Roman Forum, Part 1

Tuesday, June 16 was a beautiful sunny day in Rome and we went to the Palatine Hill and Forum to explore archaic/pre-historical archaeological remains.  Our first stop was on the Palatine Hill, to the site of "Romulus' Hut."  According to legend, Romulus and his twin brother Remus wanted to found a new settlement, but disagreed on where to establish it.  Remus wanted to build on the Aventine Hill, Romulus on the Palatine.  Romulus won the argument by killing his brother and therefore Rome was begun on the Palatine Hill.  Archaeological evidence is scanty, but the Romans themselves believed it and maintained what they thought was their founder's hut.  Archaeologists have found material near the site that dates back to the Italian Iron Age (600's to 800's BC).

In the neighboring Palatine Museum, some of the Iron Age artifacts are on display.

As well as a rendering of what the settlement may have looked like, with huts made of wattle and daub (sticks and mud).

After viewing the archaic remains on the Palatine, we went down into the Roman Forum.  Next to the Temple of Antoninus Pius is an ancient burial ground, with graves dating back to the 600's BC.

We then left the Forum and went to the other side of the Capitoline Hill and investigated some ruins called Sacred Area of San Omobono.  There are substantial remnants of two early temples, to the Mater Matuta (the Mother of the Morning) and to Fortuna.  There are also remnants of an even earlier temple.

Here we see the foundation of one temple.

The Church of San Omobono is built on the foundations of the other temple.

Andrea, a Ph.D. student from the University of Michigan, was our guide for this site.  Here she is explaining the difficulties encountered due to the unscientific excavation of the site by Mussolini's people.

Here is an inscription by Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, commemorating his victory over the Volsinii in 264 BC.  Volsinii was the last Etruscan city to resist Roman rule.  His capture of Volsinii was overshadowed by the outbreak of the First Punic War (against Carthage) the same year.

After the Sacred Area of San Omobono we took a break for lunch and then returned to the Forum.  Again, today's focus was on the more ancient remains, not many of the more well-known ones, which I will include in a later post.

Here we investigate the Regia.  The Regia was originally supposed to be the home of the Kings of Rome, but under the Republic (after they kicked the kings out) it became the residence of the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome.  It was rebuilt many times, but even so, not much is left.

Right to the Regia are the House of the Vestal Virgins and the Temple of Vesta.  Here you can see our group leader, Prof. Gessert, telling us all about the House of the Vestals.

Here is what remains of the facade of the Temple of Vesta, which was rebuilt by the Fascists during Mussolini's reign.

Just across from the Temple of Vesta is another ancient shrine, the Font of Juturna.  Juturna has a long story, which I'll skip, but what happened here at her font, in 496 BC is a story I will tell.  The Romans fought a group of towns called the Latin League, not long after they got rid of their kings and established the Roman Republic.  The former king, Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Snobby) had allied himself with the Latin League and made one last attempt to regain his throne.  The battle was going against the Romans when suddenly the twin sons of Jupiter, Castor and Pollux, appeared in the battle fighting on the Roman side (Castor and Pollux are also known as the Dioscuri and as the Gemini).  The Romans won the battle with their assistance.  After the battle, they were spotted watering their horses at the Font of Juturna.

Which is why the Temple of Castor and Pollux was built right across from her font.

Our last sight of the day was the Temple of Saturn.  Saturn was the god of the Golden Age and is similar in some respects to the Greek god, Chronos.  The Romans still revered Saturn, who they say fled to Italy after being defeated by his son.  Like the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Saturn was restored and rebuilt several different times during the period of the Roman Empire.

That's it for today's trip to the Forum.  Tomorrow we head to Etruscan tombs.  Stay tuned!