TheRoman Forum (Italian:Foro Romano), also known by itsLatin nameForum Romanum, is a rectangularforum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city ofRome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as theForum Magnum, or simply theForum.[2]
For centuries, the Forum was the centre of day-to-day life in Rome: the site oftriumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches,criminal trials andgladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial and legal affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's leaders. The heart ofancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.[3] Located in the small valley between thePalatine andCapitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly.[4]
Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. TheRoman Kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, theRegia (8th century BC), and theTemple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surroundingcomplex of the Vestal Virgins, all of which were rebuilt after the rise ofimperial Rome.
Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as theUmbilicus Urbis and theVulcanal (Shrine of Vulcan), developed into theRepublic's formalComitium (assembly area). This was where theSenate—as well asRepublican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area.
Over time, the archaicComitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum, and the focus of judicial activity moved to the newBasilica Aemilia (179 BC), formally Basilica Fulvia. Some 130 years later,Julius Caesar built theBasilica Julia, along with the newCuria Julia, refocusing both the judicial offices and the Senate itself. This new Forum, in what proved to be its final form, then served as a revitalized city square where the people of Rome could gather for commercial, political,judicial andreligious pursuits in ever greater numbers.
Eventually, much economic and judicial business would transfer away from theForum Romanum to the larger and more extravagant structures (Trajan's Forum and theBasilica Ulpia) to the north. The reign ofConstantine the Great saw the construction of the last major expansion of the Forum complex—theBasilica of Maxentius (312 AD). This returned the political centre to the Forum until the fall of theWestern Roman Empire almost two centuries later.
Unlike the later imperial fora in Rome—which were self-consciously modelled on the ancient Greekplateia (πλατεῖα) public plaza ortown square—the Roman Forum developed gradually, organically, and piecemeal over many centuries.[5] This is the case despite attempts, with some success, to impose some order there, bySulla,Julius Caesar,Augustus and others. By the Imperial period, the large public buildings that crowded around the central square had reduced the open area to a rectangle of about 130 by 50 meters.[6]
Its long dimension was oriented northwest to southeast and extended from the foot of theCapitoline Hill to that of theVelian Hill. The Forum'sbasilicas during the Imperial period—theBasilica Aemilia on the north and theBasilica Julia on the south—defined its long sides and its final form. The Forum proper included this square, the buildings facing it and, sometimes, an additional area (theForum Adjectum) extending southeast as far as theArch of Titus.[7]
Originally, the site of the Forum had been amarshy lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained.[8] This was drained by theTarquins with theCloaca Maxima.[9] Because of its location, sediments from both the flooding of theTiber and the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. Excavated sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the surrounding hills was already raising the level in earlyRepublican times.[10]
As the ground around buildings rose, residents simply paved over the debris that was too much to remove. Its finaltravertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign ofAugustus. Excavations in the 19th century revealed one layer on top of another. The deepest level excavated was 3.60 metersabove sea level. Archaeological finds show human activity at that level with the discovery of carbonized wood.[citation needed]
An important function of the Forum, during both Republican and Imperial times, was to serve as the culminating venue for the celebratory military processions known asTriumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate (Porta Triumphalis) and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill (counterclockwise) before proceeding from theVelian Hill down theVia Sacra and into the Forum.[11]
Pottery deposits discovered in the Forum, Palatine and Capitoline demonstrated that humans occupied these areas in theFinal Bronze Age (1200–975 BC).[12] In the earlyIron Age an area of the future Forum, close to the site ofTemple of Antoninus and Faustina, was used as a cemetery (10th century BC), possibly by the communities based on the Palatine and Capitoline hills.[13] Most of the burials were cremations of the same type which is also found in the other sites inLatium. The urn containing the ashes of the deceased was placed inside a large earthenware jar, along with grave goods, and then buried in a cavity cut into the ground and covered with a capstone.[14] There were also a small number of inhumation burials. On current evidence, it is likely that burials in the Forum ceased in the late 9th century BC and that theEsquiline Necropolis replaced them.[14]
The first archaeological finds on the sites of the key public buildings point to a transformation of the Forum from a cemetery to a public site in the 8th century BC.[15] Part of the Forum was paved over. The earliest finds in the sites of theComitium andVulcanal were votive offerings. They indicate that the area was dedicated to a celebration of religious cults.[16]
According to Roman historical tradition, the Forum's beginnings are connected with the alliance betweenRomulus, the first king of Rome controlling thePalatine Hill, and his rival,Titus Tatius, who occupied theCapitoline Hill. An alliance formed after combat had been halted by the prayers and cries of theSabine women. Because the valley lay between the two settlements, it was the designated place for the two peoples to meet. Since the early Forum area included pools of stagnant water, the most easily accessible area was the northern part of the valley which was designated as theComitium. It was here at theVulcanal that, according to the story, the two parties laid down their weapons and formed an alliance.[17]
The Forum was outside the walls of the original Sabine fortress, which was entered through the Porta Saturni. These walls were mostly destroyed when the two hills were joined.[18] The original Forum functioned as an open-air market abutting on the Comitium, but eventually outgrew its day-to-day shopping and marketplace role. As political speeches, civil trials, and other public affairs began to take up more and more space in the Forum, additional fora throughout the city began to emerge to expand on specific needs of the growing population. Fora for cattle, pork, vegetables and wine specialised in their niche products and the associated deities.[citation needed]
Rome's second king,Numa Pompilius (r. 715–673 BC), is said to have begun the cult ofVesta, building itshouse andtemple as well as theRegia as the city's first royal palace. LaterTullus Hostilius (r. 673–642 BC) enclosed the Comitium around the old Etruscan temple where theSenate would meet at the site of the Sabine conflict. He is said to have converted that temple into theCuria Hostilia close to where the Senate originally met in an old Etruscan hut. In 600 BCTarquinius Priscus had the area paved for the first time.[citation needed]
Fragment of a terracotta frieze plaque from the Regia at the east end of the Forum showing a minotaur and felines, c. 600–550 BC, Antiquarium Museo del Foro Romano
Originally a low-lying, grassywetland, the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures ofCloaca Maxima, a large covered sewer system that emptied into theTiber, as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome the problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area.[19][20] In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of theVia Sacra and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them.[21][20]
The earliest structures in the Forum were discovered in two separate locations: the site of theComitium and the group of sanctuaries ofRegia (House of the kings),House of the Vestals andDomus Publica.[20] Around 650–630 BC the area of the Comitium was excavated into a deep triangular depression. The area was paved with a beaten earth pavement and later replaced with a more substantial gravel one. Nearby was located an archaic sanctuary dedicated toVulcan known asVulcanal (alsoVolcanal): a small rectangular pit and elliptical basin carved out of an outcrop oftuff.[22][23] It has been suggested that the earliest ancient materials collected in the area of the Vulcanal are from the second half of the 8th century BC.[24] It appears that the Romans were aware of the sites’ archaic origins: the foundation of the Comitium and Vulcanal were attributed to Romulus himself while the firstCuria (senate house), which was located nearby, toTullus Hostilius.[25]
At the western end of the Forum, excavations near the House of the Vestals and the sanctuary ofVesta have revealed an important group of 7th-century-BC buildings. The archaeologists have identified them as the early phases of the Regia (House of the kings), House of the Vestals, and Domus Publica (official residence of thepontifex maximus).[26] There seems to have been something of a surge in development of the Forum in the last quarter of the 7th century BC, as many of the changes date from 625 to 600 BC. Archaeologically, there is substantial evidence for development of the Forum in the 6th century BC: parts of the paving have been found and a large number of fragments of terracotta decorations from this area suggests that structures around the Forum were becoming more elaborate and highly decorated.[27]
TheTemple of VestaA view of the Roman Forum seen from a window of thePalazzo Senatorio: at the centre the church ofSanti Luca e Martina (beside it at the right, the roof of theCuria Julia), in the lower right theArch of Septimius SeverusMap of the Roman Forum. Structures of Republican Rome are shown in red and those of Imperial Rome in black. From Platner'sTopography and Monuments of Ancient Rome, 1904 (adjusted).
During the Republican period, the Comitium continued to be the central location for all judicial and political life in the city.[28] However, to create a larger gathering place, the Senate began expanding the open area between the Comitium and theTemple of Vesta by purchasing existing private homes and removing them for public use. Building projects of several consuls repaved and built onto both the Comitium and the adjacent central plaza that was becoming the Forum.[29]
The 5th century BC witnessed the earliest Forum temples with known dates of construction: theTemple of Saturn (497 BC) and theTemple of Castor and Pollux (484 BC).[30] TheTemple of Concord was added in the following century, possibly by the soldier and statesmanMarcus Furius Camillus. A long-held tradition of speaking from the elevated speakers'Rostra—originally facing north towards the Senate House to the assembled politicians and elites—put the orator's back to the people assembled in the Forum. Atribune known asCaius Licinius (consul in 361 BC) is said to have been the first to turn away from the elite towards the Forum, an act symbolically repeated two centuries later byGaius Gracchus.[31]
This began the tradition oflocus popularis, in which even young nobles were expected to speak to the people from the Rostra. Gracchus was thus credited with (or accused of) disturbing themos maiorum ("custom of the fathers/ancestors") in ancient Rome. WhenCensor in 318 BC,Gaius Maenius provided buildings in the Forum neighborhood with balconies, which were called after himmaeniana, so that the spectators might better view the games put on within the temporary wooden arenas set up there.
TheTribune benches were placed on the Forum Romanum, as well. First, they stood next to the senate house; during the late Roman Republic, they were placed in front of theBasilica Porcia.
The earliestbasilicas (large, aisled halls) were introduced to the Forum in 184 BC byMarcus Porcius Cato, who thus began the process of "monumentalizing" the site. TheBasilica Fulvia was dedicated on the north side of the Forum square in 179 BC. (It was rebuilt and renamed several times, as Basilica Fulvia et Aemilia, Basilica Paulli,Basilica Aemilia). Nine years later, theBasilica Sempronia was dedicated on the south side.[32]
Many of the traditions from the Comitium, such as the popular assemblies, funerals of nobles, and games, were transferred to the Forum as it developed.[32] Especially notable was the move of thecomitia tributa, then the focus of popular politics, in 145 BC. In 133 BC theTribuneTiberius Gracchus was lynched there by a group of senators.
In the 80s BC, during the dictatorship ofSulla, major work was done on the Forum including the raising of the plaza level by almost a meter and the laying of permanent marble paving stones.[33] Remarkably, this level of the paving was maintained more or less intact for over a millennium: at least until the sack of Rome byRobert Guiscard and his Normans in 1084, when neglect finally allowed debris to begin to accumulate unabated.[34]
In 78 BC, the immenseTabularium (Records Hall) was built at the Capitoline Hill end of the Forum by order of the consuls for that year,M. Aemilius Lepidus andQ. Lutatius Catulus. In 63 BC,Cicero delivered his famous speech denouncing the companions of the conspiratorCatiline at the Forum (in theTemple of Concord, whose spacious hall was sometimes used as a meeting place by the Senators). After the verdict, they were led to their deaths at theTullianum, the nearby dungeon which was the only known state prison of the ancient Romans.[35]
Over time, the Comitium was lost to the ever-growing Curia and toJulius Caesar's rearrangements before his assassination in 44 BC.[36] That year, two events were witnessed by the Forum, perhaps the most famous ever to transpire there:Marc Antony'sfuneral oration for Caesar (immortalized inShakespeare'sfamous play) was delivered from the partially completed speaker's platform known as theNew Rostra and the public burning of Caesar's body occurred on a site directly across from the Rostra around which theTemple to the Deified Caesar was subsequently built by his great-nephew Octavius (Augustus).[37] Almost two years later, Marc Antony added to the notoriety of the Rostra by publicly displaying the severed head and right hand of his enemyCicero there.
Rendering of the Roman Forum as it may have appeared during the LateEmpire
After Julius Caesar's death and the end of the subsequentcivil war, Augustus finished his great-uncle's work, giving the Forum its final form. This included the southeastern end of the plaza where he constructed theTemple of Caesar and theArch of Augustus there (both in 29 BC). The Temple of Caesar was placed between Caesar's funeral pyre and the Regia. The Temple's location and reconstruction of adjacent structures resulted in greater organization akin to theForum of Caesar.[38] The Forum was also witness to the assassination of a Roman Emperor in 69 AD:Galba had set out from the palace to meet rebels but was so feeble that he had to be carried in a litter. He was immediately met by a troop of his rivalOtho's cavalry near theLacus Curtius in the Forum, where he was killed.
During these early Imperial times, much economic and judicial business transferred away from the Forum to larger and more extravagant structures to the north. After the building ofTrajan's Forum (110 AD), these activities transferred to theBasilica Ulpia.
The white marbleArch of Septimius Severus was added at the northwest end of the Forum close to the foot of the Capitoline Hill and adjacent to the old, vanishing Comitium. It was dedicated in 203 AD to commemorate theParthian victories of EmperorSeptimius Severus and his two sons against Pescennius Niger and is one of the most visible landmarks there today. The arch closed the Forum's central area. Besides the Arch of Augustus, which was also constructed following a Roman victory against the Parthians, it is the only triumphal arch in the Forum.[39] The EmperorDiocletian (r. 284–305) was the last of the great builders of Rome's city infrastructure and he did not omit the Forum from his program. By his day it had become highly cluttered with honorific memorials. He refurbished and reorganized it, building anew theTemple of Saturn, theTemple of Vesta and theCuria Julia.[40] The latter represents the best-preserved tetrarchic building in Rome. He also reconstructed the rostra at each end of the Forum and added columns.[39]
The reign ofConstantine the Great saw the completion of the construction of theBasilica of Maxentius (312 AD), the last significant expansion of the Forum complex.[41] This restored much of the political focus to the Forum until the fall of theWestern Roman Empire almost two centuries later.
After theFall of the Western Roman Empire, and the resultingGothic Wars between theByzantine / Eastern Roman Empire and theOstrogoths over Italia, much of the city of Rome fell into ruin, from famine, warfare, and lack of authority. The population of Rome was reduced from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands, as the populated areas contracted to the river, largely abandoning the forum. Strenuous efforts were made to keep the Forum (and the Palatine structures) intact, not without some success. In the 6th century, some of the old edifices within the Forum began to be transformed into Christian churches. On 1 August 608, theColumn of Phocas, aRoman monumental column, was erected before theRostra and dedicated or rededicated in honour of theEastern Roman EmperorPhocas. This proved to be the last monumental addition made to the Forum. The emperorConstans II, who visited the city in 663 AD, stripped the lead roofs of the monumental buildings, exposing the structures to the weather and hastening their deterioration. By the 8th century, the whole space was surrounded by Christian churches taking the place of abandoned and ruined temples.[42]
An anonymous eighth-centuryEinsiedeln Itinerary reports that the Forum was already falling apart at that time. During the Middle Ages, though the memory of theForum Romanum persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the"Campo Vaccino" or "cattle field,"[41] located between theCapitoline Hill and theColosseum.
After the eighth century, the structures of the Forum were dismantled, rearranged, and used to build towers and castles within the local area. In the 13th century, these rearranged structures were torn down and the site became a dumping ground. This, along with the debris from the dismantled medieval buildings and ancient structures, helped contribute to the rising ground level.[43]
The return ofPope Urban V fromAvignon in 1367 led to an increased interest in ancient monuments, partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after a long lapse.
The Forum Romanum suffered some of its worst depredations during the Italian Renaissance, particularly in the decade between 1540 and 1550, whenPope Paul III exploited it intensively for material to build the newSaint Peter's Basilica.[44][45] Just a few years before, in 1536, theHoly Roman EmperorCharles V held a triumph in Rome on his return fromconquering Tunis in North Africa. To prepare the Forum for the procession intended to imitate the pageantry of the ancient Roman triumph, the papal authorities undertook sweeping demolitions of the many medieval structures on the site, to reveal and better display the ancient monuments.[46] This required the clearance of some 200 houses and several churches, the excavation of a new "Via Sacra" to pass under the arches ofTitus andSeptimius Severus, and the excavation of the more prominent monuments to reveal their foundations.[47]
In 1425,Pope Martin V issued apapal bull inaugurating a campaign of civic improvement and rebuilding in the city, which was depopulated and dominated by ruins.[48] The demand for building materials consequently increased significantly, making the Forum a convenient quarry for stone and marble.
Since the 12th century, when Rome's civic government was formed, responsibility for protecting the ruins of the forum fell to themaestri di strade under the authority of theConservatori, Rome's senior magistrates.[49] Historically, themaestri and theConservatori saw themselves as guardians of Rome's ancient legacy and zealously protected the ruins in the Forum from further destruction, but in the 15th century the Papacy gradually encroached upon these prerogatives. The Bull of 1425 strengthened the powers of themaestri in protecting the ruins, but in conferring papal authority the Vatican essentially brought themaestri under its control and away from the independence of the Conservators.[50]
In the 15th century, the Vatican escalated the issuance of excavation licenses, which gave broad permission to individuals to mine specific sites or structures for stone.[51] In 1452, the ability of themaestri to issue their own excavation licenses was revoked by the Bull ofPope Nicholas V, which absorbed that power into the Vatican. From then on only two authorities in Rome had the power to issue such licenses: the Vatican and the Conservators.[52] This dual, overlapping authority was recognized in 1462 by a Bull ofPope Pius II.[53]
Within the context of these disputes over jurisdiction, ruins in the forum were increasingly exploited and stripped. In 1426, a papal license authorized the destruction of the foundations of a structure called the "Templum Canapare" for burning into lime, provided that half the stone quarried be shared with theApostolic Camera (the Papal treasury). This structure was identified byRodolfo Lanciani as theBasilica Julia, but the name could have applied to any structure in the western section of the Forum, often called theCanapare orCannapara.[54] Between 1431 and 1462 the huge travertine wall between the Senate House and theForum of Caesar adjoining the Forum Romanum was demolished by a grant ofPope Eugene IV, followed by the demolition of theTemplum Sacrae Urbis (1461–1462), theTemple of Venus and Roma (1450), and theHouse of the Vestals (1499), all by papal license.[55] The worst destruction in the forum occurred under Paul III, who in 1540 revoked previous excavation licenses and brought the forum exclusively under the control of the Deputies of the Fabric of the newSaint Peter's Basilica, who exploited the site for stone and marble.[56][57] Monuments which fell victim to dismantling and the subsequent burning of their materials for lime included the remains of theArch of Augustus, theTemple of Caesar, parts of theTemple of Antoninus and Faustina, theTemple of Vesta, the steps and foundation of theTemple of Castor and Pollux, and theRegia.[58] The Conservators protested vehemently against the ruination of their heritage, as they perceived it, and on one occasion applied fruitlessly toPope Gregory XIII (1572–1585) to revoke all licenses for foraging materials, including the one granted to thefabbrica of Saint Peter's in the forum.[59]
The excavation byCarlo Fea, who began clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus in 1803, marked the beginning of clearing the Forum. Excavations were officially begun in 1898 by the Italian government under the Minister of Public Instruction, Dr. Baccelli.[60] The 1898 restoration had three main objectives: to restore fragmented pieces of columns, bases, and cornices to their original locations in the Forum; to reach the lowest possible level of the Forum without damaging existing structures; and to identify already half-excavated structures, along with the Senate house and Basilica Aemilia. These state-funded excavations were led by Dr.Giacomo Boni until he died in 1925, stopping briefly during World War I.[61]
In 2008, heavy rains caused structural damage to the modern concrete covering holding the "Black Stone" marble together over theLapis Niger in Rome. Excavations in the Forum continue, with discoveries by archaeologists working in the Forum since 2009 leading to questions about Rome's exact age. One of these recent discoveries includes atuff wall near the Lapis Niger used to channel water from nearbyaquifers. Around the wall, pottery remains and food scraps allowed archaeologists to date the likely construction of the wall to the 8th or 9th century BC, over a century before the traditional date of Rome's founding.[62]
In 2020, Italian archaeologists discovered asarcophagus and a circular altar dating to the 6th century BC. Experts disagree whether it is a memorial tomb dedicated to Rome's legendary founder,Romulus.[63]
TheTemple of Saturn was one of the more significant buildings located in the Roman Forum. Little is known about when the temple was built, as the original temple is believed to have been burnt down by the Gauls early in the fourth century. However, it is understood that it was also rebuilt byMunatius Plancus in 42 BC.[64] The eight remaining columns are all that is left of the illustrious temple. Though its exact date of completion is not known, it stands as one of the oldest buildings in the Forum.[65] The temple originally was to be built to thegod Jupiter but was replaced withSaturn; historians are unsure why.[66] The building was not used solely for religious practice; the temple also functioned as abank for Roman society.
The Temple stood in the forum along with four other temples, the temples ofConcord,Vesta,Castor and Pollox. At each temple, animal sacrifices and rituals were done in front of the religious sites. These acts were meant to provide good fortune to those entering and using the temple.[67] Since the Temple of Saturn also functioned as a bank, and since Saturn was the god of the Golden Age, sacrifices were made there in the hope of financial success.[68]
Inside the Temple, there were multiple vaults for the public and private ones for individuals. There were also sections of the Temple for public speaking events and feasts which often followed the sacrifices.[69]
From the 17th through the 19th century, the Roman Forum was a site for many artists and architects studying in Rome to sketch. The focus of many of these works produced by visiting Northern artists was on the current state of the Roman Forum, known locally as the Campo Vaccino, or "cow field", from the livestock who grazed on the largely ignored section of the city.Claude Lorrain's 1636Campo Vaccino shows the extent to which the buildings in the Forum were buried under sediment. Renowned British artistJ. M. W. Turner paintedModern Rome – Campo Vaccino in 1839, following his final trip to the city.[70]
The Roman Forum has been a source of inspiration for visual artists for centuries. Especially notable isGiovanni Battista Piranesi, who created a set of 135 etchings, theVedute di Roma ("Views of Rome"), in which the Forum figured significantly. (Many of the features documented in Piranesi's views have now vanished.)
Otherfora existed in other areas of the city; remains of most of them, sometimes substantial, still exist. The most important of these are several largeimperial fora forming a complex with the Forum Romanum: theForum Iulium,Forum Augustum, theForum Transitorium (also:Forum Nerva), andTrajan's Forum. The planners of theMussolini era removed most of the medieval and Baroque strata and built the Via dei Fori Imperiali road between the Imperial Fora and the Forum. There are also:
^Lomas, Kathryn, 2018 (hardcover in 2017),Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, 1000 BC – 264 BC, London: Profile Books, p. 38.
^Fulminante, Francesca, 2014,The Urbanisation of Rome and Latium Vetus. From the Bronze Age to the Archaic Era, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 72–74.
^Filippi, Dunia, 2017 (edition in Italian in 2012), 'Region VIII. Forum Romanum Magnum', inAndrea Carandini, Paola Carafa,The Atlas of Ancient Rome. Biography and Portraits of the City. Vol. 1. Text and Images, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, pp. 151–152.
^Carafa, Paolo, 2005, ‘Il Volcanal e il Comizio’,Workshop di Archeologia Classica 2, p. 135.
^Dionysius of Halicarnassus,Roman Antiquities, 2.50.2 (attributes the foundation of the Vulcanal to Romulus and Titus Tatius); Varro,On the Latin Language, 5.74 (attributes the institution of the Vulcanal to Titus Tatius alone); Plutarch,Life of Romulus, 19.27.6 (mentions that Romulus was supposedly killed by the senators next to the Vulcanal).
^The close relationship between the Comitium and theForum Romanum eventually faded from the writings of the ancients. The former is last mentioned in the reign ofSeptimius Severus (c. 200 AD).
^Carter, Jesse Benedict (March 1910). "A Decade of Forum Excavation and the Results for Roman History".The Classical Journal.5 (5):202–211.JSTOR3286845.
^Watkin, David, and Watkin, David. Wonders of the World Ser.: The Roman Forum. Cumberland, US: Harvard University Press, 2009. ProQuest ebrary.
^Kalas, Gregor (2015).Ashley and Peter Larkin Series in Greek and Roman Culture: Restoration of the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity: Transforming Public Space. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 16.
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