^* It would seem, from the fact that the earth in the interior of the basilica had already been passed through a sieve, that the building had been already ransacked in the Renaissance; though it is very strange that we should have no record of the discovery of so remarkable a building, even though it had yielded no sculptures, bronzes, or other small objects—which were entirely lacking in the building when found, and had indeed been removed in ancient times, when it ceased to be used almost before its decoration was completed, owing to the death of its owner and the persecution by Claudius of other members of the sect which worshipped in it.