or Stairs of Wailing. Criminals were often put to death on them, and
others were exposed there after death. "Those who were put to death
were exposed on the Scalæ Gemoniæ, and then dragged into the Tiber"
(Suetonius, "Tiberius," lxi.).
_At a short distance from the church in the little lane opposite, Via
Marmorelle, 29_, are some more remains of the Prison, which eventually
became the
"STATIONES MUNICIPIORUM" AND FORUM OF JULIUS CÆSAR.
"Julius Cæsar, with money raised from the spoils of war, began to
construct a new Forum" (Suetonius, "Cæsar," xxvi.)--the site costing
about £807,291. This new Forum was necessary, on account of the old
Forum becoming too small for the public business. Pliny (xvi. 86)
mentions the barracks of the municipal guards as being between the
Vulcanal and the Forum of Julius Cæsar. These remains consist of a
series of five large chambers; one is forty feet long and fourteen
wide, divided by modern walls and partitions in various ways, and not
easy of access. The walls are of tufa. The vaults are of brick, with
openings for letting down prisoners. These are of later date than the
tufa walls, and one of them is supported by a fine arch of travertine.
THE ROMAN FORUM (Il Foro).
_The new excavations are open to the public every day without fee._
To understand the Roman Forum and its surroundings, visitors should
attend the lectures given on the spot by the author of these Rambles,
descend with him to its level, and examine each remaining object in
detail; thus they may learn something of the buildings and the history
that crowded on its space. For particulars, apply at 93 Via Babuino,
Rome.
Mutilated fragments still speak of the former grandeur of the spot,
dead men of its fame, and living authors of its past and present
history.
In these Rambles we shall only treat of the most important and present
remains, which are classed in the order in which they should be
visited, and not chronologically.
The real foundation of the ancient city has long been covered over by
the heaping up, during ages, of earth, stones, rubbish, &c., to the
depth of thirty feet. The thick crust had lain untouched by shovel
during the long series of popes; especially was this, until recently,
the condition of the Roman Forum. The latter is to be entirely
excavated, and the removal of the superincumbent earth is at this
present moment being made with a vigour never before attempted.
In short, the Forum is dressed up in quite a new attire, and many old
visitors would scarcely recognize it in its modern garb. Crowds of
spectators lean against the barriers every day, anxiously reviewing
the carting of the earth, and awaiting for artistic valuables to "turn
up."
The picturesqueness of the crowds, of the costumes and scenery, the
variety of language and nationality, the past associations, all go to
make up a spectacle quite unique.
_We will follow the modern road, which crosses the Forum, and turning
to the left, proceed along the side of the Basilica Julia to the
Temple of Castor and Pollux, where a flight of steps gives access to
the Forum._
Standing upon the platform of the temple, we propose to explain the
various buildings that surrounded the Forum, and then to descend to
its ancient level to examine the chief points of interest.
The word _forum_, in its simple signification, means market-place; and
the Roman Forum was the market-place when Rome consisted of but two
hills, the Palatine and Capitoline. It soon lost its primitive use,
and became the centre of the religious, civil, and political life of
the Romans. Then other market-places were formed, and called after the
principal commodity sold therein. In the time of Cæsar the Forum was
found too small, and then was commenced the first of the Imperial
Fora. The Forum, from the time of Constantine, gradually fell into
decay, and was finally ruined in the year 1084, when Robert Guiscard,
the Norman chief, burned all Rome from the Lateran to the Capitol.