Novensia: Studia i Materiały (10.1998)

18
on a sub-crust of pressed loess and limę mortar. The joints were partially filled with
mortar and partially with broken ware and broken Stones. It was checked that the
boards reached the eastern wali, the row of rooms to the west of the Building with
Porticoes, and the eastern border of the whole complex. Remnants of a legioifs
construction were found which used to be located in the middle of the hospital yard
and which, in our opinion, played the role of a sacellum dedicated to healing gods.8
The building was demolished before the construction of the Street. It probably play-
ed the role of a Container for preparing the mortar. Some of the mortar remained
inside it. Its upper surface was covered with broken ceramic ware, which constituted
the Street surface in that place.
During archaeological tests carried out in 1985 along the E-Z axle of the vale-
tudinarinm, Street levels in some excavations were found that led up to via prae-
toria.9 A comparison of their directions allowed the researchers to put up the thesis
that it was a continuation of the above-mentioned JT Street, which led from the
Building with Porticoes towards East and joined viapraetoria. It also turned out
that, unlike its later level, the Street did not go down to the East but was, practically
speaking, horizontal about 0,40-0,50 m over the former valetudinarium level. After
the beginning of a complete uncovering of the Street and removing its upper levels
madę of smali Stones and broken ware, and including fragments of tegulae and
amphorae connected with mortar in some places, the initial cobbling was uncovered.
Just like it was noticed within the area of the Building with Porticoes, the Street,
which was 6 m wide, was cobbled with exactly adjusted sandstone boards, usually
placed on a layer of the limę mortar. Fuges and breaks between irregular edges of
the boards were filled in with the mortar mixed with the broken ware. The total
thickness of the upper layer was 0,20-0,30 m. Below there was a 0,20 m thick layer
of a sub-crust madę of the broken ware and a pink mortar containing sand, gravel,
and smali, irregular Stones. In the middle of the road there was a channel 0,4 m deep
and 0,7 m wide, which was covered with huge boards.10 Archaeological data
indicate that it was started at the eastern border of the Building with Porticoes,
because it was not discovered in the section within the building. It did not cross
the sacellum covered with the mortar. However, it cannot be excluded that it was
an element of a sewage disposal system of the Street located along the eastern side
ofthe Building with Porticoes.
The very route of the Street seems to have an important meaning for under-
standing transformations in the constructions that took place in the IV section after
the military hospital was abandoned. It was exactly along the main axle of valetudi-
narium and crossed both the exit from the hospital into the yard, and its main, wide
entrance from via praetoria. Thus the constructors had used natural breaks in the
hospital walls. Thus we can assume that during the construction of the Street, some
rooms of the eastern wing of the former hospital still had some practical meaning.
This thesis seems to be confirmed by the fact of discovering the hypocaustum at the
Southern side, which was constructed in one of the hospital interiors.11 At that time,