Historically, Vestal virgins convicted of unchastity were not hurled from the Tarpeian Rock but buried alive, sealed in a cave beneath the Colline gate with a small quantity of oil, milk, bread, and water (Plut. Num. 10.5). As Holt N. Parker remarks, this was a trial by ordeal: the condemned Vestal never met with physical violence and, nominally, the bare necessities of life were provided for her (586). She alone was held to be responsible for her life and death, and if she was innocent, then the goddess Vesta would come to her aid. Insofar as the fictional mode of execution presented in this controversia is functionally equivalent to the true penalty suffered by an unchaste Vestal, then the answer to Cestius Pius’ question, it would seem, is yes – the case of a Vestal virgin is technically adjourned until the time of punishment.