Trajan's Forum

• 1. Imperial Construction History

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  Emperor Trajan ordered the building of a new forum in Rome using spoils from his Dacian Wars. The conflict with Dacia concluded in 106, providing the funds and materials for this massive project. Work began sometime between 105 and 107 under the direction of Apollodorus of Damascus. This architect had accompanied Trajan during the military campaign that generated the necessary wealth. Official records known as the Fasti Ostienses state the complex was inaugurated in 112. A tall column dedicated to the emperor followed shortly after its completion in 113.

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• 2. Architectural Engineering Feats

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  Workers faced a difficult task to connect the Quirinal and Capitoline Hills. They removed a natural ridge separating these two elevated landforms. Over 300,000 cubic meters of soil and rock were excavated from the site. This material was dumped outside the Porta Collina gate to clear space for the new buildings. Some evidence suggests Emperor Domitian may have started these initial earthworks before Trajan took over. The scale of removal required to flatten the terrain remains one of the largest engineering projects of ancient times.

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• 3. Spatial Layout And Design

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  The design featured a sequence of open and enclosed spaces leading visitors through the complex. A vast portico-lined piazza measured approximately 400 meters long and 180 meters wide. Exedrae sat on two sides of this main square to provide seating areas. A triumphal arch marked the southern entrance and commemorated victories in the Dacian Wars. Tall walls made of Peperino tuff clad entirely in marble enclosed three sides of the forum. Carrara marble paved the entire open space where citizens gathered daily.

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• 4. The Column And Temple Debate

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  Trajan's Column stood between two libraries housing Latin and Greek state documents. These archives contained acts of Emperors and edicts issued by praetors. Archaeologists continue to debate the existence of a temple dedicated to the deified Trajan at the northern end. James E. Packer and Roberto Meneghini argue fiercely about whether such a structure ever existed. Hadrian later added an Athenaeum philosophical school adjacent to the disputed temple area. This building served as a venue for judicial proceedings and occasional Senate meetings.

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• 5. Post-Roman Decline And Reuse

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  By the mid-9th century, workers systematically removed marble cobble blocks from the piazza floor. They reused the good quality lime found within these stones to build other structures. Concrete replaced the original paving, showing the space remained in use as a public area. By the 10th century, the Imperial Fora had become semi-rural with houses and farmland crisscrossing the old plaza. In the late-16th century, urban expansion built over the area which now lay three to four meters below ground level. The district became known as Alessandrino during this period of transformation.

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• 6. Modern Excavation And Preservation

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  The arch forming the entrance was demolished in 1526 by Rome's Commissioners of Streets. Conservatore Francesco Cenci submitted a report seeking redress for this destruction to municipal government officials. Flaminio Vacca described friezes depicting scenes from the Dacian Wars that were found later in the century. Only a section of the markets and Trajan's Column remain visible today. A number of columns from the Basilica Ulpia have been re-erected on site. The construction of Via dei Fori Imperiali in 1933 covered several columns that remain visible under the road arches.

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