Editing Roman Forum (section)

===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.