An overground construction of 3 adjacent chambers was coated with bricks and covered with plaster. It housed ca 3000 niches, each for 2 ceramic urns in the form of pots.

In 1747 the current state of the building was studied and fixed in a series of etchings by G. B. Piranesi.

In 1790 Carlo Labruzzi made another etching of the monument.

In 1796 the Vatican made a census of the taverns of the city for defining a number of tax-payers. According to this census the taverna inside the ruins of the columbarium was named Hosteria del colombario. At the present time the ruins are occupied by a restoraunt “Hostaria Antica Roma”.