House of the Vestal Virgins

The Atrium Vestae on the southern slope of the Palatine in the Roman Forum was the residence of the six Vestal Virgins, the only female priesthood of Rome's public state cult. They tended the sacred fire in the adjacent round Temple of Vesta for 30 years under a vow of chastity; breaches were punished by being buried alive at the Porta Collina. The visible structure dates from Trajan's and Hadrian's era, with a long columned courtyard around a pool ringed by statues of chief Vestals. After Theodosius closed the pagan cults in 394 the complex decayed. Visitors with a Forum ticket walk past the statues and look across remains of mosaic floors and brick living cells.