Trajan S Glorious Forum

Trajan's GLORIOUS FORUM
Author(s): James E. Packer

Source: Archaeology, Vol. 51, No. 1 (January / February 1998), pp. 32-41
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41771342
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Hih
Trajan's
GLORIOUS
FORUM
ONEOFANCIENT
ROME'SPREEMINENT
PUBLICSPACESDAZZLESON PAPERAS IT MUSTHAVEIN STONE.
by James E. Packer
THETOURIST,
the ruinsof Trajan'sFo16
feet
below
modernstreetlevel
rum,
in the heartof Rome, resemblepieces
of a giantjigsaw puzzle. Animated by
patches of seasonal weeds and inhabited by an ever-changing company of
TO
wary,multicoloredcats, these hollows
house
rows
of reerectedcolumns and piles of
today
only
broken marble sculpture and architecturalfragments.
FromthisrubblerisesthewhitemarbleColumn ofTrajan,
nearly140 feethighand decoratedwitha continuousspiral reliefthatchroniclesthe emperorsconquest of Dacia
(modernRomania); a small chamberwithinits pedestal,
nowempty,
once servedas his tomb.Adjacentto theforum
are the Marketsof Trajan, ancient Romes most famous
annex of brickshoppingmall, a largelyintact,six-story
facedconcretebuiltintotheslopes oftheQuirinalHill.
Clearly,these are the ruins of an exceptional monument. By Trajans principte (A.D. 98-117), however,
Rome alreadyhad severalsuch forums.Why did the emperorlavishvast resourceson the constructionof yet another?By trainingand temperament
a professionalsoldier,
had
the
borders
of
the empireinto DaTrajan
expanded
cia. A highlyorganizedbarbariankingdom,thisneighborJ
m
CLstate
in
the
last
of
the
first
exerted
had,
ing
years
century,
W
dangerousmilitarypressureon Romes Danube frontier.
I
Difficult,protracted,and costly,the Dacian Wars (a.D.
101-102 and 105-106) had to be explainedto the RomanI
3
people. ThoughTrajanneverhad to courtficklevoters,an
the supportoftheeducated classes I
emperorwho forfeited
and the armiesmightsooneror laterlose his lifeto a suc- I3
cessfulrevolution.
I&
*
Like earlierimperialforumsnearby,
Forum
was
Trajans
I
intended
as
a
visual
realization
of
its
builder's
originally
politicalpropaganda.Its decorationsand inscriptionsarticulatedthe necessityforand the success of Trajan'srecent militaryachievements.The costlyfittingsof marble
and giltbronzeadvertisedhis vast powersand the profits
of his conquests (the expropriatedDacian treasurywas
sizable). By providinggrandnew spaces forpublic business, the forum'sbuildingswere also potentdemonstrationsof the emperor'sconcernforhis people's dailyneeds.
Finally,since the Flavian emperorDomitian(A.D. 81-96)
had alreadyacquire^ the site fora new forumand demolished the earlierbuildingsin the area, it was onlynatural
that the new monumentsfillthe vacant lot. Trajan'sFo-
twolibraries,
eachofwhich
hadspacefor22,000
, oneoftheforum's
Facingpage
scrolls.
the
arch
at
the
entrance.
coin,
above,
Trajanic
depicts triumphal
forum's
Archaeology
32
/';-=09
)(8*=-0/']
No authoritativereconstructionsof the architecture

were possible,however,withoutan accurate archaeological map of the site and measureddrawingsof whatearlier
of the principal
studentshad identifiedas the fragments
In
Kevin
Lee
architect
1985,
Sarringof the
buildings.
U.S. Departmentof State and I directeda project,in cooperationwith the cityof Rome, thatphotographedand
of the exand sculpturalfragments
drewthe architectural
cavated buildings. In 1986 and 1987 we produced the
firstarchaeologicalmap of the forumsince the excavationsof the 1930s. Combined withthe archivalresearch,
these projectsprovidedthe basis forthe followingreconstructionsand interpretations.
East and west of the forum's central plaza stood
Corinthiancolonnades,each witha highattic(storyabove
the cornice). Behind each colonnade was a hemicycle
(semicircularhall), whose walls were dividedby pilasters
into bays bracketinga centralrectangularrecess. At the
northend of the plaza was the Basilica Ulpia, a law court
the largestand mostsplendidly
named forTrajan'sfamily,
of
the
forums
buildings.This structurehad a
appointed
with
columns below, Ionic
facade
Corinthian
two-story
above. Its highatticreproduced,on a largerscale, the attics of the colonnades,and more-than-life-size
statuaryof
the
three
bronze
crowned
projectingporches. In the
gilt
centerwas a statue of Trajan drivinga triumphalchariot
Viterbowithfourhorses; on the sides were similarchariotswith
Edoardo
Montaina,
twohorsesapiece. The second-story
Ionic porticoservedas
witha continuous
isdecorated
Column
relief
Trajan's
spiral
the
and
the buildingsroofs
a
theemperor's
Romania).
clerestory
illuminating nave,
ofDacia(modern
chronicling
conquest
were of wood coveredwiththinsheets of gilded bronze.
Behind the basilica and flankingthe Column of Trajan
rumwas an instantsuccess and soon became one of anwere
two
twoidenticallibraries;onlythewesternone has been
cient Romes majortouristattractions.Writingnearly
Each was a rectangular
chamberroofedbyhigh
the
historian
excavated.
centuries
after
its
and one-half
dedication,
two
Corinthian
AmmianusMarcellinus described it as "a giganticcomcolonnades,one atop
groinvaults;inside,
that
housed
about 22,000 scrolls.
to
be
imitatthe
framed
niches
and
never
other,
again
plex...beggaringdescription
had
window
thatwould have
Each
vault
a
arched
ed bymortalmen."
large,
At
the
northend ofthe
readers
with
of
this
furnished
little
ample light.
Todays batteredremains,however,convey
the
the
libraries
and
of
the
column,was theTemsurvivingfragments forum,beyond
past glory.Could close study
shrine
finished
and
dedicatedby Trajan's
did
Roof
a
former
How
ple Trajan,
grandeur?
givesome idea of the sites
in
A.D.
128.
did
the
foHow
the
monuments?
man visitorsexperience
successor,Hadrian,
rum'slavishdecorationsconveyTrajans imperialideology?
straightforwardin plan,thesebuildMy attemptto answerthese questionsbegan in 1972 with
used
varioussubtlevisualdevicesto convey
two
excavations
from
the
of
documents
the study
major
ings
of
the
the
the
had
that
site,
Trajan's imperialpropaganda.One of the most
presentappearance
shaped
of
Rome
Although
the
firstundertakenby
importantwas the principleof climactictheme
Napoleonic government
A single large-scaleunit- a half-or segvariations.
and
the
second
and
nineteenth
at thebeginningof the
century
element- ocbroken
Neither
exmental
circle
in
the
1930s.
bya centralrectangular
early
by Mussolinisgovernment
curs
times
the
several
but
was
ever
cavation
throughout forum,becominglarger
drawings,maps, phopublished,
and morecomplexwitheach appearance.The arrangement
tographs, and other documents have survived. The
archivesof Paris and Rome also preservedrawingsand
appears firstat the southend of the forumin the curving
nineteenthenclosurewall brokenat the centerby the grandiosearch
fromseverallargelyunpublished,
manuscripts
Urthat servesas the main entrance.This patternresembles
A
of
the
Forma
of
the
forum.
fragment
centurystudies
the plan of the hemicycles,where a rectangularrecess
ca.
A.D.
200
on
a
marble-clad
Rome
inscribed
bis, a plan of
of
flanked
of
shows
in
the
Forum
officewall
Peace,
by twocolumnssubstitutesforthe archof the enparts
nearby
wall. The apses of the Basilica Ulpia repeat the
closure
some
of
its
facades.
coins
theforum,whileTrajanic
depict
Archaeology
34
ui
ICO
1
C/3
J
C
1
Reconstruction
ofTrajanshows
drawing
oftheForum
archattheentrance,
(2) statue
(1) thetriumphal
ofthe
Basilica
horseback
on
,
(4)
(3)
Ulpia
hemicycles,
emperor
and
Column,
(6) Trajan's
(S) twolibraries,
(a lawcourt),
in
theforum's
remains
shows
(7) histemple.
Photograph
and
totheright
withTrajan's
Column
modern
Rome,
a reconinthecenter.
those
Bottom,
ofthebasilica
mainplazatothe
structed
viewacross
theforum's
behind.
Column
BasilicaUlpia,withTrajan's
_2
C/5
J
1
S
J
t:
J
o
January/February 1998
35
/';-=09
)(8*=-0/']
patternwith tribunals(judges' daises) as the centralelevariantin the

ments,and it appearsagain in a rectangular
interiorsof the libraries.Framedby the curvingporticoes
of its sacred enclosure,the Temple of Trajan is the last,
mostgrandioseexpressionofthistheme.
The extensiveuse of colored marble emphasized the
imperialpowerable to organizethe vast humanresources
that supplied Rome withthese expensiveforeignmaterials. The play of lightacross theirpolished,patternedsurfaces enrichedthe buildingsin which theyappeared,and
elements.
theircolors highlighted
importantarchitectural
The shaftsof columnson buildingsaroundthe plaza and
the bodies of the colossal statuesof Dacian prisonerson
the attic of the Basilica Ulpia were of white, purpleThe steps that
veinedTurkishmarblecalled pavonazzetto.
led to the variousstructuresaroundthe forum,of golden,
purple-veinedTunisianmarble{gialloantico),providedan
elegant framefora centralplaza paved with rectangular
The rows of columns
basilica
produced
mysterious
into darkened
within the
remote,
vistas that receded

interiors accented
by daylight from artfully

concealed
sources.
slabs of visuallyneutralwhitemarble.And thegialloantico columnsof the Basilica Ulpias threeporchesstoodout

fromthe pavonazzettocolonnade along its south facade.
Withinthe Basilica Ulpia, the regularalternationofgiallo
anticoypavonazzetto, and africno, a muted-violetand
black Turkishmarble,reiteratedthe colors of the colonnades, hemicycles,and exteriorplaza. The same materials
were used in the libraries,relatingtheirinteriorsto those
of the neighboring
buildings.
Althoughvisuallyunifiedby these coloredmarblesand
simplegeometricelements,the forummusthave seemed
enormouslycomplexto ancientvisitors.Lookingintoone
lit-plaza,they
of the lateralcolonnades fromthe brightly
would have perceived only dimlythe regularfile of pilasters that divided the back wall into bays and, in the
center,the morebrightly
lighted,tallerspace of the hemicycle. These hemicyclesand the orderlyrowsof columns2
withinthe basilica produced remote,mysteriousvistas eo
O
thatreceded into darkenedinteriorsaccented by daylighttS
J
concealed sources. Reminiscent
introducedfromartfully
viewoftheinterior
Reconstructed
oftheBasilicaUlpia,
theupper
withtheWestLibrary
seenthrough
portico
37
of the trompeloeil architecturein Pompeianwall paintings of the late firstcenturyB.C., these greatcolonnades
of the plaza s portirepeatedthe insistentverticalrhythms
coes and, framingand dividingthe interiors,produced
vividalternationsof lightand shade. Thus the dazzling
daylightof the plaza would have filteredinto the nave of
the Basilica Ulpia throughmultiplerowsof columns.Gazing fromthe nave towardeitherend of the building,visitorswould have seen, throughthe same colonnades,the
morebrightly
lit,curvingsweep of the apse wall, withits
tribunaland statuesin niches.
Surrounded by the colonnades of the plaza, people
would have been constantlysurprised. From the open
pavement in frontof the Basilica Ulpia, the East and
West colonnades hid the hemicyclesand the basilicas

apses. The basilica itselfblockedoffmuchof the Column
of Trajan,the two libraries,and the temple;even frominside the colonnades or the nave of the basilica,columnar
screenseffectively
concealed thehemicyclesor apses. Enclosed withinits portico,the columnwas fullyvisibleonly
fromthe northterraceof the basilica or fromthe steps of
the temple.Even thoughthe Templeof Trajanequaled in
size the enormousTemple of Mars Ultorin the Forumof
Augustus, the visitorfirstglimpsed the Trajanic shrine
onlyafterenteringthe colonnaded courtaround the column. A casual walk throughthe forumthusbecame a series of visual revelations.Althoughthese addressed the
earlier goals of Trajanic propaganda after the Dacian
Archaeology
38
andsculpture,
intheruined
details
onpaperarebasedonfragments
architecture
likethese
WestLibrary.
ofthereconstruction
ofmarble
Matty
Wars,theyalso expressedthe threegreatthemesaround
whichtheforums finaldesignhad crystallized.
expensiveimportedmarbles and giltbronze
statuaryof the buildingswere the unmistakable
and achievement.At
signsof imperialprosperity
The
firstglance, the architecturalornament must
have appearedto servethe same purpose.Yet,when compared with the busy,complex decoration typicalof the
of the late firstcenturyA.D.,the simFlavianarchitecture
and
chaste,
plicity
classicizingformsof the Trajanicornamentconstituteda powerfulvisual linkbetweenthe solid
virtuescelebratedin Trajan'sForumand thosecommemo-i

a
rated in the Forumof Augustus.As foundenof the em- %
pire,Augustusstood forsuccess and thathappyblend of
and autocracythat both governedeffi-sI
constitutionality
and his principtewas i
cientlyand conciliatedthe nobility,
I
lookedupon as a goldenage.
While echoing this neo-Augustanclassicism in style,
the forumscarvingswere farmorethanmeredecoration.
On the entablatureof the Corinthiancolonnadealongthe
facade of the Basilica Ulpia, wingedcherubswhose torsos
- demigodsconnectedwithvicended in acanthussprays
- clearlyreferredto the subjuand
divine
retribution
tory
January/February 1 998
39
NEWEXCAVATIONS.
COMPUTER
MODELSCOMPLEMENT
f Trajan
Study
of the
Forum
purposes.Sarringand I used thismodel,toreviseour
own reconstructions
of the forum.The Roman comthe
accelerated.
Personnel
has recently
employedby
and
record
the
firm
is
of
Rome
number,clean, conserve,
puter
Infobyte producinga second three-dicity
in
mensional
model
of the Basilica Ulpia fortheArchaeof
architecture
and
sculpture
survivingfragments
for
new
exological Superintenpreparation
^Jâuêtt^njst/UC^^rbaiîmulatiorneam
cavations. In 1995,
dencyof Rome and the
Instituteof Psychology
Roberto Meneghini,
v
of Italy'sNational Reone of the residsesfarsearchCouncil. This is
at
site,
chaeologists {Jbie
a
exconducted sfriall
part of a largerundercavation uifder the
takingcalled the Imperial Forums in Virtual
Church of t&^fylost
Name
Reality,which will be
Holy
of $f#ry.
There, incorporated,
completed by the year
2000. The Basilica
into emptry burial
of
thê gjh-,
Ulpia model, curated
crypts
teenth-century
by Lucrezia Ungaro
hpel; .
and other membersof
he found part of the ;
northwall of the East
^S^îKuinicipal archaeoLibrary. That it was
"Tâl^taff, illustrates
a ^(istruction. of
configuredto receive
the precinct wall of th Tptnf>of Trajan> part pf
fe$urtdifferent
||om that reprowhichsurvived,provedthatthe librariesnd the
36 and jfc,
^0' '
pie had been constructedat the samelSme.
l^tfythis ar,
wilf)bginexcavating
sitesof theequestriaTt
ât^ pfTtn in the mid; lkj
thoughit was dedicated by^theraperorHadri#fl
Rome
and
Infobyte,
;S;g.l.,
years arter Irajan s
thTa^Jilgza
the
had
center
death,
temple
tfe^r^K at fh
been part of the origiof tKwrS^jÔuth ennal designand was not
pTheseexa later addition, as
caÛoi|:/|t be finwill
some have suggested.
ishje^t^jlloo,
the
a
new
two
During
past
for^f^^Sp
the Imperyears, a UCLA group
directed by William
Combining
exhibition
and
Jepson and Diane
^^|j|ps
in the Markets
Favro of the Department of Architecture
| Trajati and underand Urban.Design coS^rourtdareas now used
*as
with
the mume
and
storerooms,
operated
seum will house mararchitectKevinSarring
of the U.S. Departof archible fragments
ment of State in the
and
tecture,
sculpture
too precious or delicate to be left in the open ajr.
construction
of a virtual;reality
model of the forum.It
is featuredin a video,included in a Forumof Trajan
Convenientlysited computersystemswill help visiin
and
torsbetterunderstandthe surviving
at
the
new
Museum
Los
architectureand
Angeles
display
Getty
- J.E.P.
be
for
later
available
on
the
Internet
educational
may
sculpturaldecoration.
Archaeology
40
a bullonan
sacrifices
Winged
victory
the
Basilica
interior
Ulpia,
frieze
from
Trajan's
ofDacia,
conquest
symbolizing
theworship
, andvictory
oftheemperors
overdeath.
gation of the once-proud Dacians. Inside,the nave was dominatedby the friezeof the lower
order, a single scene of four
winged victories repeated 65
to
times.Referring
unmistakably
vicof
the
defeat
Dacia,
iuTrajans
tories reiterated the plaza's
c
as
2 sculpturalprogram.Depicted
priestessessacrificingbulls and
S0
decorating ceremonial cande1UJ
labra,theyalso recalledworship
of the emperorsand symbolized
victoryover death- a clear anticipationboth of Trajans tomb The entire forum
in the base of his columnand of
the later temple to his deified was a biography
spirit.
The frieze on the facade of in stone, revealthe porticoaround the Column
the life of the
of Trajan consisted of two grif- ing
fins, representing divine venheroic Trajan
geance, repeated many times.
The sphinxes on the interior
from mortality
frieze of the same colonnade
servedto wardoffevil.As mythito divinity.
cal creaturesassociatedwithburial, theyremindedviewersthattheywerein theprecinctof
a hero'stomband stressedonce againTrajans connections
withAugustus,forwhom the sphinxhad been a favorite
obliquelyto Augustus'deificasymbol.Thus theyreferred
tionand,byimplication,
anticipatedthatofTrajan.
the
reliefs
of
the
templepediment,knownonly
Finally,
fromcoins depictingthe facade and surelyinstalledafter
Trajan'sdeath,showedtheemperorseated as a god flanked
by two recliningdeities, perhaps personificationsof the
Danube and the Euphrates, referencesto Trajan's conquests in Dacia and Parthia,modernIraq. This relief,and
the grandioseseated statueof the deifiedemperorwithin
the temple,was an architecturalcelebrationof the emwarsoverthebarbarousforcesofdisorder.
pire'svictorious
The various statues of Trajan throughoutthe forum
emphasized this motif.At the center of the plaza, his
equestrianimage held aloftthe symbolsof war and conquest, a sphere and a globe surmountedby a miniature
statue of Victory.This monumentwas aligned with the
emperor'slikeness in the charioton the forum'smonumentalgateway,with its duplicate in the charioton the
middleporchof the basilica,and withthe colossal portrait
of Trajan thatonce crownedhis column,a statue clearly
visiblefromtheplaza above the gildedroofofthebasilica.

These carefully
alignedstatuesalso introducedthe second greattheme,the exaltationof thevictoriouscommanEach of Trajan'smultipleimagesrepresented
der-in-chief.
a different
aspect of his vast powers.In the plaza, he was
the omnipotentvictor;in the recesses of the hemicycles
and the tribunalsof the basilica, the wise administrator
and highpriestof the Roman statereligion;on the spiral
friezeof the column,the sagaciousgeneral;at its top,the
deceased hero;and in the temple,a sanctifieddeity.Thus,
havingmade thepilgrimagethroughtheforumto the temple stair,flankedby statuesof Victoryand Peace, perceptivevisitorswould finallyhave understoodthatthe entire
in stone,revealingone afteranothforumwas a biography
er the stages in the life of the heroic Trajan as he proto divinity.
gressedfrommortality
When people had finallyglimpsedthroughthe temple
doorsthe colossal seated statueof the emperorarrayedas
of
Jupiter,theywould have understoodthe discomfiture
Rome's enemies in the West and East and witnessedTrajan's conquest of deathand ascentto heaven.Theirloyalty
to the empire strengthened,theycould only have marveled, applauded, and departed,rejoicingat theirnewof the centralprinciplesand power
foundunderstanding
on which the Roman Empire had been founded- and
celebrated.
now triumphantly
JAMESE. Packer is a professor
of classicsat Northwestern
of Trajan in Rome
The
Forum
and
author
of
University
Press
, 1997). His work
of California
(Berkeley:University
has beensupportedbytheNationalEndowment
fortheHuthe
Graham
Foundathe
Research
Institute,
manities, Getty
tionforAdvancedStudyin the VisualArts,the Samuel H.
ConstrucKressFoundation
, and Northwestern
University.
model of theforum(see
tion of the UCLA virtual-reality
page 40 ) has beensponsoredbytheGettyMuseum,and the
modelbytheItalianNationalResearchCouncil.
Infobyte
January/February 1998
41

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Trajan's GLORIOUS FORUM

Author(s): James E. Packer

No authoritativereconstructionsof the architecture

patternwith tribunals(judges' daises) as the centralelevariantin the

vistas that receded

by daylight from artfully

slabs of visuallyneutralwhitemarble.And thegialloantico columnsof the Basilica Ulpias threeporchesstoodout

West colonnades hid the hemicyclesand the basilicas

virtuescelebratedin Trajan'sForumand thosecommemo-i

visiblefromtheplaza above the gildedroofofthebasilica.

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