Treasury

You walk from the Forum area outside the Basilica Julia and go through the door leading into the base of the mighty Temple of Saturn, entering the offices of the Treasury of the Roman state, administered by two Prefects (praefecti aerarii Saturni). The offices are filled with accountants (tabularii) and minor officials keeping records; you hear the constant clacking of abacus beads as amounts are calculated. The abacus was an essential tool for the poor tabularius, who had the complex and dreary task of trying to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using cumbersome Roman numerals.

You move toward the door of one of the strongrooms where the coins are stored deeper beneath the temple, but your path is blocked by a burly Praetorian guardsman who brusquely informs you that these rooms are always locked and guarded, off-limits to all but the highest Treasury officials.