The Aedicula of the House of The Vestal Virgins

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An aedicula is a small niche flanked by columns which may also have a canopy. The origin of the Aedicula in the Forum Romanum is uncertain. The monument, as an inscription records, was built according to the will of the Senate and the Roman people. It may have been a compitum, a sanctuary placed at crossroads to protect travellers from the gods of the underworld. The Aedicula has also been described as an external shrine to the goddess Vesta, more readily accessible to ordinary people than the temple proper.

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