Roman Forum

Foro Romano

Italy · Lazio, Rome

SettlementIntermittent excavationUNESCO · 1980
Approximate period1,000 BCE — 608 CERoman Regal, Republican and Imperial periods See on the map ↓

In brief

The Forum, one of ancient Rome's public centers, contains remains of buildings and burials from different periods. It lies within the Historic Centre of Rome World Heritage Site.

What was found?

  • 1Tuff sarcophagus

    The sarcophagus found in the underground space near the Curia-Comitium is dated to the 6th century BC on the basis of its material. According to researchers, it may be a symbolic funerary monument rather than an actual burial; there is no evidence proving that it belonged to Romulus.

  • 2Inscribed stone associated with Lapis Niger

    The inscribed stone associated with the Lapis Niger area is among the tangible records of the Forum's early period. Researchers consider it when discussing the development of collective decision-making and public authority.

  • 3Comitium remains and Forum fills

    These are archaeological traces of the formation of the assembly area and the organization of the Forum. They help examine the process by which early Roman communities established a shared center.

What does it point to?

According to researchers, the Forum's early remains reflect the unification of different communities around shared public spaces and symbolic monuments. The founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus is a legend; the sarcophagus is not direct evidence of this account.

What did it teach us?

  1. It showed that the development of early Rome can be investigated by examining inscriptions, structural remains, and ground modifications together.
  2. According to researchers, shared monuments and assembly areas contributed to understanding the centralization of authority in the 6th century BC.
  3. It revealed that a discovered sarcophagus cannot be attributed to a legendary figure solely because of its location.

Images

Foro Romano Musei Capitolini Roma
This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to us · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

In 2020, an underground space containing a tuff sarcophagus was rediscovered beneath the Curia-Comitium; its connection to Romulus has not been established.

Record

Culture
Roman
Team / historical
Colosseum Archaeological Park
Coordinates
41.8920°, 12.4850°

Sources

  1. classicalstudies.org
  2. whc.unesco.org
  3. en.wikipedia.org

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12.000

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