--- title: "Portico of Concordia Augusta (Building of Eumachia) VII.9.1 and 67 - Pompeii Online" description: "The Portico of Concordia Augusta was commissioned by the public priestess Eumachia and dedicated to Concordia Augusta and Pietas Augusta." url: "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/buildings-and-places/regio-vii/portico-of-concordia-augusta-building-of-eumachia-vii-9-1-and-67" date: "2026-09-16T13:39:06+00:00" language: "en-GB" --- # Portico of Concordia Augusta (Building of Eumachia) VII.9.1 and 67 The **Building of Eumachia**, also known as the **Portico of Concordia Augusta**, is one of the largest and most monumental buildings overlooking Pompeii’s Civil Forum. It was commissioned in the early 1st century AD by **Eumachia**, one of the wealthiest and most influential women known in the city, a public priestess and member of a powerful Pompeian family. A monumental inscription records that, at her own expense and in her own name and that of her son **Marcus Numistrius Fronto**, Eumachia built the vestibule, covered gallery and porticoes and dedicated them to **Concordia Augusta and Pietas Augusta**. The building is therefore exceptional evidence not only for the monumental architecture of the Forum, but also for the role that an elite woman could attain in the religious, economic and social life of Roman Pompeii. ### Eumachia, one of Pompeii’s most important women Eumachia was the daughter of **Lucius Eumachius** and belonged to a family that had achieved great economic prosperity. Archaeological evidence connects her with the production and trade of wool and textiles, one of the most important sectors of Pompeii’s economy. Her social position, however, did not depend on wealth alone. Eumachia held the prestigious office of **public priestess**, one of the most important religious roles open to a woman in Roman society. Her status allowed her to participate actively in the city’s public life through religion, benefaction and the funding of monumental works. The Building of Eumachia was the clearest expression of this prestige. ### A woman at the city’s political heart The location chosen for the monument was exceptional. The building occupied a large section of the **eastern side of the Civil Forum**, Pompeii’s true political, religious and economic centre. The Macellum, administrative buildings, Basilica, Temple of Jupiter, Sanctuary of Apollo and numerous monuments associated with the imperial cult all stood here. To build on this scale directly on the square was to leave one’s name in the city’s most visible and prestigious setting. The inscription at the entrance reminded every citizen that Eumachia had built the complex at her own expense. The monument was therefore also an extraordinary instrument of **public self-representation**. ### Eumachia and her son In the dedicatory inscription, Eumachia associated her own name with that of her son, **Marcus Numistrius Fronto**. This detail was probably deliberate. Great works financed by Roman elite families could enhance the prestige of the entire family group and support the political careers of its members. Although a Roman woman could not personally hold the municipal magistracies reserved for men, she could still exercise considerable influence through wealth, priesthood, family connections and the funding of public works. The building therefore shows how **economic power, religion and a family’s political ambitions** could intersect in Pompeian society. ### Concordia Augusta and Pietas Augusta The inscription states that the building was dedicated to **Concordia Augusta and Pietas Augusta**. Concordia embodied harmony and order within the community and state, while Pietas expressed due respect for obligations towards the gods, family and community. During the imperial period, these values became increasingly closely associated with the emperor and imperial family. The building therefore belongs to the political and religious climate of the Augustan period and the Empire’s early years, when monuments and cults celebrating the new order established by Augustus proliferated even in provincial cities. As a public priestess, Eumachia herself played an important role within this religious system. ### The monumental entrance A great monumental entrance led into the building from the Forum. The façade was set within the square’s eastern portico and contributed to the Forum’s overall architectural composition. Important references to Roman history and ideology stood on either side of the entrance. Commemorative inscriptions, or ***elogia***, honouring **Romulus and Aeneas**, central figures in Rome’s foundation myths, were displayed beneath the portico. Romulus was regarded as the founder of Rome, while Aeneas, who fled Troy, was the mythical ancestor of the *gens Iulia*, the family of Julius Caesar and Augustus. Their presence therefore connected Pompeii with the history and values of the imperial capital. ### The marble frame One of the most refined features visible near the entrance is the celebrated **marble frame decorated with acanthus scrolls, leaves, flowers and small animals**. For many years, it was regarded as an original part of the Building of Eumachia’s doorway. Archaeological research has shown, however, that the frame was found in the Forum and placed here during modern restoration. According to the reconstruction now accepted by the Archaeological Park, it probably belonged to the neighbouring **Temple of Genius Augusti**. This is a particularly interesting detail because it shows that Pompeii’s present appearance is itself partly the result of choices made during restoration in past centuries. ### The great porticoed courtyard A vast rectangular space opened beyond the entrance. The area was surrounded by a **colonnaded portico**, allowing people to move through the complex under cover from sun and rain. The courtyard must have appeared far richer than the ruins visible today. Columns, marble revetment, statues and other decoration created a monumental space suited to the public and ceremonial activities that could take place within the building. Much of the original decoration has not survived. Like many other buildings around the Forum, the complex was **stripped of its most valuable materials after the eruption of AD 79**. Marble, architectural elements and other materials were recovered and reused. ### The three exedrae **Three exedrae**, large niches or monumental spaces, opened on the eastern side of the great courtyard. The central one was larger than the others. It probably contained a statue associated with **Concordia Augusta**, to whom the building was dedicated. The arrangement created a strong visual axis between the entrance from the Forum and the monumental rear of the complex. Anyone entering from the great square therefore passed through a carefully planned sequence: entrance, porticoed courtyard and central exedra. The architecture directed the eye towards the building’s most symbolically important point. ### The crypta A long **covered gallery**, traditionally known as the *crypta* or cryptoporticus, ran behind the inner portico. This passage extended along three sides of the complex. It was a more enclosed space than the great courtyard and probably served several functions within the building. One of the complex’s most important discoveries, the **statue of Eumachia**, was found at the rear of the crypta. ### The statue of Eumachia The statue represented Eumachia with her head veiled, an image appropriate to her religious office as a priestess. The inscription on its base is particularly important because it states that the statue was dedicated to Eumachia by the ***fullones***. The *fullones* were craftspeople involved in processing textiles, especially washing and treating cloth. The dedication therefore attests to a very close relationship between Eumachia and this occupational group. The original statue is now held in the **National Archaeological Museum of Naples**, while a copy is displayed in the Pompeian building. ### Eumachia and the *fullones* The connection with the *fullones* has played a central role in interpretations of the building. For many years, the complex was thought to have been the **headquarters of the guild of *fullones*** or a kind of market for the sale of cloth. This remains possible, but should not be presented as conclusively established. The dedication of the statue certainly shows that workers in the wool trade regarded Eumachia as an important figure worthy of particular honour. The day-to-day function of the entire complex, however, is not known with absolute certainty. It may have housed economic activity, meetings, ceremonies associated with the imperial cult or several functions at the same time. It is therefore more accurate to regard it as a **large public and ceremonial building closely associated with Eumachia, the imperial cult and probably also textile production**. ### Wool in the Pompeian economy The processing of wool and textiles was, in any event, one of the urban economy’s most important activities. Numerous **fulleries**, installations where cloth was washed, treated and finished, have been identified in Pompeii. The process required water, cleansing agents and intensive manual labour. Cloth was trodden in vats, rinsed, dried and then subjected to further treatments. One of the best-preserved examples is the **Fullery of Stephanus** on Via dell’Abbondanza. The dedication by the *fullones* shows that an elite woman could have very close economic and social ties with this important productive sector. ### The imperial cult The building also formed part of the wider process through which the **imperial cult** gradually reshaped Pompeii’s Forum. During the age of Augustus and his successors, several monuments in the square were constructed or altered to celebrate the emperor, his family and the ideological values of the new regime. On the Forum’s eastern side, the Building of Eumachia stood close to the **Temple of Genius Augusti** and the **Sanctuary of the Public Lares**. The entire area thus became one of the principal spaces where the city publicly expressed its loyalty to the imperial order. The dedication to Concordia Augusta and Pietas Augusta must be understood within this context. ### Women, wealth and public life Eumachia is one of the most important cases for understanding the role of **elite women in Roman society**. Women could not be elected to the principal municipal magistracies, but this did not mean that they were wholly excluded from public life. A woman from a wealthy family could own property, control economic activities, hold important priesthoods and finance buildings and works for the community. Eumachia made use of all these avenues. Her name appeared in monumental lettering at the city’s political centre, and one of Pompeii’s principal occupational groups dedicated a public statue to her. Few women from antiquity are documented in such a monumental way. ### The tomb of Eumachia The priestess’s social standing is also confirmed by her extraordinary **tomb in the Necropolis of Porta Nocera**. The funerary monument is one of the largest and most prestigious in the entire necropolis. Eumachia had it built for herself and her family. The monumentality of the tomb, together with the building in the Forum and the statue dedicated by the *fullones*, presents the image of a woman with immense economic resources and exceptional public recognition. Her name is thus documented both in the city’s political centre and in the funerary space devoted to the memory of its leading families. ### The earthquake and Pompeii’s final years The earthquake of **AD 62** damaged many of the buildings around the Forum. The Eumachia complex also underwent restoration and alteration. Pompeii was still carrying out an immense programme of reconstruction when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The façade and some parts of the complex therefore display interventions belonging to the city’s final phases. After the eruption, as in other Forum buildings, many of the most valuable materials were recovered. Relatively little of the exceptionally rich original marble decoration survives today as a result. ### The rediscovery The Building of Eumachia was brought to light in several excavation campaigns, chiefly in **1814, 1817 and 1836**. The discovery of the great inscription and statue immediately connected the monument with the priestess. Interpretation of the building’s function has nevertheless changed over time. The traditional identification as a wool market or headquarters of the guild of *fullones* is now treated more cautiously. Modern research instead seeks to understand the complex within the broader system of **imperial cult, elite self-representation and the Forum’s public activities**. ### One of Pompeii’s leading figures Visiting the Building of Eumachia reveals more than a great Roman monument. The building allows the history of a real person who lived in the city to be reconstructed. We know her name, her religious office, her son’s name, the monument she financed, the occupational group that dedicated a statue to her and even the great tomb in which she wished to be remembered. Eumachia thus emerges with a clarity rare in the ancient world. The **Portico of Concordia Augusta VII.9.1 and 67** is therefore one of Pompeii’s most important places for understanding **the role of women, economic power, textile production, imperial cult and the strategies through which elite families constructed their public image**. ### Further information [Pompeiiinpictures](http://www.pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R7/7%2009%2001.htm) Detailed images of the building ### Video ### Map ![Pompeii ruins: Building of Eumachia](https://www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/pianta/p10.gif) ![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 titlePlacemark78300000000000 = "Portico of Concordia Augusta (Building of Eumachia) VII.9.1 and 67"; var latlng78300000000000 = L.latLng(40.74941, 14.48553); map\_bounds\_com\_content\_article\_783\_0\_8\_map.extend(latlng78300000000000); var contentString78300000000000 = ""; 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