1902 Encyclopedia > Rome > Ancient Rome - Forum Romanum and Adjacent Buildings

Rome
(Part 24)




UNIT II: ROMAN TOPOGRAPHY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

SECTION II: ANCIENT ROME

Forum Romanum and Adjacent Buildings


Plate VIII.

Forum Romanum

The Forum Romanum or Magnum, as it was called in late times to distinguish it from the imperial fora, occupies a valley which extends from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to the north-east part of the Palatine. Till the construction of the great cloacae it was, at least in wet seasons, marshy ground, in which were several pools of water. In early times it was bounded on two sides by rows of shops and houses, dating from the time of the first Tarquin (Liv., i. 35). The shops on the south-west side facing the Sacra Via, where the Basilica Julia afterwards was built, were occupied by the Tabernae Veteres. The shops on the northern side, being occupied by silversmiths, were called Tabernae Argentariae (see Liv., xxvi. 27, xl. 51), and in later times, when rebuilt after a fire, were called Tabernae Novae. An altar to Saturn (Dionys., i. 34, vi. 1), traditionally set up by the companions of Hercules, and an altar to Vulcan, both at the end towards the Capitol, with the temple of Vesta and the Regia at the opposite end, were among the earliest monuments grouped around the Forum. The Lacus Curtius vanished, as Varro says (L.L., v. 148-149), probably with other stagnant pools, when the cloacae were constructed (Liv., i. 38, 56). Another pool, the Lacus Servilius, near the Basilica Julia, was preserved in some form or other till the imperial period. Under Sulla it was used as a place to expose the heads of many senators murdered in his proscriptions (Cic, Rose. Am., 32; Seneca, Be Prov., 3). The Vuleanal or Hephaesteum was an open area, so called from the early altar to Vulcan, and was (like the Comitium) a place of public meeting, at least during the regal period. It was raised above the Comitium, and probably was a space levelled on the lower slope of the Capitoline Hill behind the arch of Severus ; but its exact form and position are very doubtful. It was probably much encroached upon when the temple of Concord was enlarged in the reign of Augustus.

Plate VIII. gives a carefully measured plan of the Forum, showing the most recent discoveries.

References to Numbers in Plate (VIII.) of Forum Romanum. 7

1, 1. (Basilica Julia) existing marble piers and fragment of screen. 2. Impression of marble pier in the late archway of brick-faced concrete. 3. Only remaining one of ancient travertine piers. 4, 4. Chambers of tufa and travertine, with traces of stairs. 5. Tabula lusoria, with inscription, see p. 817. 6. Opening into Cloaca Maxima. 7. Massive travertine pedestal. 8, S. Paving of porta santa and Africano marbles. 9, 9. Paving of various Oriental marbles. 10. Probable position of arch of Tiberius. 11,11. Existing granite columns of temple of Saturn. 12. Main flight of steps, of which only the concrete core remains. 13. Starting of small side stairs to chamber under main flight of steps. 14. Only piece existing of ancient basalt paving (see fig. 6). 15. Platform of portions of Dii Consentes. 16. Upper door in Tabularium blocked up by porticus of Dii Consentes. 17. Door at foot of stairs of Tabularium, blocked up by temple of Vespasian (see fig. 1). 18. Travertine paving of time of Domitian. 19. Pedestal of Vespasian's statue. 20. Three existing columns of temple of Vespasian. 21. Edicula built by Domitian. 22. Travertine paving of time of Domitian. 23, 23. Long passage and windows in lower story of Tabularium. 24. Pedestal of statue of Concord. 25. Pedestal added by one of the Flavian emperors. 26. Fragment of a later pedestal. 27. White marble door-jamb and massive threshold of porta santa marble. 28. Remains of some early structure in tufa. 29. Three travertine steps down to lower paved level, perhaps that of the Comitium. 30. Marble steps to this lower level. 81. Large marble pedestal (not in situ) inscribed to Fl. Jul. Constantius. 32. Late addition to rostra. 33. Remains of a small marble structure. 34. Marble pedestal of a column, with rude reliefs of the 4th century. 35. Marble pedestal of an equestrian statue, set on end, and inscribed to Arcadius and Theodosius. 36. Marble walls (phttei) with reliefs of time of Trajan (not in situ). 37. Remains or a small marble structure. 38. Large concrete core of a late pedestal. 89. Steps to column of Phocas, part marble and part tufa. 40. Late building of brick and concrete lined with marble. 41. Existing three columns of temple of Castor. 42, 42. Existing pieces of mosaic pavement. 43. Main steps of temple of Castor. 44. Side steps ; only the three lowest remain. 45. Part of circular travertine curb ; puteed Scribonist 46,46. Original line of Sacra Via, covered with late paving of travertine. 47. Line of side steps of Edes Divi Julii. 48. Small front stairs up to podium of Mdes Divi Julii. 49. Curved recess in podium, which probably once contained an altar to Divus Julius ; now blocked up by late masonry. 50. Fragment of a wall faced with opus reticulatum. 51. Concrete core of podium of temple of Vesta. 52. Small œdicula by entrance to Atrium Vestae. 53, 53. Shops adjoining Atrium Vestae. 54. Stairs from Nova Via up to Clivus Victoriae and palace of Caligula. 54A. Stairs, shown on a fragment of the marble plan, leading up from the level of the Forum to that of the Nova Via. 55, 55. Windows in curia of Diocletian (S. Adriano), now below the ground level ; see fig. 12, p. 816. 56. Marble doorway shown by Du Perac, now missing.

Unlike the fora of the emperors, each of which was surrounded by a lofty wall and built at one time from one design, the architectural form of the Forum Romanum was a slow growth. The marshy battlefield of the early inhabitants of the capitol and Palatine became, when the ground was drained by the great cloacae, under a united rule the most convenient site for political meetings, for commercial transactions, and for the pageants of rich men's funerals, ludi scenici, and gladiatorial games. For these purposes a central space, though but a small one, was kept clear of buildings ; hut it was gradually occupied in a somewhat inconvenient manner by an ever-accumulating crowd of statues and other honorary monuments. On three sides the limits of this open space are marked by paved roads, faced by the stately buildings which gradually took the place of the simple wooden tabernae and porticus9 of early times. This central space was essentially the meeting-place of the plebs, or the Comitia Tributa, while the patricians, the Comitia Curiata, met on the Comitium, which adjoined the Forum. The Comitium10 was a level space in front of the Curia ; the construction of both is ascribed to Tullus Hostilius. For the position of the Comitium and the Curia see plan of Forum (Plate VIII.). Varro (L. L., v. 155-156) gives the following account of the buildings which were grouped along the northern angle of the Forum.

"Comitium ab eo quod coibant eo comitiis curiatis et litium causa. Curiae duorum generum, nam et ubi curarent sacerdotes res divinas, ut Curiae Veteres, et ubi senatus humanas, ut Curia Hostilia, quod primum aedificavit Hostilius rex. Ante hanc Rostra, quojus loci id voeabulum, quod ex hostibus capta fixa sunt rostra. Sub dextra hujus a Comitio locus substructus, ubi nationum subsisterent legati qui ad senatum essent missi. Is Graecostasis appellatus a parte ut multa. Senaculum supra Graecostasim, ubi Aedis Concordiae et Basilica Opimia. Senaculum vocatum, ubi senatus, aut ubi seniores consisterent."

Curia

The Curia or senate-house passed through many vicissitudes. At first called Curia Hostilia from its founder Tullus Hostilius (Liv., i. 30), it lasted till 52 B.C., when it was burnt at the funeral of Clodius, and was then rebuilt by the son of Sulla, and from his gens called Curia Cornelia (Dion Cass., xl. 50 ; Plin., H.N., xxxiv. 12). It was again rebuilt by Augustus (29 B.C.) under the name of the Curia Julia, as recorded in the inscription of Aneyra (see ANGORA)—CVRIAM. ET . CONTINENS . EI. CHALCIDICVM... FECI. Little is known about the adjoining buildings called the Athenaeum and Chalcidicum ; Dion Cassius (li. 22) mentions the group. In the reign of Domitian the Curia Julia was again rebuilt (Prosp. Aquit., p. 571), and lastly by Diocletian. There is strong evidence to show that the existing church of S. Adriano is the Curia of Diocletian, though of course much altered, and with its floor raised about 20 feet above the old level. Fig. 12 shows the front existing towards the Forum, omitting later windows and doors. As late as the time of Du Perac (Vestigj di Roma) the old entrance and level were preserved. He gives a drawing12 of it with steps descending to the doorway. The ancient bronze doors now at the end of the nave of the Lateran basilica originally belonged to this building, and were removed thence by Alexander VII. Fig. 12 is derived from actual measurements of the part above ground, while the lower part, now buried, is derived from Du Perac's drawing and from the bronze doors at the Lateran, which give the size of the opening, and show how deeply the buried part descends below the present level. The brick cornice and marble consoles, covered with enriched mouldings in stucco, and the sham marble facing, also of stucco, if compared with similar details in the baths of Diocletian, leave little doubt as to this being a work of his time, and not, as has been usually assumed, the work of Pope Honorius I., who (625-638 A.D.) consecrated it as the church of S. Adriano.

Comitium

From the Curia a flight of steps led down to the Comitium (Liv., i. 36), the level of which appears from the existing steps and pavement near the arch of Severus (see

FIG. 12.—Curia of Diocletian, as it was in the 16th century. A, A, A. Original windows now blocked up. B. Bronze mitium (Liv., doors. C. Stucco facing. D. Cornice with marble consoles i. 36), the level and enriched stucco mouldings, both existing. E. Raking cornice now gone, but shown by Du Perac.

Plate VIII.) to have been about 2 feet below that of the Forum, and not above it, as Bunsen and others have asserted.

Original Rostra

On the Comitium stood the ancient rostra till they were rebuilt on a new site by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. The ancient rostra were so called in 338 B.C., when Camillus and Moenius defeated the Latin fleet at Antium, and the beaks (rostra) of the captured ships were fixed to an existing platform on the Comitium for orators. It was also called a "templum" because the structure was consecrated by the augurs (Cic., De Orat., iii. 3). Other rostra, named for distinction Rostra Julia, were so called from the beaks of ships taken at Actium and affixed by Augustus to the podium of the temple built by him in honour of the deified Julius. Both are mentioned by Suetonius (Aug., 100). There were several other platforms or tribunals for orators in and about the Forum, but they were not called rostra. From the original rostra Cicero delivered his Second and Third Catiline Orations, and they were the scene of some of the most important political struggles of Rome, such as the enunciation of their laws by the Gracchi. Beside the Comitium another monument was erected, also adorned with beaks of ships, to commemorate the same victory at Antium. This was the Columna Mcenia, so called in honour of Mcenius (Plin., H.N., xxxiv. 11, vii. 60). The Columna Duilia was a similar monument, erected in honour of the victory of C. Duilius over the Punic fleet in 260 B. c.; a fragment of it with inscription (restored in imperial times) is preserved in the Capitoline Museum. Columns such as these were called " columnae rostratae."

Graecostasis

Near the Comitium, on the side towards the Capitol, was the Graecostasis, a platform where foreign ambassadors stood to hear the speeches (see Varro, loc. cit.). It appears probable that, like the rostra, the Graecostasis was moved in the 1st century B.C. ; and this name has been given with some probability to the curved marble-faced platform behind the existing rostra.

Senaculum

The Senaculum appears to have been a place of preliminary meeting for the Senate before entering the Curia (Liv., xli. 27 ; Val. Max., ii. 2, 6) ; it adjoined the temple of Concord, and when this was rebuilt on an enlarged scale in the reign of Augustus it appears probable that its large projecting portico became the Senaeulum (Dionys., i. 34, vi. l). It may possibly have once been identical with the Area Concordiae mentioned by Livy (xl. 19) in connexion with the Area Vulcani (comp. xxxix. 46).

Basilicae in Forum

A great part of the north-east side of the Forum was occupied by in Forum, two basilicae, which were more than once rebuilt under different names. The first of these appears to have been adjacent to the Curia, on its south side ; it was called the Basilica Porcia, and was founded by the elder Cato in 184 B.C. (see Liv., xxxix. 44, and Plut., Cato Major, 19); it was burnt with the Curia at Clodius's funeral. Adjoining it another basilica, called Aemilia et Fulvia (Varro, vi. 4), was built in 176 B.C. by the censors M. Fulvius and M. Aemilius Lepidus; it stood, according to Livy (xl. 51), "post argentarías novas," the line of silversmiths' shops along the north-east side of the Forum. In 50 B.C. it was rebuilt by L. Aemilius Paulus (Plut., Caes., 29; Appian, Bell. Civ., ii. 26), and was more than once restored within the few subsequent years by members of the same family. Its later name was the Basilica Pauli, and it was remarkable for its magnificent columns of Phrygian marble (Plin., H.N., xxxvi. 24) or pavonazetto.

Temples of Janus

Near the middle of the north-east side of the Forum stood also Temples the small bronze temple of Janus, the doors of which were shut of Janus, on those rare occasions when Rome was at peace. A first brass of Nero shows it as a small celia, with richly ornamented frieze and cornice. Another tedicula near that of Janus was the shrine of Venus Cloacina (or the Purifier), probably on the line of the great cloaca (Liv., iii. 48; Plin., H.N., xv. 36). Two or more other shrines of Janus stood on this side, behind the shops of the money-lending argentarii; and the word "Janus" was used to imply the place of usurers (Hor., Sat., ii. 3, 18).

So far the buildings mentioned have been mostly those whose sites are still buried under the line of modern houses on the north-east of the Forum, the only part which has not yet been excavated. Turning to those of which existing remains are visible, at the north-west end the rostra of Julius Caesar mark the limit of the Forum in this direction, as the arch of Fabius beside the temple of Faustina did in the other.

Existing Rostra

Plate VIII. shows plan of the rostra, with the curved Graecostasis behind it. It is an oblong platform about 78 feet long and 11 feet high above the level of the Forum ; its ground floor, paved with herring-bone bricks, is 2 feet 6 inches below the Forum paving. Its end and side walls are of tufa blocks, 2 feet thick and 2 feet wide, each carefully clamped to the next with wooden dovetail dowels. Its floor was supported by a series of travertine piers, carrying travertine lintels, on which the floor slabs rested (see fig. 13). Outside it was completely lined with Greek marble and had a richly moulded plinth and cornice; none of the latter is in situ, but many pieces lie scattered around. A groove cut in the top of the cornice shows the place where marble cancelli were fixed ; one of the cornice blocks is partly without this groove, showing that the screen did not extend along the whole front of the rostra. This agrees with a relief on the arch of Constantine, representing the emperor making an oration from the rostra, with other buildings at this end of the Forum shown behind.

FIG. 13.—Section through front of rostra, showing the shown behind, marble lining, screen, and bronze beaks, the position of In this relief the which is shown by the holes in the existing tufa wall. The details are to double scale.

In this relief the screen is shown with a break in the middle, so that the orator, standing in the centre, was visible from head to foot. Two tiers of large holes to hold the bronze rostra are drilled right through the tufa wall, and even through the travertine pilasters where one happens to come in the way ; these holes show that there were nineteen rostra in the lower tier, and twenty above set over the intermediate spaces of the lower row. The back wall of the rostra is of concrete faced with brick, which, being probably the work of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., is the earliest dated example of brickwork in Rome. The inside space, under the main floor of the rostra, is coated thickly with stucco,—the brick wall being studded in the usual way with iron nails to form a key for the plaster.

Curved Platform

In spite of the assertions of Bunsen, Jordan, and others that the curved platform behind (conjecturally called the Graecostasis) is a work of late date, it is evident from various constructional points, visible at the junction of the two structures, that it existed before the rostra, which when built completely hid its rich lining and the pilasters of porta santa marble which decorated its front,—very strong evidence as to the curved platform being earlier in date. The level of the top of this platform and that of the rostra appear to have coincided exactly, so that the whole formed one continuous marble-paved platform, and the rostra would be reached, not by steps, but from the higher ground towards the Capitol, from which access is given to the curved platform and so on to the floor of the rostra. The bronze rostra on this structure of 44 B.C. were believed to be the original beaks from Antium, moved from the old rostra (Florus, i. 11). On its marble platform stood many statues, e.g., of Sulla, Pompey, two of Julius Caesar, and others (see Dion Cass., xlii. 18, and xliv. 4). Owing probably to the weight of the many statues proving too much for the travertine piers, which are not set on their natural beds but endways, and therefore are very weak, the structure seems to have given way at more than one time and the floor has been supported by piers and arches of brick-faced concrete, inserted either in place of or at the sides of the shattered piers. These later additions, apparently of the 3d and 4th centuries, are omitted in Plate VII. for the sake of clearness. The moulded plinth of the curved platform is of Pentelic marble, some of the blocks of which are incised with masons' marks, namely, the Greek letters _____. A number of metal pins on the face of the slabs of porta santa marble which line its front show that emblemata or reliefs, probably of gilt bronze, were once fastened to the marble. The use of Greek marble shows that this platform can be but little earlier than the rostra (44 B.C.) ; and it appears possible that this is the Graecostasis, transferred, like the rostra, to a new site. See Varro (L.L., v. 155) and Cicero (Ad Quint. Fr.,ii. 1), who mention the original structure. Restorations of the later one by Antoninus Pius and Diocletian are mentioned by Capitolinus (Ant. Pius, 8), and in the Catal. Imp. Vienn. given by Preller (Regionen, p. 143),—in both cases after injury by fire, a fact which seems to show that in later times the Graecostasis had some roofed porticus or shelter and was not a mere open platform as it was originally.





Umbilicus and Milliarium

At the northern end of the curved platform there is a cylindrical and structure of concrete faced with brick, and lined with thin marble slabs ; it is in three stages, each diminishing in size, and appears to be an addition of about the time of Severus. This is usually identified with the Umbilicus Romae, or central point of the city, mentioned in the Notitia and the Einsiedeln MS. (see Preller, Regionen, Reg. viii.). According to another theory it is the base of the gilt statue of the Genius Populi Romani set up by Aurelian ; but this is contradicted by the form of the structure, which is not that of the pedestal of a statue. At the other extremity probably stood the Milliarium Aureum, a marble column sheathed in gilt bronze and inscribed with the names and distances of the chief towns on the roads which radiated from the thirty-seven gates of Rome (Plin., H.N., iii. 9). It was set up by Augustus in 29 B.C. and its position "sub aede Saturni" is indicated by Tacitus (Hist., i. '27 ; see schol. on Suet., Otho, 6, and Plut., Galba, 24). The Milliarium is mentioned in the Notitia (Reg. viii.) as being near the Vicus Jugarius. The position shown in Plate VIII. agrees with both these indications, being near the start of the Vicus Jugarius, and close under the temple of Saturn. Fragments of a curved marble plinth and frieze with floriated reliefs, now lying in the Basilica Julia, probably belonged to the pedestal of this column ; they were found by Canina near the supposed site.

Temple of Saturn

The position of the temple of Saturn is described in Mon. Ancyr. of Saturn, (see below) and shown on the marble plan, and is also identified by various passages in ancient writers. Varro (L. L., v. 42) speaks of it as being "in faucibus Capitolii"; Servius (Ad Aen., ii. 115) says that it is in front of the Clivus Capitolinus, and near the temple of Concord (see Plate VIII.). It was built against a steep slope or outlying part of the Capitoline Hill (comp. Dionys., i. 34) on the site of a prehistoric altar to Saturn, after whom the Capitoline Hill was originally called Mons Saturnius. The public treasury was part of this temple (Serv., Ad Aen., ii. 116, and Macrob., Sat., i. 8).7 The original temple is said by Varro (ap. Macrob., i. 8) to have been begun by the last Tarquin, and dedicated by T. Lartius, the first dictator, 501 B.C. ; but Dionysius (vi. 1) and Livy (ii. 21) attribute it to the consuls A. Sempronius and M. Minucius in 497 B.C. It was rebuilt on a larger scale by Munatius Plancus in the reign of Augustus (Suet., Aug., 29). The only part remaining of this date is the very lofty podium of massive travertine blocks, and part of the lower course of Athenian marble, with which the whole was faced. In the 16th century a piece of the marble frieze was found, inscribed L . PLANCVS . L . F . COS . IMPER . ITER . DE . MANIB . (G. I.L., vi. 1316). The erection of the six granite columns in the front and two at the sides, with their clumsily patched entablature, belongs to the last rebuilding in the time of Diocletian. Some of these fine columns are evidently earlier than this rebuilding, but were refixed with rude caps and bases. One of the columns is set wrong way up, and the whole work is of the most careless sort. Part of the inscription,, once inlaid with bronze, recording this latest rebuilding still exists on the entablature (see Gori, L'Erario di Saturno, 1873).8 On the Forum side the temple is flanked by the Vicus Jugarius, while the steep Clivus Capitolinus winds round the front of the great flight of steps leading up to the cella, and then turns along the north-west side of the temple.9

Vicus Jugarius

The Vicus Jugarius (see Plate VIII.), part of the basalt paving of which is now exposed, was so called (see Festus, ed. Müller, p. 104) from an altar to Juno Juga, the guardian of marriage. Starting from the Forum, it passed between the temple of Saturn and the Basilica Julia, then close under the cliff of the Capitolium (see Liv., xxxv. 21) and on to the Porta Carmentalis. It was spanned at its commencement by a brick-faced arch lined with marble, the lower part of which exists, and is not earlier than the 3d or 4th century.10 At this end of the Forum the arch of Tiberius was built across the Sacra Via, which is narrowed as if to bring it under the span of the arch. It was erected in 17 A.D. to commemorate the recovery of the standards lost by Varus.11 A few fragments remain, scattered about in various places

Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia12 occupies a great part of the south-west side of the Forum, along the line of the Sacra Via ; its ends are bounded by the Vicus Jugarius and the Vicus Tuscus. It was begun by Julius Caesar, finished by Augustus, and again rebuilt by him, as is recorded in the Mon. Ancyr.,13 in an important passage which gives its complete early history. In plan it was a large double porticus, open.on three sides, with a range of rooms, two or three stories high, on the south-west side. These rooms, of which considerable remains exist, are built of tufa with travertine pilasters and bands in the tufa wall. This part probably is of the time of Julius Caesar ; Augustus surrounded it with an arcade of arches in two stories and engaged Tuscan columns in Luna marble, fragments of which exist at the north-west end. The double aisle which, surrounded it was vaulted in concrete, forming upper galleries (masniana), whence spectators heard the law-cases which were conducted in the area below (see Plin., Ep., vi. 33). The central space was not roofed, but probably was sheltered by an awning.14 It is paved with richly coloured Oriental marbles, namely, pavonazetto, cipollino, giallo, and Africano. The covered aisles are paved witli large slabs of white marble.15 Many tabulae lusoriae, or gambling boards, are scratched on this marble paving (comp. Cic., Phil., ii. 23).16 Low marble cancelli, with moulded plinth, closed the otherwise open arches of the basilica ; many fragments exist, and one piece of the subplinth is still in situ. This basilica held four law-courts with 180 indices or jurors. Trajan and other emperors held law-courts there (Dion Cass., lxxxviii. 10). An inscription found near it records its restoration by Septimius Severus in 199 A.D. after a fire ; it was again burnt in 282 and restored by Diocletian. These fires had destroyed nearly all the fine marble arches of Augustus ; and Diocletian rebuilt it mostly with brick or travertine piers, a few of which remain. A final restoration is recorded in an inscription discovered in the 16th century, and another in 1882, as being carried out by Gahinius Vettius Probianus, prefect of the city in 377 (Gruter, Inscr., clxxi. 7); the latter is on a pedestal which now stands in the Vicus Jugarius. Suetonius (Cal., 37) mentions that it was one of Caligula's amusements to throw money to the people below from the roof of this basilica, which probably was a link in the bridge by which this maniac connected the Palatine with the Capitolium. The line of the bridge, which starts in the upper part of Caligula's palace, passes over a lofty and massive brick-faced building, once lined with marble, which stands on the lower slopes of the Palatine. Suetonius's account (Cal., 22) of the bridge makes it very probable that this building is the temple of Augustus, as there is no other possible site for it on the line from the Palatine to the Capitolium. The intermediate stages from the temple to the basilica and thence to the Capitolium were probably merely a wooden structure, as no traces of it now remain. The temple of Augustus was begun by Tiberius and finished by Caligula (Suet., Cal., 21).

Vicus Tuscus

The Vicus Tuscus passes from the Sacra Via between the Basilica Julia and the temple of Castor to the Velabrum and Circus Maximus ; its basalt paving has been exposed at many points along its whole line (see Liv., xxvii. 37). A very early statue of one of the chief Etruscan deities, Vortumnus, stood in this street, a little to the south-west of the Basilica Julia, where part of its pedestal was found in 1549 inscribed VORTVMNVS TEMPORIBVS DIOCLE-TIANI. ET . MAXIMIANI . . . (C. I. L., vi. 804 ; see also Pseudo-Ascon., Ad Cic. Verr., ii. 1, 59). The Vicus Tuscus was also called Thurarius, from shops of perfume-sellers (see Hor., Sat., ii. 3, 228, and Ep., ii. 269). It is the street along which processions passed, mentioned by Cicero (Verr., ii. 1, 59) as extending "a signo Vertumni in Circum Maximum."

Temple of Castor

The temple of Castor on the south-east side of the Vicus Tuscus was founded to commemorate the apparition in the Forum of the Dioscuri announcing the victory of Aulus Postumus at Lake Regillus, 496 B.O., and was dedicated in 482 B.C. by the son of A. Postumus (Liv., ii. 20, 42 ; Dionys., vi. 13 ; Plut., Coriol., 3 ; Ov., Fast., i. 707). In 119 B.C. it was restored by the consul L. Metellus Dalmaticus (Ascon., In Cic. Pro Scaur., 46) and finally rebuilt in the reign of Augustus by Tiberius and Drusus, 6 A.D. (Suet., Tib., 20; Ov., Fast., i. 705; Dion Cass., lv. 8, 27), to which period belong the three existing Corinthian columns and piece of entablature, all very delicate and graceful in detail, and of the finest workmanship, in Pentelic marble ; the design is of pure Greek style. One point shows Roman timidity in the use of a lintel: the frieze is jointed so as to form a flat arch, quite needlessly, with the object of relieving the weight on the architrave. Its plan, hexastyle, with only eleven columns on the sides, is shown in Plate VIII. and fig. 14. It had a lofty podium, lined with marble, and decorated with a heavy cornice and pilasters, one under each column. The podium is an interesting example of the enormous solidity of Roman buildings of the best period. Solid tufa walls, 8 feet thick, are built under the whole of the cella and the front row of columns, while the columns of the sides rest on spurs of similar walling, projecting at right angles from that under the cella ; the part immediately under the columns is of travertine, and the spurs are united and strengthened laterally by massive flat arches, also of travertine. With the exception of a small chamber under the steps, entered from the Vicus Tuscus, the entire podium is filled up by a solid mass of concrete, made of broken tufa, pozzolana, and lime, the whole forming a lofty platform, about 22 feet high, solid as a rock, on which the columns and upper structure are erected. Small chambers formed in the concrete basement, such as the one in this temple, occur in many instances, e.g., in the temples of Saturn, Divus Julius, and Concord. They were probably used as strong rooms, in which money and plate were deposited for safe keeping (see Juv., xiv. 260), a purpose for which Roman temples were frequently used. Two fragments of mosaic, with simple lozenge pattern in white marble .and basalt, still exist in the cella of this temple. The level of the mosaic shows that it is of earlier date than the rebuilding of Tiberius, as it lies considerably below the level of the later floor. It has all the characteristics of early mosaic—very small tessera; fitted with great accuracy, like the early mosaic in the Regia. The temple of Castor was often used as a meeting-place for the Senate, and its lofty podium formed a tribunal for orations. Close by it was another tribunal, probably merely a wooden suggestus—called the Tribunal Aurelium (see Cic., In Pis., 5, and Pro Sext., 15). The Fons Juturnae (see Ov., Fast., i. 705, and Dionys., vi. 13), at which the Dioscuri were fabled to have watered their horses, was beside their temple, and the circular travertine curb close by has been supposed to have belonged to this. Its form, however, makes it more probable that it was the plinth of a screen round the Puteal Scribonis or Libonis (Hor., Ep.,i.l9, 8, and Sat., ii. 6, 35),— a circular marble structure like well-mouth, or-namented with reliefs of lyres and garlands, used to enclose somespot struck by lightning or sacred from other causes. It is shown on a denarius of the gens Scribonia. The Sacra Via, in its course from the Regia towards the temple of Saturn, originally passed in froni. of the temple of Castor ; but in late times its line was changed, and it is now covered at this point by rude paving of travertine and marble, probably not earlier than the 5th century. The ancient line is indicated by the Regia, shown on fig. 16.

Temple of Divus Julius

On the other side of the Sacra Via stand the scanty remains of the temple of Divus Julius, erected by Augustus. Though little beyond its concrete core is left, its plan can be fairly well made out from the voids in the concrete, wdiich show the position of the tufa foundations under the walls and columns (as in the temple of Castor). The temple itself, a hexastyle prostyle building, with close pyknostyle intercolumniation (Vitr., iii. 2), stood on a lofty podium with a curved recess in the front between two flights of stairs (see Plate VIII.). The wall which now fills up the recess is a late addition. It is possible that this very unusual plan was adopted in order that the recess might leave room for the pre-existing altar (Appian, Bell. Civ., ii. 148) or column (Suet., J. Caes., 85) erected by the Senate with the inscription PARENTI PATRIAE. The podium, which projects in front of the temple itself, was adorned with beaks from the ships taken at Actium (Dion Cass., Ii. 19), and hence it was called the Rostra Julia, to distinguish it from the other rostra described above. Both were used for the funeral orations in honour of Augustus (Suet., Aug., 100 ; see also Dion Cass., liv. 35). Besides the concrete core and the curved tufa wall of the recess, little now exists except a small bit of the mosaic of the cella floor and some fragments of the cornice and pediment, of fine Greek marble. This temple is represented on coins of Augustus and Hadrian.

Temple of Vesta

The temple of Vesta, founded according to tradition by Numa, stands at the southern angle of the Forum on the ancient line of the Sacra Via (Ov., Trist., iii. 1, 28). No shrine in Rome was equal in sanctity to this little circular building, which contained the sacred fire and the relics on which the welfare and even the existence of Rome depended. The shrine was an " edes sacra," not a "templum " in the strict sense of the word, which means a building so inaugurated that it could be used for meetings of the Senate. The original building was destroyed in 390 B.C. by the Gauls ; it was burnt again in 241 B.C., again in the great fire of Nero's reign, and then in the reign of Commodus ; after this it was rebuilt by Severus, to whose age belong the fragments of columns, cornice, and other architectural features now lying around the ruined podium. These, with the help of representations of the temple on coins of Domitian,1 and an ancient relief in the Uffizi (see Lanciani, L'Atrio di Vesta, 1884, pis. xix.-xxi.), are sufficient to make an accurate restoration (see Plate VIII. and fig. 15). It consisted of a circular cella, surrounded by eighteen columns, with screens between them ; the circular podium, about 10 feet high, still exists,

FIG. 15.—Temple of Vesta, as rebuilt by Severus, conieeturafly restored by Comm. Lanciani from existing remains.

mainly of concrete with some foundations of tufa blocks, which may belong to the original structure. In the time of Pliny (H.N., xxxiv. 7) the tholus or dome over the cella—symbolizing the canopy of heaven (Ov., Fast., vi. 276)—was covered with Syracusan bronze. Horace's mention (Od., i. 2, 13) of the destruction of the temple by a Tiber flood caused the mistaken notion that the similar round temple still existing near the exit of the Cloaca Maxima was the Aedes Vestae ; but the flood of 1877 showed that the waters of the river could still reach this point in the Forum. Its position near the temple of Castor is mentioned by Martial (i. 71-73).2

Regia

The Regia (see fig. 16), or residence of the pontifex maximus, was on the Sacra Via, close by the temple of Vesta. It also was traditionally founded by Numa, and used as his dwelling-house ; it was destroyed in 390 B.C. by the Gauls, and was again burnt in 210 B.C. (Liv., xxvi. 27), when the temple of Vesta narrowly escaped. Julius Caesar, as pontifex maximus, resided here ; and when Augustus succeeded to this office in 12 B.C. he gave the Regia to the vestals, having built himself a large house on the Palatine. When the Atrium Vestae or house of the vestals was rebuilt on an enlarged scale the Regia was pulled down and its site partly occupied by the new atrium. Ovid (Trist., iii. 1, 28) describes this end of the Forum thus—

"Haec est a sacris quae via nomen habet,
Hic locus est Vestae, qui Pallada servat et ignem,
Hic fuit antiqui Regia parva Numae."

The excavations of the last few years have laid hare remains of this very interesting building, and show that it was a large house extending close up to the temple of Vesta,— omotoichos [Gk.], as Dion Cassius (lvi. 27) says.3 It was set at a quite different angle from the Atrium and other later buildings which were built over its foundations ; this angle shows the original line of the Sacra Via, which in later times was diverted into a different direction. The existing remains are of several dates,—first, walls of soft tufa, part possibly of the earliest building; second, walls of hard tufa, of rather later date ; and lastly, concrete walls faced with brick, decorated with painted stucco, and columns of travertine, also stuccoed and painted,4 with a large quantity of fine mosaic of that early sort which has very small tesserae put together with great accuracy. This last part probably belongs to the rebuilding by Domitius Calvinus in 35 B.C. (Dion Cass., xliii. 42). These valuable remains were preserved in spite of the erection of later buildings over them because the levels of the later floors were higher than those of the Regia, and thus covered and protected the mosaics and lower parts of the walls and columns (see fig. 16). Besides being a dwelling-house, the Regia contained a sacrarium, in which were preserved the sacred spears of Mars (Aul. Gell., iv. 6), and also the shrine of the Dea Ops Consiva, only entered by the vestals and the sacerdos publicus (Varro, L.L., vi. 21).

Atrium Vestae

The Atrium Vestae or house of the vestals, like the temple, was many times burnt and rebuilt ; the existing building, which was excavated in 1883-84, is of the time of Hadrian, as is shown by the brick stamps. It consists of a large atrium or quadrangle with columns of eipollino. At one end is the tablinum, with three small rooms on each side of it,—probably for the six vestals. A bathroom, bakehouse, servants' offices, and some rooms lined with rich marbles extend along the south-west side. This extensive building is set against the side of the Palatine, which is cut away to admit the lower story. Thus the level of the first upper floor is nearly the same as that of the Nova Via, on which it faces, about 23 feet above the ground floor. The upper floor is in part well preserved ; it contains a large suite of bath and other rooms, which were probably the sleeping apartments of the vestals. All the better rooms and the baths are lined with polished marbles, many of great beauty and rarity; the floors are mostly mosaic of tesselated work. The paving of the tablinum was a beautiful specimen of inlay in porphyry and marble. In many places alterations and. clumsy patchings of the 4th and 5th centuries are apparent. A number of statues of the chief vestal, or virgo vestalis maxima, with inscribed pedestals, were found in the atrium, mostly of the 3d century, though a few are earlier ; these are of especial interest as illustrating the sacerdotal dress of the vestals.5 Nothing but the Nova Via separates the Atrium Vestae from the palace of Caligula (see Plin., Ep., vii. 19 ; Aul. Cell., i. 12), which extends over the site of the Lucus Vestae,—"qui a Palatii radice in Novam Viam devexus est" (Cic., De Div., i. 45). A curious octagonal structure in the middle of the atrium (see fig. 16) looks very much like a border for flower-beds; and it is possible that this miniature garden was made by the vestals when Caligula built over their extensive grove on the slopes of the Palatine. By the main entrance from the Forum stood a small aedicula,—a large pedestal at the angles of which were columns supporting an entablature.6 It may have contained a statue of Vesta, there being none within the temple. It is of the time of Hadrian. The last of the vestals is mentioned by Zosimus (v. 38) as being alive in 394 ; but the Atrium continued to be partly inhabited for many centuries later.7 In September 1884 a road was discovered leading up past the tablinum end of the Atrium from the Sacra Via to the Nova Via (see fig. 16). In about the 4th century this road appears to have been blocked up at the Nova Via end by a building which adjoined the Atrium Vestae.





Arch of Fabius

At the east corner of the Forum stood the arch of Q. Fabius Maximus, consul in 121 B.C., called Allobrogicus from his victory over the Allobroges (schol. on Cic., In Verr., i. 7; Liv., Ep., Ivi. ; Plin., H.N., vii. 50). It marked the extreme limit of the Forum in this direction (Cic., Pro Plan., 7, 17), as the rostra did at the other end. This arch was dug up and mostly destroyed in 1540-50, near the temple of Faustina ; on one of the fragments then discovered was inscribed Q . FABIVS . Q . F . MAX-VMVS . AED . CVR . REST. About twenty-five other fragments were found in 1882. The arch of Augustus, erected in 29 B.C., also stood near this point, hut its exact site is uncertain. An inscribed block of its attic was found during the excavations of 1540-50.

Temple of Faustina

The temple of Faustina the elder stands at the east angle of the Forum, facing the later line of the Sacra Via. It is prostyle hexastyle, and has monolithic columns of cipollino and a rich entablature of Greek marble, with graceful reliefs of griffins and candelabra on the frieze. The walls are of massive peperino, once lined with marble. On the front is inscribed DIVO . ANTONINO. ET . DIVAE . FAVSTINAE . EX . S . C. This temple, built by Antoninus Pius in memory of his wife, who died in 141, was after his death dedicated also to him, and the first line was then added (Capitolinus, Ant. Pius, 6). At an early period it was consecrated as the church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda, and a great part of its cella has been destroyed. The front is now excavated to the original level. This temple is shown on the reverse of several coins of Antoninus Pius; some have the legend DEDICATIO . AEDIS.

Temple of Concord

The space between the north-west end of the Forum and the Tabularium is occupied by a range of important buildings (see Plate VIII.). The chief of these is the temple of Concord (see Festus, ed. Müller, p. 347) shown on a fragment of the marble plan, founded by Camillus in 367 B.C. (Plut., Cam., 42), and rebuilt by the brothers Tiberius and Drusus out of the spoils gained in Germany; it was rededicated in 10 A.D. (Suet., Tib., 20 ; Dion Cass., lv. 25). It is shown with unusual minuteness on the reverse of a first brass of Tiberius. It is probable that an earlier restoration was carried out by L. Opimius in 121 B.C. (Plut., C. Gracch., 17 ; Appian, Bell. Civ., i. 26). The existing remains are of the rebuilding by Tiberius and Drusus, and show that it was unusual in plan, having a large cella much wider than its depth, and a very large projecting portico. Its construction is an interesting example of the Roman use of many different materials. The lower part of the walls was of massive tufa blocks, the upper part of the cella of travertine; and the inner low wall, which supported ranges of internal columns, was of mixed concrete, tufa, and travertine. The whole was lined with marble, white outside, and rieh Oriental marbles inside (see "fig. 5), which were also used for the pavement. The door-sill is made of enormous blocks of porta santa marble, in which a bronze caduceus (emblem of Concord) was inlaid. Between the internal columns of the cella stood rows of statues ; and the temple also contained a large collection of pictures, engraved gems, gold and silver plate, and other works of art, mostly the work of ancient Greek artists (see Plin., H.N., xxxiv. 19, xxxv. 36, 40, xxxvi. 67, xxxvii. 2). On the apex of the pediment was a group of three figures embracing; the tympanum was filled with sculpture ; and statues were set in the open porch. Though now only the podium and the lower part of the cella wall exist, with foundations of the great flight of steps, many rich fragments both of the Corinthian entablature and of the internal caps and bases are preserved in the Capitol; and some of the marble lining is still in situ. The Einsiedeln MS. gives part of the inscription of the front—S .P. Q. R . AEDEM . CONCORDIAE . VETVSTATE . COLL APS AM . IN . MELI-OREM . FACIEM . OPERE . ET. CVLTV. SPLENDIDIORE . RESTITV-ERVNT.5 Another temple of Concord, built in 219 B.C., stood on the Capitoline Arx (Liv., xxii. 33, xxvi. 23) ; and a bronze ledicula of Concord in the Area Vulcani, which must have been close by the great temple. This was dedicated by Cn. Flavius, 305 B.C. (see Liv., ix. 46); according to Pliny (H.N., xxxiii. 6) it stood "in Graecostasi, quae tunc supra Comitium erat." Both these were probably only small shrines.

Temple of Vespasian

The temple of Vespasian stands close by that of Concord, abutting on the Tabularium in a similar way, and blocking up a doorway at the foot of a long flight of steps (see fig. 1). It consists of a nearly square cella with prostyle hexastyle portico of the Corinthian order ; three of the columns are still standing, with their rich entablature, the frieze of which is sculptured with sacred instruments. The walls are of enormous blocks of travertine with strong iron clamps ; the whole was lined with white Pentelic marble outside, and inside with coloured Oriental marbles. There was an internal range of columns, as in the temple of Concord. This temple was built by Domitian, c. 94 A.D., in honour of his father Vespasian. The inscription on the entablature, given in the Einsiedeln MS., records a restoration by Severus and Caracalla—DIVO. VESPASIANO . AVGVSTO . S . P . Q . R . IMPP . CAESS . SEVERVS . ET . ANTONINVS. PII . FELIC . AVGG . R[ESTITVER]VNT; part of the last word only now exists.

In the narrow space between the temples of Concord and Vespasian (only about 7 feet in width) a small brick and concrete redicula stands against the Tabularium. This has been wrongly called a shrine of Faustina, on the authority of a small inscribed pedestal found near it; but there is clear constructional proo. that it is contemporary with the temple of Vespasian, and is therefore of the time of Domitian. It may possibly have been a shrine dedicated to Titus, whose name does not occur in the inscription of the adjoining temple, though the catalogue in the Curiosum, Reg. ix., mentions a dedication to both father and son.

Porticus XII. Deorum

The next building is the Porticus XII. Deorum Consentium, a large marble platform facing the Clivus Capitolinus, with a row of small rooms or shrines partly cut into the tufa rock of the hill behind. This conjunction of twelve deities was of Etruscan origin; they were six of each sex and were called Senatus Deorum (Varro, L.L., viii. 70, and De Re Rust., i. I).10 The columns are of cipollino with Corinthian caps ; on the frieze is an inscription recording a restoration by Vettius Pratextatus, prtefect of the city in 367 A.D. Under the marble platform is a row of seven small rooms, the brick facing of which is of the Flavian period, used as offices (schola) for scribes and prtecones of the aediles. It is usually called the Schola Xanthi from an inscription, now lost, recording its restoration by A. Fabius Xanthus and others, and the erection of seven silver statues of gods (Gruter, Inscr., 170, 3).11

Arch of Severus

The arch of Severus stands by the rostra, across the road on the north-east side of the Forum ; the remains of the ancient travertine curb show that originally the road went along a rather different line, and was probably altered to make room for this great arch. It was built in 203 A.D., after victories in Parthia, and was originally set up in honour of Severus and his two sons Caracalla (here called M. Aurelius Antoninus) and Geta. Caracalla, after murdering Geta, erased his name from all monuments to his honour in Rome. Representations of the arch on coins of Severus show that its attic was surmounted by a chariot of bronze drawn by six horses, in which stood Severus crowned by Victory; at the sides were statues of Caracalla and Geta, with an equestrian statue at each angle. The arch, except the base, which is of marble-lined travertine, is built of massive blocks of Pentelic marble, and has large crowded reliefs of victories in the East, showing much decadence from the best period of Roman art.

Central Space of Forum

The central space of the Forum is paved with slabs of travertine, much patched at various dates ; it appears to have been marked out into compartments with incised lines (see Plate VIII.), the use of which is not known.12 Numerous clamp-holes all over the paving show where statues and other ornaments once stood. The recorded number of these is very great, and they must once have thickly crowded a great part of the central area. Two short marble walls or plutei covered with reliefs, discovered in 1872, stand on the north side. Their use and original position are not known, as the rough travertine plinth on which they have been set is evidently of late date. Each of these marble screens has (on the inside) reliefs of a fat bull, boar, and ram, decked out with sacrificial wreaths and vittce—the suovetaurilia. On the outside are scenes in the life of Trajan : one has the emperor seated on a suggestus instituting a charity for destitute children in 99 A.D.—a scene shown also in one of his first brasses—with the legend ALIM[ENTA] ITALIAE;13 at the other end the emperor stands on the rostra, on which the two tiers of beaks are shown ; he is addressing a crowd of citizens. The backgrounds of this and the other relief are of great topographical interest. In the first is shown the long line of arches of the Basilica Julia, with (on the left) what is probably the temple of Castor and the arch of Augustus. On the right are the statue of Marsyas and the sacred fig-tree (ficus ruminalis), which stood on the Comitium. On the other slab the emperor is seated on the rostra (this part is broken), while in front a crowd of citizens are bringing tablets and piling them in a heap to be burnt. This records the remission by Trajan of some arrears of debt due to the imperial treasury (Spartian, 7). The background here represents again the Basilica Julia, with (on the light) the Ionic temple of Saturn and the Corinthian temple of Vespasian. Between them is an arch, which may be that of Tiberius. On the left the fig-tree and the statue of Marsyas are repeated. Other explanations of these reliefs have been given, but the above appears the most probable. Towards the other end of the Forum are remains of a large concrete pedestal. This is usually called the base of the equestrian statue of Domitian (Statius, Silv.)., i. 22), which stood in front of the Aedes Julii; hut its brick facing shows that it is much later than Domitian's time, and, moreover, Domitian's statue was destroyed immediately after his death.

The seven cubical brick and concrete structures, once faced with marble, which line the Sacra Via, are not earlier than the time of Constantine. They are probably the pedestals of honorary columns, such as those shown in the relief on Constantino's arch, mentioned above. The column erected in honour of the tyrant Phocas by Smaragdus in the eleventh year of his exarchate (608) is still standing. It is a fine marble Corinthian column, stolen from some earlier building ; it stands on rude steps of marble and tufa. The name of Phocas is erased from the inscription ; but the date shows that this monument was to his honour. Remains of other small marble structures are shown in Plate VIII., but what they are is not known. In the 4th century a long brick and concrete building faced with marble was built along the whole southeast end of the Forum, probably a row of shops. They were destroyed by Comm. Rosa's order a few years ago. Countless fragments of other buildings, reliefs, and statues are strewn all over the Forum. Many of these are of great interest; pieces of large granite columns which probably stood on the seven pedestals mentioned above are lying in various places ; some of these appear to have been decorated with bronze reliefs, the iron fastenings of which, run with lead, still exist.


Footnotes

1 Consules suffecti for 22 A.D.

See Livy (xliv. 16), who mentions a house of P. Africanus, "pone veteres ad Vortumni signum," which was bought by T. Sempronius to clear the site for the Basilica Sempronia in 169 B.C. This basilica appears to have been afterwards absorbed in the Basilica Julia.
Hence these two sides of the Forum are frequently referred to in classical writings as "sub veteribus" and "sub novis."
In later times it appears to have been an enclosed space containing an altar; it is described by Ovid (Fast., vi. 403); according to one tradition it marked the spot where Curtius's self-immolation filled up the chasm winch had opened in the Forum (see Dionvs., ii. 41).
6 See Dionys., ii. 50, vi. 67; Plin., H.N., xvi. S6 ; Plut., Qu&s. Rom., 47.
7 A larger plan, coloured in detail, is given in J. H. Middleton, Ancient Rome in 1885 (A. & C. Black, Edinburgh).
8
9
10
11 Livy (xlv. 24) indicates their relative positions by the phrase *' Comitium vestibulum Curiae."
12 This valuable set of drawings was not published till 1575 ; but internal evidence shows that many of them, if not all. were made as early as 1540. A good account of the Curia and its vicissitudes is given by Lanciani, L'Aula, e gli VJfci del Senato Romano, 1883.

The column itself is a copy made by Michelangelo ; it is at the foot of the stairs of the Palazzo dei Conservatori.
The Forum Piscatorium or fish-market appears to have been at the back of
this basilica (see Liv., xl. 51).
3 The original temple was one of the prehistoric buildings attributed to Romulus and Tatius (Serv., Ad Mn., i. 291), or bv Livy (i. 19) to Numa.
See Mon. Ancyr.; Procop., Bell. Goth., i. 25; Liv., i. 19; Suet., Aug., 22.

1 The original rostra had specially honorary statues to those Roman ambassa-dors who had been killed while on foreign service (Liv., iv. 17); these were probably removed during Cicero's lifetime (Cic, Phil., ix. 2 ; see also Dion Cass., xiiii. 49, and Plin., H.tf., xxxiv. 11). Ghastly ornaments fixed to these rostra in the year 43 B.C., shortly after they were built, were the head and hands of the murdered Cicero (Appian, Bell. Civ., iv. 20; Dion Cass., xlvii. S; Juv., x. 120), as on the original rostra had been fixed many heads of the chief victims of the proscriptions of Marius and Sulla (see Appian, Bell. Civ., i. 71, 94 ; Floras, iii. 21; and Cic, Pro Sext., 35, 36). The denarius of the gens Lollia with the legend PALIKANVS was once supposed to have a representation of the rostra on its reverse, but it is now generally admitted that the subject is a harbour containing ships, the beaks of which only are shown. Even if the rostra of the Forum are represented it would be the original suggestum, not that of Julius Caesar.
2 This method of decoration was much employed by the Greeks and largely followed by their Roman imitators. For further details on the rostra, &c, see Jordan and Fabricins, in Ann. Inst, for 1883; Nichols, Gli Avanzi dei Rostri, &c, 1885 ; and a paper by the present writer in Archmologia (read November 1884).
3 It must, however, be admitted that there is very little evidence in support of this theory.
4 Becker, Handhuch, i. p. 360, adopts this view, and maintains that the Umbilicus and Milliarium were identical, in spite of their being separately catalogued in the Notitia.
5 What is probably the column of the Milliarium is still lying near its sup-posed site; it is of Greek marble, and is covered with holes by which the bronze casing was attached. Since the above was written the existing pieces of the marble base have been replaced on its conjectural site.
6 In the same passage he mentions a gate near this temple into the Capitolium once called Porta Saturnia, but in his time P. Pandana.

7 In several inscriptions occurs the title "praefecti" or "quaestores ierarii Saturni" (see Gudius, Ant. lnsc., p. 125 ; Suet., Claud., 24; Tac., Ann., xiii. 28, 29).
8 Another important treasury was the temple of Ops, in which were stored the 700,000,000 sesterces left by Julius Caesar at his death (Cic, Phil., ii. 37, and i. 7). It is usually supposed, though without much reason, to have ad-joined the temple of Saturn. Livy (xxvii. 10) mentions another treasury, the zErarium Sanctius, in which a reserve store of gold was kept.
9 A portion of these streets with part of the temple of Saturn and the Basilica Julia is shown on fragments of the marble plan (see Plate VIII.)
J 0 One side of this gate was built against one of the marble piers of the Basilica Julia, a perfect print of which still exists in the concrete of the gate, though , the marble pier itself has disappeared. The other side of the gate abutted against the marble-lined podium of the temple of Saturn.
11 See Tac, Ann., ii. 41, who says it was "propter aedem Saturni."
12 See Suet., Aug., 29; Gerhard, Bas. Giulia, &c, 1823 ; and Visconti, Excava-
zione delta Bas. Giulia.
13 " Forvm . Ivlivm . et. basilicam . qvae . fvit. inter . aedem . Castoris. et.
aedem . Satvrni . coepta . proffigataqve . opera . a . patre . meo . perfeci . et .
eandem. basilicam. consvmptam . incendio . ampliato . eivs . solo . svb . titvlo.
nominis . filiorvm . inchoavi . et. si. vivvs . non . perfecissem . perfici . ab .
haeredibvs . [meis . ivssi]." The " filii" here referred to are Augustus's grand-
sons, Caius and Lucius (see Dion Cass., lvi. 27).
14 One of the late reliefs on Constantine's arch shows this (or a similar build-ing) with the upper galleries crowded with people (see Plin., Ep., vi. 38, oj-The open arches seem to have curtains to keep out the sun.
15 Three mediaeval lime-kilns were found by Canina within this basilica, which accounts for the scantiness of the existing remains.
16 A few have inscriptions, e.g., " Vinces. gaudes : perdes. plangis."

1 The whole building has unhappily been much falsified by needless restoration.
2 A drawing of this pedestal, which is now lost, with MS. note by Ligorio, exists in Cod. Vat, 3439, fol. 46. Propertius (Eleg., iv. 2) gives an interesting jiecount of Vortumnus, and in 1. 50 3mentions the derivation of the name Vieus Tuscus.
The temple of Castor is shown on two fragments of the marble plan (see
rtate VIII.), and its position is also indicated by the passage in the Mon. A ncyr.
4 One of the mad acts of Caligula was to connect the temple of Castor with his palace by breaking a door through the back of the cella (Suet., Cal., 22). Though dedicated to both the Dioscuri, the building was usually called the temple of Castor only (see Suet., /. Cms., 10).
5 Another legend attributes its founding to Romulus.


1 The temple of Vesta is also shown on medals of Faustina senior, Lucilla, Crispina, and Julia Domna (see Froehner, Médaillons de l'empire Romain, Paris, 1878, pp. 76, 96, 148, 159). It very closely resembles the so-called tomb of St Luke at Ephesus, a Roman work of about the same date.
2 See Lipsius, "De Vesta," inGraevius, Thes.Ant. Rom., v.; Cancellieri, Lesette Cosefatali di Roma, 1812 ; Preuner, Hestia-Vesta, Tübingen, 1S64 ; Jordan, Vesta und die Laren, Berlin, 1865; Maes, Vesta e Vestali, 1888.
3
4
5
6
7

3 The size of the earlier and smaller temple is indicated by the rough blocks on the face of the wall of the Tabularium, close against which the temple stands. _When the Tabularium was built it was not thought worth while to dress to a smooth face that part of its wall which was concealed by the then existing temple of Concord.
4 The anonymous writer of this MS. appears to have visited Rome in the 0th century. The MS. is named after the monastery in which it is preserved.
5 Little is known of the Basilica Opimia, which probably adjoined the earlier temple of Concord, and the existing building appears also to have occupied the site of the Senaculum (see Festus, ed. Müller, p. 347). For various exciting scenes which took place in the temple of Concord and on its steps, see Cic., Phil., vii. 8; Sallust, Bell. Cat.

1 Ann. Inst., 1859, p. 307 ; Not. degli Scavi, 18S2, p. 225.
2 This finely sculptured frieze is almost an exact copy of that on the temple of Apollo at Miletus.
3
4
5
6 See Piale, Tempi di Vespasia.no e Concordia, 1821.
7 This pedestal is now on the ground floor of the Capitoline Museum ; its inscription is interesting, being a dedication to Faustina by a viator (messen-ger) of one of the qurestors of the z&rarium Saturni. Its discovery near this _edicula was probably accidental.
8 Exactly that part of the marble plinth of the temple of Vespasian which was concealed by the atdicula is left rough, the moulding not being worked, showing that tfie little shrine is not an addition later than the temple.
9 See Preller, Pegionen der Stadt Bom, Reg. ix., and Uhlrichs, Codex Topog. Romie, Reg. ix.
10. Twelve gilt statues are mentioned by Varro.
11 See Grill, Gli Consenti e lore Portico, 1858.
12 They may possibly have had something to do with the marshalling of the
voters of the Comitia Tributa.
13 Cohen, vol. ii. 303-305.
14 Pliny (H.N., xv. 20) mentions another fig-tree in the middle of the Forum,
which may possibly be the one kere represented.

1 See Brizio, Ann. hist., 1872, p. 309 ; Henzen, Bull. Inst., 1872, p. SI ; and Jordan, Marsyas auf dem Forum, Berlin, 1883.
2 It is probable that these occupy the line of the Taberna; Veteres.
3 Authorities on the Forum.—Nichols, Roman Forum, London, 1877 (very use-ful from its collection of passages in ancient authors) ; Jordan, Capitol, Forum, etc., Berlin, 1881, and Topographic Roms, vol. i., 1878 ; Nibby, Il Foro Romano, 1819 ; Angelini and Fea, 11 Foro Romano, 1837 ; Tocco, Ripristinazione del Foro, 1888 ; Ravioli and Montiroli, Foro Romano, 1859; Michelet, Das Forum Romanum, Berlin, 1877; Marucchi, Il Foro Romano, 1881; Dutert, Le Forum Romain, Paris, 1876 (very handsomely illustrated, but more fanciful than trustworthy); Canina, it Foro Romano, 1845 (open to the same criticism as the work of Dutert, and wholly stultified by later discoveries). For inscriptions found in the Forum, see Jordan, " Sylloge Inscrip. Fori Rom.," in the Ephem. Epigraph., iii. p. 248 sq. Some of the more recent excavations are described by Lanciani, "Scavi del Foro," in Notizie degli Scavi for 1882.

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817-8 The original rostra had specially honorary statues to those Roman ambassadors who had been killed while on foreign service (Liv., iv. 17); these were probably removed during Cicero's lifetime (Cic, Phil., ix. 2 ; see also Dion Cass., xiiii. 49, and Plin., H.tf., xxxiv. 11). Ghastly ornaments fixed to these rostra in the year 43 B.C., shortly after they were built, were the head and hands of the murdered Cicero (Appian, Bell. Civ., iv. 20; Dion Cass., xlvii. S; Juv., x. 120), as on the original rostra had been fixed many heads of the chief
once called Porta Saturnia, but in his time P. Pandana.


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