Tabernae of the Basilica Julia

The Tabernae were used as offices and meeting rooms for collegiae, as places for corporations or groups to meet, and possibly for banking or money-exchangers to use (nummularii). Civic magistrates may have used the rooms as well. They were not used, so far as we know, as market shops. In the second and sixteenth rooms at the far east and west were staircases to take people to the second-floor galleries. The appearance of these rooms is archaizing, perhaps in order to retain the feeling of being "Veteres" (old) as the building was known in Republican times.

This photo shows the ruins of the Basilica Julia looking over the Temple of Saturn; the Tabernae were located in the long southern side of the basilica, away from the Forum.