I'm a Temple:Roman Forum

When in Rome the first thing that you should see and try to understand is the forum. In its current state it may look like catastrophe that was organized and documented for archeological purposes and for the sake of making the place looked somewhat clean, but it’s historical importance is significant in understanding ancient Roman society. It was once a place for social gatherings, political offices, and trade and even before that a place of burials.  The forum itself is located at the bases of the surrounding hills and was once prone to floods before adequate drainage was implemented. Because of the flooding’s the ancient civilizations that lived there before the Roman Empire (the Etruscans) used the lands as burial grounds, but later when proper drainage was added, the land was repurposed for social uses as it was in the center of the city. This allowed for many of the people who lived at its center to easily have a place to gather during the day to do trade, socialize and discuss politics.

            On the surrounding hills of the forum there are several temples, like the temple of Saturn, and cathedrals, both functional and in ruins. The forum it’s self is large and in its current state, decorated with the remnants of ancient marble floors, pillars and bases of fallen temples. There is also quite a bit of reconstruction from earlier archaeologists. For example, the current state of the Temple of Vesta is 85% reconstruction, while the original pieces of the temple are placed in their presumed spots within the reconstruction. Other places like the Temple of Julius Caesar, where much of the original temple has been destroyed over time, but the remnants have been left alone and no reconstruction has been done. 

The Temple of Saturn once housed the Treasury and contained the official weight and scale.

The temple of Julius Ceasar is where Julius Ceasar was burned and today there is a rock decorated with coins from those who traveled and visited the temple.

The Temple Vesta was run by the Vestal Virgins who were the only women in Rome that could buy and own land. They were selected by the age of 8 and trained for 10 years before they could perform their duties as Vestal Virgins for the next 10 years, and teach new Vestal Virgins in their last 10 years of service.