Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/843

Rh ARCHAEOLOGY.] ROME 815 geon, prisoners being lowered through a hole in the stone floor, the only access. The present stairs are modern. The two chambers are vividly described by Sallust (Cat., 55). The en- trance to the upper prison was on the left of the stairs leading up from the Forum to the Clivus Argentarius, the road to the Porta Ratumena (see Plate VI. ). Lentulus and the Catiline conspirators, as well as Jugurtha and other prisoners of importance, were killed or starved to death in this fearful dungeon, which is called rb pdpaOpov by Plutarch (Marius, xii.). According to a doubtful tradition of the Catholic Church St Peter and St Paul were im- prisoned in the Tullianum. The name Mamertine prison is of medieval origin. The front wall of the prison was restored in the reign of Tiberius 22 A.D., and bears this inscription on a projecting string-course C. VIBIVS. C. F. RVFINVS. M. COCCEIV[S NERVA] COS. EX. S. C. 1 The floor of the upper prison is about 16 feet above the level of the Forum, to which access was given by a flight of steps Scalae Gemoniae on which the bodies of criminals were ex- posed ; 2 Pliny (H.N., viii. 61) calls it the "stairs of sighs " (gradus gemitorii). Forum Romanum and Adjacent Buildings. The Forum Romanum or Magnum, as it was called in late times to distinguish it from the imperial fora, occupies a valley which extends from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to the north-east part of the Palatine. Till the construction of the great cloacae it was, at least in wet seasons, marshy ground, in Avhich were several pools of water. In early times it was bounded on two sides by rows of shops and houses, dating from the time of the first Tarquin (Liv., i. 35). The shops on the south-west side facing the Sacra Via, where the Basilica Julia afterwards was built, were occupied by the Tabernae Veteres. 3 The shops on the northern side, being occupied by silversmiths, were called Tabernte Argentariae (see Liv., xxvi. 27, xl. 51), and in later times, when rebuilt after a fire, were called Taberme Novae. 4 An altar to Saturn (Dionys., i. 34, vi. 1), tradi- tionally set up by the companions of Hercules, and an altar to Vulcan, both at the end towards the Capitol, with the temple of Vesta and the Regia at the opposite end, were among the earliest monuments grouped around the Forum. The Lacus Curtius vanished, as Varro says (L.L., v. 148-149), probably with Bother stagnant pools, when the cloacae were constructed (Liv., i. 38, 56). 5 Another pool, the Lacus Servilius, near the Basilica Julia, was preserved in some form or other till the imperial period. Under Sulla it was used as a place to expose the heads of many senators murdered in his proscriptions (Cic., -Rose. Am., 32; Seneca, De Prov., 3). The Vulcanal or Hephaesteum was an open area, so called from the early altar to Vulcan, and was (like the Coniitium) a place of public meeting, at least during the regal period. 6 It was raised above the Comitium, and probably was a space levelled on the lower slope of the Capitoline Hill behind the arch of Severus ; but its exact form and position are very doubt- ful. It was probably much encroached upon when the temple of Concord was enlarged in the reign of Augustus. Plate VII. gives a carefully measured plan of the Forum, show- ing the most recent discoveries. References to Numbers in Plate (VII.) of Forum RomanumJ 1, 1. (Basilica Julia) existing marble piers and fragment of screen. 2. Im- pression of marble pier in the late archway of brick-faced concrete. 3. Only remaining one of ancient travertine piers. 4, 4. Chambers of tufa and traver- tine, with traces of stairs. 5. Tabula lusoria, with inscription, see p. 817. 6. Opening into Cloaca Maxima. 7. Massive travertine pedestal. 8, 8. Paving of porta santa and Africano marbles. 9, 9. Paving of various Oriental marbles. 10. Probable position of arch of Tiberius. 11, 11. Exist- ing granite columns of temple of Saturn. 12. Main flight of steps, of which only the concrete core remains. 13. Starting of small side stairs to chamber under main flight of steps. 14. Only piece existing of ancient basalt paving (see fig. 6). 15. Platform of porticus of Dii Consentes. 16. Upper door in Tabularium blocked up by porticus of Dii Consentes. 17. Door at foot of stairs of Tabularium, blocked up by temple of Vespasian (see fig. 1). 18. Travertine paving of time of Domitian. 19. Pedestal of Vespasian's statue. 20. Three existing columns of temple of Vespasian. 21. 2Edicula built by Domitian. 22. Travertine paving of time of Domitian. 23, 23. Long passage and windows in lower story of Tabularium. 24. Pedestal of statue of Concord. 25. Pedestal added by one of the Flavian emperors. 26. Frag- ment of a later pedestal. 27. White marble door-jamb and massive threshold of porta santa marble. 28. Remains of some early structure in tufa. 29. Three travertine steps down to lower paved level, perhaps that of the Comi- tium. 30. Marble steps to this lower level. 31. Large marble pedestal (not in situ) inscribed to Fl. Jul. Constantius. 32. Late addition to rostra. 33. Remains of a small marble structure. 34. Marble pedestal of a column, with rude reliefs of the 4th century. 35. Marble pedestal of an equestrian 1 Consules suffecti for 22 A.D. 2 See Tac., Hist., iii. 74, 85 ; Suet., Vit., 17. 3 See Livy (xliv. 16), who mentions a house of P. Afrieanus, "pone veteres ad Vortumni signum," which was bought by T. Sempronius to clear the site for the Basilica Sempronia in 169 B.C. This basilica appears to have been afterwards absorbed in the Basilica Julia. 4 Hence these two sides of the Forum are frequently referred to in classical writings as "sub veteribus " and "sub novis." 5 In later times it appears to have been an enclosed space containing an altar ; it is described by Ovid (Fast., vi. 403) ; according to one tradition it marked the spot where Curtius's self-immolation filled up the chasm which had opened in the Forum (see Dionys., ii. 41). 6 See Dionys., ii. 50, vi. 67 ; Plin., H.N., xvi. 86 ; Plut., Quses. Rom., 47. 7 A larger plan, coloured in detail, is given in J. H. Middleton, Ancient Rome in 1885 (A. & C. Black, Edinburgh). statue, set on end, and inscribed to Arcadius and Theodosius. 36. Marble walls (plutei) with reliefs of time of Trajan (not in situ). 37. Remains of a small marble structure. 88. Large concrete core of a late pedestal. 39. Steps to column of Phocas, part marble and part tufa. 40. Late building of brick and concrete lined with marble. 41. Existing three columns of temple of Castor. 42, 42. Existing pieces of mosaic pavement. 43. Main steps of temple of Castor. 44. Side steps ; only the three lowest remain. 45. Part of circular travertine curb ; puteal Scribonisl 46, 46. Original line of Sacra Via, covered with late paving of travertine. 47. Line of side steps of 2Edes Divi Julii. 48. Small front stairs up to podium of 2Edes Divi Julii. 49. Curved recess in podium, which probably once contained an altar to Divus Julius ; now blocked up by late masonry. 50. Fragment of a wall faced with opus reticulatum. 51. Concrete core of podium of temple of Vesta. 52. Small sedicula by entrance to Atrium Vestae. 53, 53. Shops adjoining Atriurn Vestse. 54. Stairs from Nova Via up to Clivus Victoria and palace of Caligula. 54A. Stairs, shown on a fragment of the marble plan, leading up from the level of the Forum to that of the Nova Via. 55, 55. Windows in curia of Diocletian (S. Adriano), now below the ground level ; see fig. 12, p. 816. 56. Marble doorway shown by Du Perac, now missing. Unlike the fora of the emperors, each of which was surrounded by a lofty wall and built at one time from one design, the archi- tectural form of the Forum Romanum was a slow growth. The marshy battle-field of the early inhabitants of the capitol and Palatine became, when the ground was drained by the great cloacae, under a united rule the most convenient site for political meetings, for commercial transactions, and for the pageants of rich men's funerals, ludi scenici, and gladiatorial games. 8 For these purposes a central space, though but a small one, was kept clear of buildings ; but it was gradually occupied in a somewhat inconvenient manner by an ever-accumulating crowd of statues and other honorary monuments. On three sides the limits of this open space are marked by paved roads, faced by the stately buildings which gradu- ally took the place of the simple wooden tabernae and porticus 9 of early times. This central space was essentially the meeting-place of the plebs, or the Comitia Tributa, while the patricians, the Comitia Curiata, met on the Comitium, which adjoined the Forum. The Comitium 10 was a level space in front of the Curia ; the con- struction of both is ascribed to Tullus Hostilius. For the position of the Comitium and the Curia u see plan of Forum (Plate VII. ). Varro (L.L.,. 155-156) gives the following account of the build- ings which were grouped along the northern angle of the Forum. "Comitium ab eo quod coibant eo comitiis curiatis et litium causa. Curiae duorum generum, nam et ubi curareut sacerdotes res divinas, ut Curiae Veteres, et ubi senatus humanas, ut Curia Hostilia, quod primum aedificavit Hostilius rex. Ante hanc Rostra, quojus loci id vocabulum, quod ex hostibus capta fixa sunt rostra. Sub dextra hujus a Comitio locus substructus, ubi nationum sub- sisterent legati qui ad senatum essent missi. Is Gnecostasis appel- latus a parte ut multa. Senaculum supra Graecostasim, ubi Mdis Concordiae et Basilica Opimia. Senaculum vocatum, ubi senatus, aut ubi seniores consisterent." The Curia or senate-house passed through many vicissitudes. Curia. At first called Curia Hostilia from its founder Tullus Hostilius (Liv., i. 30), it lasted till 52 B.C., when it was burnt at the funeral of Clodius, and was then rebuilt by the son of Sulla, and from his gens called Curia Cornelia (Dion Cass., xl. 50 ; Plin., H.N., xxxiv. 12). It was again rebuilt by Augustus (29 B.C.) under the name of the Curia Julia, as recorded in the inscription of Ancyra (see ANGORA) CVRIAM. ET. CONTIKENS. El. CHALCIDICVM. . . FECI. Little is known about the adjoining buildings called the Athenaeum and Chalcidicum ; Dion Cassius (Ii. 22) mentions the group. In the reign of Domitian the Curia Julia was again rebuilt (Prosp. Aquit., p. 571), and lastly by Diocletian. There is strong evidence to show that the existing church of S. Adriano is the Curia of Diocletian, though of course much altered, and with its floor raised about 20 feet above the old level. Fig. 12 shows the front existing towards the Forum, omitting later windows and doors. As late as the time of Du Perac ( Vestigj di Roma) the old entrance and level were preserved. He gives a drawing 12 of it with steps descending to the doorway. The ancient bronze doors now at the end of the nave of the Lateran basilica originally belonged to this building, and were removed thence by Alexander VII. Fig. 12 is derived from actual measurements of the part above ground, while the lower part, now buried, is derived from Du Perac's drawing and from the bronze doors at the Lateran, which give the size of the opening, 8 The first gladiatorial show, in Rome was given in 264 B.C. in the Forum Boarium by D. Junius Brutus at his father's funeral (Liv., Epit., xvi.), the nrst in the Forum Romanum in 216 B.C. (Liv., xxiii. 30). See also Liv., xxxi. 50, xli. 28 ; and Suet., Cats., 39 ; Aug., 43 ; and Tib., 7. . 9 " Porticus " means a covered colonnade in one or more stones, eitne one straight line or enclosing a space like a cloistered quadrangle. A " crypto- porticus" usually implies a covered passage, with walls instead of columns at 10 See a valuable paper on the Comitium byDetlefsen, Ann. Inst.,lS6Q ; and Dernburg, Die Lage des Comitiums. The Comitium was also the chief law-court, where criminal cases were heard by the triumviri capitales. Dictators, consuls, and other officials of Rome held courts there, and received foreign envoys. It was also used for public shows and games and was a place of execution or 11 Livy (xlv. 24) indicates their relative positions by the phrase "Comitium vestibulum Curia;." . 12 This valuable set of drawings was not published till 1575 ; but internal evidence shows that many of them, if not all, were made as early as 1540. A good account of the Curia and its vicissitudes is given by Lanciani, LAiita e gli Uffici del Senato Romano, 1883.