The Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome cropped again

The Velabrum () is the low valley in the city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

that connects the

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

with the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of R ...

, and the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

with the western slope of the Palatine Hill. The name Velabrum may translate to "place of mud." It was believed that before the construction of the

Cloaca Maxima The Cloaca Maxima ( lat, Cloāca Maxima, lit. ''Greatest Sewer'') was one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Its name derives from Cloacina, a Roman goddess. Built during either the Roman Kingdom or early Roman Republic, it was constructed ...

, which probably follows the course of an ancient stream, the area was a swamp, though this claim has been disproven by core samples taken from Velabrum in 1994. Ancient authorities state that in this marshy area the roots of a fig tree ''(

Ficus Ruminalis The ''Ficus Ruminalis'' was a wild fig tree that had religious and mythological significance in ancient Rome. It stood near the small cave known as the Lupercal at the foot of the Palatine Hill and was the spot where according to tradition the fl ...

)'' caught and stopped the basket carrying Romulus and Remus as it floated along on the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

current. The place therefore has a high symbolic significance. It was also used as a marketplace and a center of

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

. Even after the Cloaca was built, the area was still prone to flooding from the Tiber, until the ground level was raised after the

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

nian fire. It is the site of the

Arch of Janus The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was set up at a crossroads at the northeastern limit of the Forum Boarium, close to the Velabrum, over the Cloaca Maxima drain that went from the Forum to the Rive ...

, the

Arcus Argentariorum The Arcus Argentariorum (Latin: ''Arch of the Money-Changers''; in Italian: ''Arco degli Argentari''), is an ancient Roman arch that was partly incorporated in the seventh century into the western wall of the nearby church of San Giorgio al Velab ...

and the church

San Giorgio al Velabro San Giorgio in Velabro is a church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. George. The church is located next to the Arch of Janus in the rione of Ripa in the ancient Roman Velabrum. According to the founding legend of Rome, the church was built wh ...

References

Topography of the ancient city of Rome {{Ancient-Rome-stub