The Stabian Gate may be taken as typical. Entering from the outside, at A, one came through a vaulted passage, B, about twelve feet wide, to a broad middle passage, or vantage court, open to the sky, into which missiles and boiling pitch could be hurled from above upon the heads of an enemy attempting to force the gates; then followed a second vaulted passage, a little wider than the other, in which were hung the heavy double doors, opening outward. The projecting posts of the doors are preserved, as are also the stones on which they rested when they were swung back against the wall; the vaulting has been restored. The gateway was paved throughout, with a raised walk on the right side. On one side of the inner entrance is a well (_a_), the Gorgon's head upon the curb reminding one of the protectress of the gate; on the other, the flight of steps already mentioned (_b_) leads to the top of the wall. Just beyond the steps are the remains of a small building, perhaps the lodge of the gate keeper (_c_). [Illustration: Fig. 111.--Plan of the Stabian Gate. B. Outer passage. C. Vantage court. D. Doors. _a._ Well. _b._ Steps leading to the top of the wall. _c._ Gatekeeper's lodge. _d._ Oscan inscription. _e._ Latin inscription.] The patron divinity of city gates, Minerva, was probably honored with a small statue in the niche still to be seen in the wall of the vantage court. Two inscriptions commemorate the making of repairs on the thoroughfare passing under the gateway. One of them (at _d_) is the Oscan inscription recording the work of the aediles Sittius and Pontius, to which reference has already been made (p. 184). The other (at _e_) is in Latin, and of much later date. It informs us that the duumvirs L. Avianius Flaccus and Q. Spedius Firmus at their own expense paved the road 'from the milestone,' which must have been near the gate, 'to the station of the gig drivers (_cisiarios_), at the limits of the territory of the Pompeians.' The Roman gigs, _cisia_, were very light, and adapted for rapid travelling; they were drawn by horses or mules, and were kept for hire at stations along the highways. The site of the station between Pompeii and Stabiae is not known. The Nola Gate, and the partially excavated Vesuvius and Sarno gates, follow the plan just described in all essential particulars. The inner keystone of the Nola Gate, facing the city, is ornamented with a helmeted head of Minerva, in high relief, which being of tufa has suffered from exposure to the weather. There was once an Oscan inscription near by, which stated that the chief executive officer of the city, Vibius Popidius, let the contract for building this gate, and accepted the structure from the contractor. [Illustration: Fig. 112.--Plan of the Herculaneum Gate. A. Steps leading to the top of the city wall. B. Room belonging to the house at the left of the Gate.]