Editing Roman Forum (section)

==History==

===Pre-Roman Period===
Pottery deposits discovered in the Forum, Palatine and Capitoline demonstrated that humans occupied these areas in the [[Bronze Age Europe|Final Bronze Age]] (1200–975 BC).<ref>Lomas, Kathryn, 2018 (hardcover in 2017), ''Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, 1000 BC – 264 BC'', London: Profile Books, p. 38.</ref> In the early [[Iron Age Europe|Iron Age]] an area of the future Forum, close to the site of [[Temple of Antoninus and Faustina]], was used as a cemetery (10th century BC), possibly by the communities based on the Palatine and Capitoline hills.<ref>Fulminante, Francesca, 2014, ''The Urbanisation of Rome and Latium Vetus. From the Bronze Age to the Archaic Era'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 72–74.</ref> Most of the burials were cremations of the same type which is also found in the other sites in [[Latium]]. The urn containing the ashes of the deceased was placed inside a large earthenware jar, along with grave goods, and then buried in a cavity cut into the ground and covered with a capstone.<ref name=":0">Lomas, 2018, p. 39.</ref> There were also a small number of inhumation burials. On current evidence, it is likely that burials in the Forum ceased in the late 9th century BC and that the [[Esquiline Necropolis]] replaced them.<ref name=":0" /> 

The first archaeological finds on the sites of the key public buildings point to a transformation of the Forum from a cemetery to a public site in the 8th century BC.<ref>Lomas, 2018, pp. 40–42.</ref> Part of the Forum was paved over. The earliest finds in the sites of the [[Comitium]] and [[Vulcanal]] were votive offerings. They indicate that the area was dedicated to a celebration of religious cults.<ref>Lomas, 2018, p. 41.</ref>

===Roman Kingdom===
[[File:Rome in 753 BC.png|thumb|A speculative map of Rome {{circa|753 BC}} showing the swampy situation of the early Forum between the [[Arx (Roman)|Arx]] and [[Velian Hill|Velia]]]]

====Roman historical tradition====

According to Roman historical tradition, the Forum's beginnings are connected with the alliance between [[Romulus]], the first king of Rome controlling the [[Palatine Hill]], and his rival, [[Titus Tatius]], who occupied the [[Capitoline Hill]]. An alliance formed after combat had been halted by the prayers and cries of the [[Sabine]] women. Because the valley lay between the two settlements, it was the designated place for the two peoples to meet. Since the early Forum area included pools of stagnant water, the most easily accessible area was the northern part of the valley which was designated as the [[Comitium]]. It was here at the [[Vulcanal]] that, according to the story, the two parties laid down their weapons and formed an alliance.<ref>{{cite book |title = The Roman Forum and the Palatine According to the Latest Discoveries |url = https://archive.org/details/romanforumpalati00maru |last= Marucchi |first=Horace |publisher=Lefebvre |place=Paris |year = 1906 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/romanforumpalati00maru/page/1 1]–2|isbn = 978-81-237-4314-1 }}</ref>

The Forum was outside the walls of the original Sabine fortress, which was entered through the Porta Saturni. These walls were mostly destroyed when the two hills were joined.<ref>{{cite book |title = The Architectural History of the City of Rome | last=Parker| first=John Henry | publisher = Parker and Company| place = Oxford | year = 1881| page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=D_UAvPBgcDUC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122 122]}}</ref> The original Forum functioned as an open-air market abutting on the Comitium, but eventually outgrew its day-to-day shopping and marketplace role. As political speeches, civil trials, and other public affairs began to take up more and more space in the Forum, additional fora throughout the city began to emerge to expand on specific needs of the growing population. Fora for cattle, pork, vegetables and wine specialised in their niche products and the associated deities.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

Rome's second king, [[Numa Pompilius]] (r. 715–673 BC), is said to have begun the cult of [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]], building its [[House of the Vestals|house]] and [[Temple of Vesta|temple]] as well as the [[Regia]] as the city's first royal palace. Later [[Tullus Hostilius]] (r. 673–642 BC) enclosed the Comitium around the old Etruscan temple where the [[Senate of the Roman Kingdom|Senate]] would meet at the site of the Sabine conflict. He is said to have converted that temple into the [[Curia Hostilia]] close to where the Senate originally met in an old Etruscan hut. In 600 BC [[Tarquinius Priscus]] had the area paved for the first time.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

====Archaeological evidence====
[[File:Parte di fregio con minotauro e felini, 600-550 ac ca., da regia, foro romano (antiquarium del foro) 02.JPG|left|thumb|Fragment of a terracotta frieze plaque from the Regia at the east end of the Forum showing a minotaur and felines, c. 600–550 BC, Antiquarium Museo del Foro Romano]]
Originally a low-lying, grassy [[wetland]], the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures of [[Cloaca Maxima]], a large covered sewer system that emptied into the [[Tiber]], as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome the problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area.<ref>Ammerman, Albert J., 1990, “On the Origins of the Forum Romanum”,  ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 94, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), p. 627–645. </ref><ref name=":1">Lomas, 2018, pp. 90–95.</ref> In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of the [[Via Sacra]] and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them.<ref>[[Timothy Peter Wiseman|Wiseman, Timothy Peter]], 2008, ''Unwritten Rome'', Exeter: University of Exeter Press, p. 2.</ref><ref name=":1" />

The earliest structures in the Forum were discovered in two separate locations: the site of the [[Comitium]] and the group of sanctuaries of [[Regia]] (House of the kings), [[House of the Vestals]] and [[Domus Publica]].<ref name=":1" /> Around 650–630 BC the area of the Comitium was excavated into a deep triangular depression. The area was paved with a beaten earth pavement and later replaced with a more substantial gravel one. Nearby was located an archaic sanctuary dedicated to [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] known as [[Vulcanal]] (also ''Volcanal''): a small rectangular pit and elliptical basin carved out of an outcrop of [[tuff]].<ref>Filippi, Dunia, 2017 (edition in Italian in 2012), 'Region VIII. Forum Romanum Magnum', in [[Andrea Carandini]], Paola Carafa, ''The Atlas of Ancient Rome. Biography and Portraits of the City. Vol. 1. Text and Images'', Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, pp. 151–152.</ref><ref>Lomas, 2018, p. 91.</ref> It has been suggested that the earliest ancient materials collected in the area of the Vulcanal are from the second half of the 8th century BC.<ref>Carafa, Paolo, 2005, ‘Il Volcanal e il Comizio’, ''Workshop di Archeologia Classica'' 2, p. 135.</ref> It appears that the Romans were aware of the sites’ archaic origins: the foundation of the Comitium and Vulcanal were attributed to Romulus himself while the first [[Curia]] (senate house), which was located nearby, to [[Tullus Hostilius]].<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', 2.50.2 (attributes the foundation of the Vulcanal to Romulus and Titus Tatius); Varro, ''On the Latin Language'', 5.74 (attributes the institution of the Vulcanal to Titus Tatius alone); Plutarch, ''Life of Romulus'', 19.27.6 (mentions that Romulus was supposedly killed by the senators next to the Vulcanal).</ref>

At the western end of the Forum, excavations near the House of the Vestals and the sanctuary of [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]] have revealed an important group of 7th-century-BC buildings. The archaeologists have identified them as the early phases of the Regia (House of the kings), House of the Vestals, and Domus Publica (official residence of the ''pontifex maximus'').<ref>Lomas, 2018, pp. 91–93.</ref> There seems to have been something of a surge in development of the Forum in the last quarter of the 7th century BC, as many of the changes date from 625 to 600 BC. Archaeologically, there is substantial evidence for development of the Forum in the 6th century BC: parts of the paving have been found and a large number of fragments of terracotta decorations from this area suggests that structures around the Forum were becoming more elaborate and highly decorated.<ref>Lomas, 2018, p. 145.</ref>

===Roman Republic===
[[File:Templo de Vesta.JPG|thumb|The [[Temple of Vesta]]]]
[[File:2012-02-17 Foro Romano da Palazzo Senatorio 3.jpg|thumb|A view of the Roman Forum seen from a window of the [[Palazzo Senatorio]]: at the centre the church of [[Santi Luca e Martina]] (beside it at the right, the roof of the [[Curia Julia]]), in the lower right the [[Arch of Septimius Severus]]]]
[[File:Platner-forum-republic-96 recontructed color.jpg|thumb|Map of the Roman Forum. Structures of Republican Rome are shown in red and those of Imperial Rome in black. From Platner's ''Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome'', 1904 (adjusted).]]

During the Republican period, the Comitium continued to be the central location for all judicial and political life in the city.<ref>{{cite book |title = Representations: Images of the World in Ciceronian Oratory | last=Vasaly| first=Ann| publisher = University of California Press | place = Berkeley | year = 1996| page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=nXJ5d0lvTFMC&pg=PA61 61]| isbn=0-520-07755-5}}</ref> However, to create a larger gathering place, the Senate began expanding the open area between the Comitium and the [[Temple of Vesta]] by purchasing existing private homes and removing them for public use. Building projects of several consuls repaved and built onto both the Comitium and the adjacent central plaza that was becoming the Forum.<ref>{{cite book |title = Handbook for Rome and the Campagna | editor-last=Young | editor-first=Norwood| publisher = John Murray |place = London | year = 1908| page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=SGwPAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1–PA95 95]}}</ref>

The 5th century BC witnessed the earliest Forum temples with known dates of construction: the [[Temple of Saturn]] (497 BC) and the [[Temple of Castor and Pollux]] (484 BC).<ref>Richmond, Ian Archibald, et al. (1996), Entry, "Forum Romanum", In: Hornblower, Simon and Antony Spawforth (eds.), ''[[The Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'' (3rd ed.), [[Oxford University Press]], p. 607.</ref> The [[Temple of Concord]] was added in the following century, possibly by the soldier and statesman [[Marcus Furius Camillus]]. A long-held tradition of speaking from the elevated speakers' [[Rostra]]—originally facing north towards the Senate House to the assembled politicians and elites—put the orator's back to the people assembled in the Forum. A [[tribune]] known as [[Caius Licinius]] (consul in 361 BC) is said to have been the first to turn away from the elite towards the Forum, an act symbolically repeated two centuries later by [[Gaius Gracchus]].<ref>{{cite book |title = Religions of Rome: A History| last=Beard, Mary| author-link=Mary Beard (classicist)| author2 = North, John A.; Price, Simon | publisher = Cambridge University Press | place = Cambridge | year = 1998| page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=2rtaTFYuM3QC&pg=PA109 109 (note 139)]| isbn= 0-521-30401-6 }}</ref>

This began the tradition of ''locus popularis'', in which even young nobles were expected to speak to the people from the Rostra. Gracchus was thus credited with (or accused of) disturbing the ''[[mos maiorum]]'' ("custom of the fathers/ancestors") in ancient Rome. When [[Roman censor|Censor]] in 318 BC, [[Gaius Maenius]] provided buildings in the Forum neighborhood with balconies, which were called after him ''maeniana'', so that the spectators might better view the games put on within the temporary wooden arenas set up there.

The [[Tribune bench]]es were placed on the Forum Romanum, as well. First, they stood next to the senate house; during the late Roman Republic, they were placed in front of the [[Basilica Porcia]].

The earliest [[basilica]]s (large, aisled halls) were introduced to the Forum in 184 BC by [[Cato the Elder|Marcus Porcius Cato]], who thus began the process of "monumentalizing" the site. The [[Basilica Fulvia]] was dedicated on the north side of the Forum square in 179 BC. (It was rebuilt and renamed several times, as Basilica Fulvia et Aemilia, Basilica Paulli, [[Basilica Aemilia]]). Nine years later, the [[Basilica Sempronia]] was dedicated on the south side.<ref name="books.google">{{cite book |title = Italy: Handbook for Travellers | last=Baedeker, Karl | author-link=Karl Baedeker | publisher = Karl Baedeker | place = Leipzig |year = 1903| page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=uAlBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA251 251]}}</ref>

Many of the traditions from the Comitium, such as the popular assemblies, funerals of nobles, and games, were transferred to the Forum as it developed.<ref name="books.google" /> Especially notable was the move of the ''[[comitia tributa]]'', then the focus of popular politics, in 145 BC. In 133 BC the [[Tribune of the people|Tribune]] [[Tiberius Gracchus]] was lynched there by a group of senators.

In the 80s BC, during the dictatorship of [[Sulla]], major work was done on the Forum including the raising of the plaza level by almost a meter and the laying of permanent marble paving stones.<ref>[[Peter Connolly (classical scholar)|Connolly, Peter]] and [[Hazel Dodge]] (1998), ''The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens & Rome'', [[Oxford University Press]], p. 109.</ref> Remarkably, this level of the paving was maintained more or less intact for over a millennium: at least until the sack of Rome by [[Robert Guiscard]] and his Normans in 1084, when neglect finally allowed debris to begin to accumulate unabated.<ref>Watkin, 2009, p. 106.</ref>

In 78 BC, the immense [[Tabularium]] (Records Hall) was built at the Capitoline Hill end of the Forum by order of the consuls for that year, [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 BC)|M. Aemilius Lepidus]] and [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus|Q. Lutatius Catulus]]. In 63 BC, [[Cicero]] delivered his famous speech denouncing the companions of the conspirator [[Catiline]] at the Forum (in the [[Temple of Concord]], whose spacious hall was sometimes used as a meeting place by the Senators). After the verdict, they were led to their deaths at the [[Tullianum]], the nearby dungeon which was the only known state prison of the ancient Romans.<ref>Watkin, 2009, p. 79.</ref>

Over time, the Comitium was lost to the ever-growing Curia and to [[Julius Caesar]]'s rearrangements before his assassination in 44 BC.<ref>The close relationship between the Comitium and the ''{{lang|la|Forum Romanum}}'' eventually faded from the writings of the ancients. The former is last mentioned in the reign of [[Septimius Severus]] ({{circa|200 AD}}).</ref> That year, two events were witnessed by the Forum, perhaps the most famous ever to transpire there: [[Marc Antony]]'s [[Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears|funeral oration for Caesar]] (immortalized in [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Julius Caesar (play)|famous play]]) was delivered from the partially completed speaker's platform known as the [[Rostra|New Rostra]] and the public burning of Caesar's body occurred on a site directly across from the Rostra around which the [[Temple of Caesar|Temple to the Deified Caesar]] was subsequently built by his great-nephew Octavius ([[Augustus]]).<ref>Grant, 1970, pp. 111–112.</ref> Almost two years later, Marc Antony added to the notoriety of the Rostra by publicly displaying the severed head and right hand of his enemy [[Cicero]] there.

===Roman Empire===
[[File: Roman forum sketch up model.png|thumb|Rendering of the Roman Forum as it may have appeared during the Late [[Roman Empire|Empire]]]]
After Julius Caesar's death and the end of the subsequent [[Liberators' civil war|civil war]], Augustus finished his great-uncle's work, giving the Forum its final form. This included the southeastern end of the plaza where he constructed the [[Temple of Caesar]] and the [[Arch of Augustus, Rome|Arch of Augustus]] there (both in 29 BC). The Temple of Caesar was placed between Caesar's funeral pyre and the Regia. The Temple's location and reconstruction of adjacent structures resulted in greater organization akin to the [[Forum of Caesar]].<ref>"Roman Art and Archaeology," Mark Fullerton, p. 118.</ref> The Forum was also witness to the assassination of a Roman Emperor in 69 AD: [[Galba]] had set out from the palace to meet rebels but was so feeble that he had to be carried in a litter. He was immediately met by a troop of his rival [[Otho]]'s cavalry near the ''Lacus Curtius'' in the Forum, where he was killed.

During these early Imperial times, much economic and judicial business transferred away from the Forum to larger and more extravagant structures to the north. After the building of [[Trajan's Forum]] (110 AD), these activities transferred to the [[Basilica Ulpia]].

[[File:Arch Septimius Severus Column Phocas Forum Romanum Rome.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Arch of Septimius Severus]]]]
The white marble [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] was added at the northwest end of the Forum close to the foot of the Capitoline Hill and adjacent to the old, vanishing Comitium. It was dedicated in 203 AD to commemorate the [[Roman-Parthian Wars|Parthian victories]] of Emperor [[Septimius Severus]] and his two sons against Pescennius Niger and is one of the most visible landmarks there today. The arch closed the Forum's central area. Besides the Arch of Augustus, which was also constructed following a Roman victory against the Parthians, it is the only triumphal arch in the Forum.<ref name="Archaeology p. 358">"Roman Art and Archaeology," Mark Fullerton p. 358</ref> The Emperor [[Diocletian]] (r. 284–305) was the last of the great builders of Rome's city infrastructure and he did not omit the Forum from his program. By his day it had become highly cluttered with honorific memorials. He refurbished and reorganized it, building anew the [[Temple of Saturn]], the [[Temple of Vesta]] and the [[Curia Julia]].<ref>Connolly and Dodge, 1998, pp. 250–251.</ref> The latter represents the best-preserved tetrarchic building in Rome. He also reconstructed the rostra at each end of the Forum and added columns.<ref name="Archaeology p. 358"/>

The reign of [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]] saw the completion of the construction of the [[Basilica of Maxentius]] (312 AD), the last significant expansion of the Forum complex.<ref name="history.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/roman-forum|title=Roman Forum|website=HISTORY|date=25 July 2023 }}</ref> This restored much of the political focus to the Forum until the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] almost two centuries later.

===Medieval===
[[File:Colonna di Foca Forum Romanum Rome.jpg|thumb|The [[Column of Phocas]]]]
After the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]], and the resulting [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic Wars]] between the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine / Eastern Roman Empire]] and the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom|Ostrogoths]] over Italia, much of the city of Rome fell into ruin, from famine, warfare, and lack of authority. The population of Rome was reduced from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands, as the populated areas contracted to the river, largely abandoning the forum. Strenuous efforts were made to keep the Forum (and the Palatine structures) intact, not without some success. In the 6th century, some of the old edifices within the Forum began to be transformed into Christian churches. On 1 August 608, the [[Column of Phocas]], a [[Roman triumphal column|Roman monumental column]], was erected before the [[Rostra]] and dedicated or rededicated in honour of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Emperor]] [[Phocas]]. This proved to be the last monumental addition made to the Forum. The emperor [[Constans II]], who visited the city in 663 AD, stripped the lead roofs of the monumental buildings, exposing the structures to the weather and hastening their deterioration. By the 8th century, the whole space was surrounded by Christian churches taking the place of abandoned and ruined temples.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marucchi |first=Orazio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GETAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9 |title=The Roman Forum and the Palatine According to the Latest Discoveries ... |date=1906 |publisher=Desclée, Lefebvre e Company |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref>

An anonymous eighth-century [[Einsiedeln Itinerary]] reports that the Forum was already falling apart at that time. During the Middle Ages, though the memory of the ''{{lang|la|Forum Romanum}}'' persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the ''"Campo Vaccino"'' or "cattle field,"<ref name="history.com"/> located between the [[Capitoline Hill]] and the [[Colosseum]].

After the eighth century, the structures of the Forum were dismantled, rearranged, and used to build towers and castles within the local area. In the 13th century, these rearranged structures were torn down and the site became a dumping ground. This, along with the debris from the dismantled medieval buildings and ancient structures, helped contribute to the rising ground level.<ref>{{cite book |title = Roman and Medieval Art | last=Goodyear| first=W. H. | publisher = Macmillan | place = New York | year = 1899| page = [https://archive.org/details/romanandmedieva03goodgoog/page/n119 109]}}</ref>

The return of [[Pope Urban V]] from [[Avignon papacy|Avignon]] in 1367 led to an increased interest in ancient monuments, partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after a long lapse.

===Renaissance===
The Forum Romanum suffered some of its worst depredations during the Italian Renaissance, particularly in the decade between 1540 and 1550, when [[Pope Paul III]] exploited it intensively for material to build the new [[Saint Peter's Basilica]].<ref name="Lanciani, 1897; p. 247-48">Lanciani, 1897, pp. 247–248</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.world-archaeology.com/books/the-roman-forum/| title=The Roman Forum| publisher=world-archaeology.com| year=2010| access-date=2020-02-23}}</ref> Just a few years before, in 1536, the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] held a triumph in Rome on his return from [[Conquest of Tunis (1535)|conquering Tunis]] in North Africa. To prepare the Forum for the procession intended to imitate the pageantry of the ancient Roman triumph, the papal authorities undertook sweeping demolitions of the many medieval structures on the site, to reveal and better display the ancient monuments.<ref>{{cite book |author=Beard |first=Mary |title=The Roman Triumph |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2007 |page=53}}</ref> This required the clearance of some 200 houses and several churches, the excavation of a new "Via Sacra" to pass under the arches of [[Arch of Titus|Titus]] and [[Arch of Septimius Severus|Septimius Severus]], and the excavation of the more prominent monuments to reveal their foundations.<ref>{{cite book| title=The Ruin of the Eternal City| author=David Karmon| publisher=Oxford University Press| year=2011|page=107}}</ref>

In 1425, [[Pope Martin V]] issued a [[papal bull]] inaugurating a campaign of civic improvement and rebuilding in the city, which was depopulated and dominated by ruins.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karmon |first=David |title=The Ruin of the Eternal City |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |pages=49–50}}</ref> The demand for building materials consequently increased significantly, making the Forum a convenient quarry for stone and marble.

Since the 12th century, when Rome's civic government was formed, responsibility for protecting the ruins of the forum fell to the ''maestri di strade'' under the authority of the [[Conservatore of Rome|Conservatori]], Rome's senior magistrates.<ref>Karmon,2011; pp. 54–55</ref> Historically, the ''maestri'' and the ''Conservatori'' saw themselves as guardians of Rome's ancient legacy and zealously protected the ruins in the Forum from further destruction, but in the 15th century the Papacy gradually encroached upon these prerogatives. The Bull of 1425 strengthened the powers of the ''maestri'' in protecting the ruins, but in conferring papal authority the Vatican essentially brought the ''maestri'' under its control and away from the independence of the Conservators.<ref>Karmon,2011; pp. 49–50</ref>

In the 15th century, the Vatican escalated the issuance of excavation licenses, which gave broad permission to individuals to mine specific sites or structures for stone.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lanciani |first=Rodolfo |title=The Ruins and excavations of ancient Rome: a companion book for students and travellers |year=1897 |page=246}}</ref> In 1452, the ability of the ''maestri'' to issue their own excavation licenses was revoked by the Bull of [[Pope Nicholas V]], which absorbed that power into the Vatican. From then on only two authorities in Rome had the power to issue such licenses: the Vatican and the Conservators.<ref>Karmon, 2011; pp. 65–69</ref> This dual, overlapping authority was recognized in 1462 by a Bull of [[Pope Pius II]].<ref>Karmon, 2011; p. 69</ref>
 
Within the context of these disputes over jurisdiction, ruins in the forum were increasingly exploited and stripped. In 1426, a papal license authorized the destruction of the foundations of a structure called the "Templum Canapare" for burning into lime, provided that half the stone quarried be shared with the [[Apostolic Camera]] (the Papal treasury). This structure was identified by [[Rodolfo Lanciani]] as the [[Basilica Julia]], but the name could have applied to any structure in the western section of the Forum, often called the ''Canapare'' or ''[[Hemp in the Papal States|Cannapara]]''.<ref>Karmon, 2011; pp. 58–60</ref> Between 1431 and 1462 the huge travertine wall between the Senate House and the [[Forum of Caesar]] adjoining the Forum Romanum was demolished by a grant of [[Pope Eugene IV]], followed by the demolition of the ''Templum Sacrae Urbis'' (1461–1462), the [[Temple of Venus and Roma]] (1450), and the [[House of the Vestals]] (1499), all by papal license.<ref>Lanciani, 1897; p. 247</ref> The worst destruction in the forum occurred under Paul III, who in 1540 revoked previous excavation licenses and brought the forum exclusively under the control of the Deputies of the Fabric of the new [[Saint Peter's Basilica]], who exploited the site for stone and marble.<ref name="Lanciani, 1897; pp. 247-48">Lanciani, 1897; pp. 247–248</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.world-archaeology.com/books/the-roman-forum/| title=The Roman Forum| date=4 September 2010| publisher=world-archaeology.com| access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> Monuments which fell victim to dismantling and the subsequent burning of their materials for lime included the remains of the [[Arch of Augustus, Rome|Arch of Augustus]], the [[Temple of Caesar]], parts of the [[Temple of Antoninus and Faustina]], the [[Temple of Vesta]], the steps and foundation of the [[Temple of Castor and Pollux]], and the [[Regia]].<ref>Lanciani, 1897; p. 248</ref> The Conservators protested vehemently against the ruination of their heritage, as they perceived it, and on one occasion applied fruitlessly to [[Pope Gregory XIII]] (1572–1585) to revoke all licenses for foraging materials, including the one granted to the ''fabbrica'' of Saint Peter's in the forum.<ref>{{cite book |author=Rodolfo Lanciani |url=https://archive.org/details/destructionanci02lancgoog |title=The Destruction of Ancient Rome: A Sketch of the History of the Monuments |publisher=Macmillan |year=1899 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/destructionanci02lancgoog/page/n249 228]–231; 234–235}}</ref>

===Excavation and preservation===
[[File:Joseph Mallord William Turner - Forum Romanum, for Mr Soane's Museum - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Forum Romanum (painting)|Forum Romanum]]'' by [[J. M. W. Turner]], 1826]]
The excavation by [[Carlo Fea]], who began clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus in 1803 marked the beginning of clearing the Forum. Excavations were officially begun in 1898 by the Italian government under the Minister of Public Instruction, Dr. Baccelli.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carter|first1=Jesse Benedict|title=A Decade of Forum Excavation and the Results for Roman History|journal=The Classical Journal|date=March 1910|volume=5|issue=5|pages=202–211|jstor=3286845}}</ref> The 1898 restoration had three main objectives: to restore fragmented pieces of columns, bases, and cornices to their original locations in the Forum, to reach the lowest possible level of the Forum without damaging existing structures, and to identify already half-excavated structures, along with the Senate house and Basilica Aemilia. These state-funded excavations were led by Dr. [[Giacomo Boni (archaeologist)|Giacomo Boni]] until he died in 1925, stopping briefly during World War I.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gray|first1=Mason D.|title=Recent Excavations in the Roman Forum|journal=The Biblical World|date=March 1901|volume=17|issue=3|pages=199–202|jstor=3136821|doi=10.1086/472777|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2008, heavy rains caused structural damage to the modern concrete covering holding the "Black Stone" marble together over the [[Lapis Niger]] in Rome. Excavations in the Forum continue, with discoveries by archaeologists working in the Forum since 2009 leading to questions about Rome's exact age. One of these recent discoveries includes a [[tuff]] wall near the Lapis Niger used to channel water from nearby [[aquifer]]s. Around the wall, pottery remains and food scraps allowed archaeologists to date the likely construction of the wall to the 8th or 9th century BC, over a century before the traditional date of Rome's founding.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pruitt|first1=Sarah|title=Forum Excavations Reveal Rome's Advanced Age|url=http://www.history.com/news/forum-excavations-reveal-romes-advanced-age}}</ref>

In 2020, Italian archaeologists discovered a [[sarcophagus]] and a circular altar dating to the 6th century BC. Experts disagree whether it is a memorial tomb dedicated to Rome's legendary founder, [[Romulus]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-02-21|title=Romulus mystery: Experts divided on 'tomb of Rome's founding father'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51587892|access-date=2020-06-28}}</ref>

===Temple of Saturn===
[[File:Foro romano tempio Saturno 09feb08 01.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Temple of Saturn]]]]
The [[Temple of Saturn]] was one of the more significant buildings located in the Roman Forum. Little is known about when the temple was built, as the original temple is believed to have been burnt down by the Gauls early in the fourth century. However, it is understood that it was also rebuilt by [[Munatius Plancus]] in 42 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Richardson|first=L.|date=1980-01-01|title=The Approach to the Temple of Saturn in Rome|jstor=504394|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume=84|issue=1|page=55|doi=10.2307/504394|s2cid=193115520}}</ref> The eight remaining columns are all that is left of the illustrious temple. Though its exact date of completion is not known, it stands as one of the oldest buildings in the Forum.<ref>Richardson, 1980, p. 52</ref> The temple originally was to be built to the [[Jupiter (mythology)|god Jupiter]] but was replaced with [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]; historians are unsure why.<ref>Richardson, 1980, pp. 51-62</ref> The building was not used solely for religious practice; the temple also functioned as a [[Roman economy|bank]] for Roman society.

The Temple stood in the forum along with four other temples, the temples of [[Temple of Concord|Concord]], [[Temple of Vesta|Vesta]], [[Temple of Castor and Pollux|Castor and Pollox]]. At each temple, animal sacrifices and rituals were done in front of the religious sites. These acts were meant to provide good fortune to those entering and using the temple.<ref>Watkin, David, and Watkin, David. Wonders of the World Ser.: The Roman Forum. Cumberland, US: Harvard University Press, 2009. ProQuest ebrary.</ref> Since the Temple of Saturn also functioned as a bank, and since Saturn was the god of the Golden Age, sacrifices were made there in the hope of financial success.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kalas|first1=Gregor|title=Ashley and Peter Larkin Series in Greek and Roman Culture: Restoration of the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity: Transforming Public Space|date=2015|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin|page=16}}</ref>

Inside the Temple, there were multiple vaults for the public and private ones for individuals. There were also sections of the Temple for public speaking events and feasts which often followed the sacrifices.<ref>Kalas, 2015, p. 17</ref>