[3] The foundation and cult of the shrine was associated in Roman legend with the Sabine king Titus Tatius, who ruled during the time of Romulus (8th century BC).

Two important episodes from Rome's founding are said to have taken place at this shrine, including the purification of the Sabine and Roman armies after a war and the death of Verginia.

According to legend, the father of the virtuous Verginia, using a butcher's knife from one of the stalls of the Tabernae Novae ("new shops"), killed his daughter rather than let her fall victim to the lecherous attentions of Appius Claudius in 449 BC.

[7] The scant archaeological remains uncovered between 1899 and 1901 (round travertine substructure, marble rim, diameter 2.40 meters) conform nicely to the pictures on the coins.

[8] In his Natural History (77-79 AD), Pliny the Elder[9] refers to signa Cloacinae, which were evidently the two statues shown on the coins and perhaps some other, unidentified objects.