The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum, although the Romans referred to it more often as the Forum Magnum or just the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. Here the communal hearth was located.
Sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the surrounding hills was already raising the level of the forum in early Republican times. Originally it had been marshy ground, which was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima. Its final travertine paving, still to be seen, dates from the reign of Augustus.
It is now famous for the remains, which eloquently show the use of urban spaces during the Roman Age.
The Roman Forum includes major monuments, buildings and other ancient ruins including:
- Temple of Castor and Pollux
- Temple of Romulus
- Temple of Saturn
- Temple of Venus and Roma
- Arch of Titus
- Rostra, from where politicians made their speeches to the Roman citizens.
- Curia Hostilia, the site of the Roman Senate.
Source: Wikipedia |
