been undergoing work when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.

As in many other Pompeian public buildings, evidence of construction shows how long and complex the city’s recovery after the earthquake had been.

### The discovery

The Macellum was brought to light chiefly during excavations conducted between **1818 and 1822**, with further investigations in subsequent years.

The building was initially misinterpreted as a place of worship.

Its monumental elements and statues appeared to indicate a religious building.

The discovery of **remains of fish, fruit and other foods**, together with the counters and drainage systems, later revealed the complex’s true function.

This history provides a good example of how archaeological interpretation can change as excavation and the study of finds progress.

### The market in everyday life

To understand the Macellum properly, it must be imagined on an ordinary day in AD 79.

Food was displayed in its rooms and shops, vendors called out to customers, fish was cleaned using water from the basins and channels, and dozens of people constantly crossed the courtyard.

At the same time, statues of the imperial family and spaces for ceremonies reminded everyone that even the most everyday activities took place within the Roman city’s political and religious order.

The **Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52** is therefore one of the best places in Pompeii for understanding how **the economy, food, daily life, religion and public power** could coexist within a single building.

###  Further information

[Pompeiiinpictures](https://www.pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R7/7%2009%2007%20p1.htm) Detailed images of the building

###  Video

###  Map

![Loading...](https://www.pompeionline.net/components/com_zhosmmap/assets/utils/loading.gif)

[View all buildings and places on the map](https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places)

'+ '

'; var titlePlacemark78700000000000 = "Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52"; var latlng78700000000000 = L.latLng(40.75006, 14.48506); map\_bounds\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.extend(latlng78700000000000); var contentString78700000000000 = ""; contentString78700000000000 = '' + '### '+ 'Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52'+ '

'+ ''+ ''+ '

'+ ''+ ''+ ''+ '[![Article](https://www.pompeionline.net/components/com_zhosmmap/assets/utils/article.png)](https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places/regio-vii/macellum-vii-9-7-8-19-and-52 "Article")'+ '

'+ '

'+ '

'+ '

'; var marker78700000000000 = L.marker(latlng78700000000000, {icon: L.icon({ iconUrl: icoIcon + "pompei-marker-cerchio-blu-bordo-bianco-18.png", iconSize: \[18, 18\], iconAnchor: \[9,18\]}) , draggable: false, title:"Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52" }); marker78700000000000.addTo(map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map); marker78700000000000.zhomRating = 0; marker78700000000000.zhomCreateddate = ""; marker78700000000000.zhomExtraFieldsList = \[\]; marker78700000000000.zhomCreateddateUser = ""; marker78700000000000.zhomPlacemarkID = 78700000000000; marker78700000000000.zhomContactAttrs = userContactAttrs; marker78700000000000.zhomUserContact = "0"; marker78700000000000.zhomUserUser = "0"; marker78700000000000.zhomOriginalPosition = latlng78700000000000; marker78700000000000.zhomInfowinContent = contentString78700000000000; marker78700000000000.zhomTitle = "Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52"; marker78700000000000.zhomIncludeInList = 0; marker78700000000000.bindPopup(marker78700000000000.zhomInfowinContent); marker78700000000000.on('click', function(event) { this.openPopup(); }); zhomObjMgr\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.PlacemarkAdd(0, 78700000000000, marker78700000000000, null); map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.setView(latlng78700000000000, map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.getZoom()); latlng\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map = latlng78700000000000; routedestination\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map = latlng\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map; var contentPathString11 = ""; var imgGroundBounds11 = \[ \[40.746791, 14.475589\], \[40.754898, 14.499171\]\]; var imgGroundOptions11 = { opacity:1 , interactive:false }; var imgGroundLayer11 = L.imageOverlay('https://www.pompeionline.net/images/mappe/pompei\_master\_joomla\_v2.svg', imgGroundBounds11, imgGroundOptions11); imgGroundLayer11.zhomPathID = 11; imgGroundLayer11.zhomInfowinContent = contentPathString11; imgGroundLayer11.zhomTitle = "Pompeii site plan – English map"; imgGroundLayer11.addTo(map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map); var geolocationControl = new zhomGeolocationButtonControl("\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map",map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map,2,1,2,"geolocation","Location",16,16,"https://www.pompeionline.net/components/com\_zhosmmap/assets/utils/geolocation.png"); var mapcenterControl = new zhomMapCenterButtonControl(latlng\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map,"19",map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map,2,2,2,"mapcenter","Home",19,16,"https://www.pompeionline.net/components/com\_zhosmmap/assets/utils/home.png"); map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.fitBounds(map\_bounds\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map); var toShowLoading = document.getElementById("OMapsLoading\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map"); toShowLoading.style.display = 'none'; zhomObjMgr\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.InitializeByGroupState(); }; function PlacemarkByIDShow(p\_id, p\_action, p\_zoom) { alert("This feature is supported only when you enable it in map menu item or module property!"); } function findMyPosition\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map(AutoPosition, DirectionsDisplay, DirectionsService, Marker, SearchTravelMode, LocationDestination) { if (navigator.geolocation) { browserSupportFlag = true; navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) { initialLocation = L.latLng(position.coords.latitude,position.coords.longitude); map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.setView(initialLocation, map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.getZoom()); if (AutoPosition == "Button") { if (typeof geolocation\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map === 'undefined') { geolocation\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map = L.marker(initialLocation, {draggable:false}); geolocation\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.addTo(map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map); } else { geolocation\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.setLatLng(initialLocation); } } }, function() { handleNoGeolocation(browserSupportFlag); }); } else { browserSupportFlag = false; handleNoGeolocation(browserSupportFlag); } }; function handleNoGeolocation(errorFlag) { if (errorFlag == true) { alertContentString = "Error: The Geolocation service failed"; } else { alertContentString = "Error: Your browser doesn't support geolocation"; } popup\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.setLatLng(map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map.getCenter()) .setContent(alertContentString) .openOn(map\_com\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map); }; function initializeZhOMPLG\_ARTICLE\_OVERVIEW787() { initializecom\_content\_article\_787\_0\_8\_map(); }; var tmpJQZhOMPLG\_ARTICLE\_OVERVIEW787 = jQuery.noConflict(); tmpJQZhOMPLG\_ARTICLE\_OVERVIEW787(document).ready(function() {initializeZhOMPLG\_ARTICLE\_OVERVIEW787();}); /\*\]\]>\*/

## Schema

```json
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.pompeionline.net/en" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Buildings and Places", "item": "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Regio VII", "item": "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places/regio-vii" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Macellum VII.9.7, 8, 19 and 52", "item": "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places/regio-vii/macellum-vii-9-7-8-19-and-52" } ] }
```