From the Introduction: This roman style forum serves not only as a marketplace, but as the center of a towns public life. It serves as a marketplace in the refreshingly cool early morning hours and as a meeting place for the community in the evenings. But even with the shade sails raised to provide additional shadow it is usually quite, almost abandoned, during the noontime heat. Only the occasional duelists take advantage of this to settle a score without witnesses. The structure itself sits in the center of town in a paved plaza, it consists of a double row of columns carved from limestone and crowned by a shingled roof. The open space at the center is partially covered by shade sails made from dyed linen.