After the fire, the site of Cæsar's house was occupied by shops and
dwellings, along the front of which was an arcade. As these shops were
mostly kept by pearl-dealers, the arcade was known as the Porticus
Margaritaria. It is mentioned in the "Curiosum" and the "Notitia" of
the fourth century as in the eighth region, Forum Romanum Magnum.
In the recent excavations along the line of the Via Sacra, the
remains of an arcade 201 feet long by 24 feet wide, and consisting of
two rows of piers, have been found running parallel with the street,
and having shops on either side. This no doubt is the Porticum
Margaritarium of the catalogues. Beneath the arcade and the shops are
the remains of Cæsar's house. Judging from the monumental stones, the
pearl trade was an extensive one in Rome; and from the same authority
we learn that the shops were on the Sacra Via. This is mentioned on
the tomb of Ateilius Evhodus at the sixth mile on the Via Appia.