Ancient phase of the forum

The surviving evidence of the first forum in Conimbriga is fragmentary. On the west are preserved the remnants of small shops that open to the square of the forum through means of a portico. The shop preserved farthest to the south appears to have been dedicated to the business of sealing earth. On the north, under the esplanade of the Flavian temple, were the foundations of the main construction of the Augustan forum. Its reconstitution is not certain. It could have been a basilica with two aisles, where a kind of chapel intended for the imperial cult was opened, but could also have been a temple itself encompassed by porticos on two sides. The stairs can be seen that provided access to the crypt under these constructions.