It now appears probable that the present stage was not constructed at the same time with the other parts of the Theatre, but that it is a later addition. There is no trace of an earlier stage, and there is nothing to indicate that this was built against the part of the structure designed for the spectators. We might assume that this earlier stage was placed at a slight distance from the other parts of the building, and that the entrances of the orchestra, the parodoi, lay between, were it not for the fact that the outer doorways of the present parodoi--notably that on the west side with the head of a satyr on the keystone--unquestionably belong to the original structure; and we should not be warranted in assuming two entrances to the orchestra on each side. At the same time it is evident that the construction of the tribunalia must have involved a rebuilding of this part of the Theatre, and it is possible that originally passages led from the outer doors of the present parodoi, not to the orchestra, but to the ranges of seats. In that case, assuming that the stage was slightly removed from the rest of the structure, we may freely grant that the acting may have gone on in front of it rather than upon it, and that this may have been a Greek theatre according to Dr. Doerpfeld's view. But we are here dealing only with possibilities; it is to be hoped that further investigation will bring to light data for a final solution of the problem. In the open space between the Theatre, the Forum Triangulare, and the Palaestra there is a deep reservoir for water (D), square on the outside and round within. It was evidently used for the sprinklings, _sparsiones_, with saffron-colored water, by which on summer days the heat of the Theatre was mollified. That such sprinklings were in vogue in Pompeii is known from announcements of gladiatorial combats, painted on walls, in which they are advertised together with an awning as part of the attraction,--_sparsiones, vela erunt_. CHAPTER XXII _THE SMALL THEATRE_ The names of the builders of the Small Theatre are known from an inscription which is found in duplicate in different parts of the building: _C. Quinctius C. f. Valg[us], M. Porcius M. f. duovir[i] dec[urionum] decr[eto] theatrum tectum fac[iundum] locar[unt] eidemq[ue] prob[arunt]_,--'Gaius Quinctius Valgus the son of Gaius and Marcus Porcius the son of Marcus, duumvirs, in accordance with a decree of the city council let the contract for building the covered theatre, and approved the work.' Later the same officials, when, after the customary interval, they had been elected quinquennial duumvirs, built the Amphitheatre 'at their own expense' (p. 212). [Illustration: Fig. 66.--Plan of the Small Theatre. 1. Dressing room. 2. Stage. 3, 3. Tribunals.]