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On the southern side of the Forum stand three large rooms traditionally identified as the Municipal Buildings, which housed the city’s principal administrative activities.
The three halls are generally interpreted as the respective offices of the aediles, the Tabularium, or public archive, and the duoviri, the city’s highest-ranking magistrates. The rooms were separated by narrow passages and opened onto the Forum’s southern portico.
The Tabularium was especially important. According to the traditional interpretation, it held documents and records belonging to the Pompeian administration. Its structure was also separated from the adjoining buildings to reduce the risk of fire reaching the archive.
Together with the nearby Comitium and Basilica, these buildings formed the principal area devoted to the city’s administrative, political and judicial affairs.
Further reading
Municipal building VIII.2.6 – Pompeii in Pictures – Photographs and documentation of the western hall, with notes on its varying identifications.
Municipal building VIII.2.8 – Pompeii in Pictures – Images and bibliographic references for the central hall, variously identified as the archive or council chamber.
Municipal building VIII.2.10 – Pompeii in Pictures – Photographic documentation of the hall associated with the duoviri.