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superimposed columns is the basilica in the southwest corner of the forum at Pompeii,
with a total of 16 columns of four different sizes superimposed in two levels (Fig. 31). 123
The basilica’s columns are both Ionic and Corinthian, and it is possible that, once
completed with capitals and bases, the shafts from Punta Scifo A would have been
finished in a similar way. 124 The differences between an Ionic column and a Corinthian
column are minimal, since “the Corinthian column is essentially an Ionic shaft and base
lengthened by substituting the low Ionic capital with a tall Corinthian capital.” 125
Fig. 31. The façade of the Basilica in the forum of Pompeii. Note the mixed Corinthian
and Ionic columns, of four different sizes, superimposed in two levels.
(Photo: D. Bartoli).
123 It must be remarked, however, that the Basilica in Pompeii is much earlier in date (first century A.D.).
124 According to Wilson Jones, in the third century A.D. it became acceptable to reuse marble elements,
particularly bases and capitals, in new monuments. (Wilson Jones 2000, 152). This might be a possible
explanation for the apparent absence of bases and capitals from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck.
125 Adam 1990, 92.
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