The House of the Vestal Virgins

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The House of the Vestal Virgins was built to provide accomodation for the priestesses who guarded the hearth in the Temple of Vesta, as the chief priestess was the daughter of the king the house used to be part of the Royal Residence. The house served another purpose in that it was here that many Romans deposited their wills for safe keeping. The courtyard, visible on the photographs on this page, was built during the reign of Nero (AD 54-68). The statues date from the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD. One of them, presumed to be of a priestess called Claudia who converted to Christianity in AD 365, has had its name erased.
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