The construction phases
The different construction phases of the monuments result from a change in the form, the use, and/or the function of the buildings, and they are revealed by discontinuity in the masonry, a change in the building materials and the mode of construction, and a change in the system of measurements.
The design of the buildings
The proportions
The design of the buildings, as ascertained through a study of the basic dimensions (length and width) and the relatonship between them, follows certain rules.
The length and the width of the basilica are based on the side and the diagonal of a square 17 x 17m, and similar relationships govern the geometrical proportions of the buildings around the north peristyle.
Graphic representation
Based on the features surviving in situ, a study of the typology of other monuments of the same period, and Vitruvius’s specifications for constructing buildings (De architectura, 1st cent. bc), the graphic representation aims to reproduce the original form of the buildings.
