A Walking Tour of the Roman Forum

in the nine through seventh centuries BC the area that came to be the Roman Forum was a low swampy ground at the foot of several of the hills of Rome you see in this illustration the Seven Hills the arrow points to the area that would become the forum this area served as a necropolis for the inhabitants of the surrounding hills it would not become usable until the construction of the cloaca Maxima the great sewer in the 6th century BC which drained the swamp once the swamp was drained the Romans began to erect some of their most important buildings there during the time of the Roman Republic 6th to 1st centuries BC the Roman Forum became the religious political commercial and judicial hub of the city temples law courts basilica's shrines and various memorial structures started to crowd out one another in the limited space of the forum by the time of the empire 1st century BC Rome's rulers found it necessary to build new fora the Imperial fora to alleviate the congestion of the Roman Forum as old buildings decayed they were rebuilt on the same spot but in a more modern style some old structures were demolished to make way for new ones and some were even moved the decay of the roman forum began in the 6th century AD with the Byzantine and ostrogothic Wars by the Middle Ages the forum was deserted and overgrown it was known as the cows pasture we'll begin our walking tour on the east end of the forum at the arch of Constantine we'll walk by the Temple of Venus in Rome go through the arch of Titus stop at the Basilica of Constantine and then make our way west to the Curia at the west end of the forum we'll make a turn at the arch of septimius severus and then turn back to the east passing the Basilica Julia then going to the Temple of Vesta and the house of the vestal virgins the buildings of the Roman Forum date from the 6th century BC to the seventh century AD the Temple of Venus and Roma stands on a high brick podium it was designed by the Emperor Hadrian in 135 ad the temple has a double apse to hold statues of Roma and Venus the goddess of love or amor in Latin thus forming a palindrome roma-amor here's the colonnade and eastern apse of the temple of venus and rome the arch of titus was built to commemorate Titus's victory over the Jewish rebels in 71 AD this relief depicts Titus's triumphal return to Rome crowned by a winged victory in this relief Roman soldiers carry the loot from the Temple of Jerusalem here we see the apotheosis or deification of Titus he's carried to the gods on the back of an eagle a 17th century painting shows the arch of Titus incorporated into a medieval tower the Basilica of Constantine from 315 AD this is a piece of the coffered brick and concrete ceiling which has fallen to the ground the basilica was begun by Maxentius who was overthrown by Constantine Constantine then reoriented the Basilica with a northern apse and southern entrance in this photo we see the northern apps from the exterior here we have fragments of the colossal statue of Constantine that once stood in the Basilica this is the medieval portico dating probably to the 10th century AD its function is uncertain note the difference in the ground levels the ground level of Roman times is below where you see the people walking out of medieval times is the portico the octagonal temple of Romulus was built by Maxentius in 310 ad in honor of his deceased son Romulus the original bronze doors of the temple these served as a vestibule to the church of saints cosmas and Damian in Christian times this temple was built in honor the Emperor Antoninus puce and his wife Faustina 141 ad the temple was turned into the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda in the Middle Ages the grass areas mark the spots where five meters lower ancient cremation burials were unearthed by archaeologists Hut urns similar to these were found in the cemetery they date to the 9th to 6th centuries BC when the forum was still a swamp here we have the foundations of the red gia the house of the king from 575 BC Julius Caesar was cremated in the Roman Forum in 44 BC on the site of the cremation a shrine was built in his honor of the original temple only the semicircular apse remains the spot of the cremation here we have the ruins of the temple of the divine Julius you see before you the reconstructed brick shops of the Basilica Emilia 179 BC the basilica was an irregular shaped covered Hall in which the money changers conducted their business it burned down in 410 AD the ruins of the Hall of the Basilica Emilia this frieze showing the death of tar pea comes from the Basilica Emilia and dates to 80 BC the Curia or Senate building is the large brick building adjacent to the Basilica Emilia the original Curia dated to the earliest days of Rome the current building dates to 283 ad here we have the interior of the Curia the building was turned into the Church of San Adriano in the 6th century and restored to its original condition in 1938 back in the forum the lapiz nageire or black stone marked one of the most sacred spots of ancient Rome beneath the la piste nagar unearthed a number of ancient monuments dated to the 6th century BC the earliest Latin inscription from the 6th century BC was found beneath the lapis nagar the inscription though imperfectly understood seems to mention a curse a king and a heifer the deccan alia from 303 ad once supported a column that honored Diocletian Maximian Galerius and Cloris the tetrarch's the long rectangular rostra was the orators platform in the Roman Forum rostra means beaks in Latin so-called from the ramming beaks of enemy ships that once adorned the front of the rostra we continued through the forum along the sacred way which leads towards the arch of septimius severus the arch of septimius severus dates to 203 AD the arch depicts the victories of the emperor in the eastern provinces of the Empire the only couse orbeez rome i or the navel of the city of rome marks the exact center of the city the miliaria maryam the golden milestone marks the spot from which roads in the empire were measured you see here the columns of the temple of Saturn one of the oldest temples of Rome this reconstruction dates from the 4th century AD the temple of evasion from the late first century AD here we have the Corinthian capitals and entablature of the Temple of Vesta patien behind the three columns of the temple of evasion is the tablinum or record hall of ancient Rome today it serves as the foundation for medieval and modern buildings the colonnade of the portico of the gods once held gilt bronze statues of the Olympian gods in the year 608 the Emperor focus bequeathed the Pantheon to Pope Boniface the fourth to use as a church to honor focus the Pope erected the column of focus the last ancient monument to be erected in the Roman Forum next we have the foundations of the Basilica Julia 1st century BC the Basilica Julia begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus was a large hypee Thurl court building with colonnades on all four sides the cloaca Maxima drained the Roman Forum in the 6th century BC and made it into usable real estate the 19th century photograph shows the open cloaca Maxima in the Roman Forum at the bottom we have the presently barred entrance to the cloaca Maxima near the Basilica Julia the temple of castor and pollux was built in 484 BC to commemorate a military victory the remaining three columns date to a 1st century AD rebuilding the three columns of the temple always remained visible at least partially even after the rest of the forum became covered with soil and debris a medieval road cutting through the forum the cows pasture was known as the three columns way the plan here shows the house of the vestal virgins with the round Temple of Vesta the round Temple of Vesta contained the sacred flame of the city of Rome the temple has been partially reconstructed from old fragments and new stones this is a coin showing Vesta the flame of the hearth in her temple the shrine probably contained a statue of the goddess Vesta below you is the atrium of the house of the vestal virgins here we have the garden of that same atrium this is a statue of a vestal virgin in this photo we see the palatine hill overlooking the roman forum the three columns of the temple of castor and pollux stand in the cows pasture in the Middle Ages you you

Channel: Stylus Productions

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Keywords: neidinger, roman forum, rome tour, stylus productions

Id: vMAJZZ0MGHw

Length: 12min 59sec (779 seconds)

Published: Tue May 06 2014