Place · Italy
The history of Rome, one place at a time
Assembled from 4 dug tiles · 52 sourced records · last reviewed 10 September 2026
Rome's ground carries layers rather than a single story: an amphitheatre ordered by Vespasian for public death, an imperial bathhouse now outlined by a piazza's colonnade, a fountain that once scandalised the city, and a Forum chasm and pyre tied to Caesar's own end.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Rome — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Rome
The rider who filled the hole with himselfA chasm split the Forum floor thirty feet from where you stand, and would not close. Rostra ad Divi Iulii
1000 BC–608 Public death staged as spectacle on this ground
Gladiators died where you stand Colosseum
64–2007 The nymphs Rome tried not to look at
Bronze women wrestling a swan, a lizard, a horse and a dragon stand thirty paces from you, and Rome once tried to hide them. Ninfa dei Laghi
378 BC–2018 A fountain sits on the footprint of an empire's bathhouse
Nymphs and gladiators guard your fountain Baths of Diocletian
378 BC–1762
Rome in layers
Iron Age, before the Forum
Long before the Forum existed, an Iron Age necropolis called the Sepulcretum lay along this stretch of the Via Sacra, uncovered by excavators Giacomo Boni and Einar Gjerstad. Khan Academy; Boni and Gjerstad excavations
cult site of the 7th–8th century BC
A patch of black marble paving nearby marks the Lapis Niger, one of the only surviving traces of the ancient Comitium, thought to sit over a 7th- or 8th-century BC cult site. Wikipedia: Lapis Niger
tradition from the 7th century BC
A short walk east, the Temple of Vesta housed a fire tended by the Vestal Virgins, believed to protect Rome's safety since the days of King Numa Pompilius. Wikipedia: Sacred fire of Vesta
attested from the early Republic
A few steps from where you stand, a mysterious pit called the Lacus Curtius survived as a sacred spot even after the marsh that once covered the Forum was drained. Wikipedia: Lacus Curtius
in use from the early Republic
Just north of your position, the open-air Comitium was Rome's original public meeting ground, home to the speaking platform known as the Rostra. Wikipedia: Comitium
vowed 495 BC
The Romans credited a victory at Lake Regillus in 495 BC to the divine twins Castor and Pollux and built this temple in thanks, just west of where you stand. Wikipedia: Temple of Castor and Pollux
early 4th century BC
Stretches of the 4th-century BC Servian Wall, Rome's earliest circuit of defenses built from volcanic tuff, survive in fragments a few streets southeast. Wikipedia
4th century BC
Sections of the Servian Wall, built in the early 4th century BC of volcanic tuff and once 11 kilometers long, still stand within a few minutes' walk east and south of the piazza. Wikipedia, Servian Wall
82 BC
In 82 BC, Sulla's forces crushed the Samnites and their Roman allies just outside the city walls in a battle fought near the Colline Gate, a short walk from here. Wikidata
82 BC
In 82 BC the Battle of the Colline Gate, fought just beyond the old city walls near here, gave Sulla control of Rome and led to his brutal proscriptions. Wikidata, Battle of the Colline Gate
begun 46 BC, burned 283 AD
Julius Caesar began this basilica, Augustus finished it, and for centuries it housed the centumviri, the court that judged inheritance disputes, until fire destroyed it in 283 AD. Wikipedia: Basilica Julia
15 March 44 BC
On March 15, 44 BC, a crowd carried Julius Caesar's body to this spot on the Via Sacra and burned it on a pyre built from looted furniture. Platner & Ashby, Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (1929); Dio Cassius
built 44 BC
In 44 BC Julius Caesar built the Curia Julia as the Senate's new meeting hall, redesigning the space after tearing down the previous Curia Cornelia. Wikipedia: Curia Julia
44 BC to 205 AD
Radiocarbon samples pulled from the Forum Romanum near here date to between 44 BC and 205 AD, confirming intensive use of the ground through the early Empire. OpenContext, R-858
dedicated 29 BC
Augustus later raised the Temple of Divus Iulius on this exact site to deify his adoptive father, and the altar there still draws visitors leaving flowers. Wikipedia: Temple of Caesar
built after 29 BC
A triple-bayed triumphal arch, the first of its kind built in Rome, spanned the Via Sacra here between the temples of Castor and Caesar. Wikipedia: Arch of Augustus, Rome
The Meta Sudans, a large conical fountain, stood a short walk away at the junction of roads converging near the amphitheatre. Wikipedia — Meta Sudans
Roman Imperial period
Just outside the old Porta Collina, in what is now Castro Pretorio, Vestal Virgins found guilty of breaking their vows of chastity were entombed alive in a place the Romans called the Campus Sceleratus, the Field of Shame. Wikipedia, Castro Pretorio
ancient, exact date unknown
The Temple of Janus stood nearby with doors that were closed in peacetime and thrown open when Rome went to war. Wikipedia: Temple of Janus (Roman Forum)
14 AD
After Augustus died in 14 AD, his body was brought here and set on a bier at the Temple of Caesar while Tiberius delivered the funeral oration. Augustus Hare, Walks in Rome; LacusCurtius (Platner & Ashby)
after 64 AD
After the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero built the vast Domus Aurea palace complex over land now a short walk northeast, replacing his earlier Domus Transitoria. Wikipedia — Domus Aurea
1st century AD
A 30-metre bronze Colossus of Nero, originally standing at his Domus Aurea, was later relocated to a spot just outside this amphitheatre, giving the Colosseum its popular name. Wikipedia — Colossus of Nero
72–80 AD
The amphitheatre beneath and around this spot was begun under Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and completed by his son Titus in 80 AD, staged as a gift to the Roman people funded by the sack of Jerusalem. Wikipedia — Colosseum
72–80
This is the largest standing ancient amphitheatre in the world, purpose-built for gladiatorial combat, executions and public spectacle before tens of thousands of spectators. Wikidata — Colosseum
Questions about Rome
What is Rome known for historically?
Rome is known for the Colosseum, ordered by Vespasian in 72 AD on ground once occupied by Nero's artificial lake and opened by Titus in 80 AD, where gladiatorial combat, staged hunts and executions were staged before tens of thousands. It is also known for the Baths of Diocletian, the largest bathing complex the empire ever built, and for the Roman Forum, where Julius Caesar's body was burned in 44 BC.
What happened at the Colosseum in Rome?
The Colosseum opened in 80 AD under Titus with games said to have run a hundred days, during which gladiatorial combat, staged animal hunts and executions were staged as spectacle for a mass audience on that exact ground.
What stood where Piazza della Repubblica is now?
Piazza della Repubblica sits on the footprint of the Baths of Diocletian, the largest imperial bathing complex ever built, completed around 306 AD; the piazza's curving colonnade traces the outline of the ancient exedra. The baths held water until 537 AD, when Ostrogothic besiegers cut Rome's aqueducts during their siege of the city.
Why did Rome try to hide the Fontana delle Naiadi?
The Fontana delle Naiadi, unveiled in 1901 by sculptor Mario Rutelli in Piazza della Repubblica, features four naked bronze nymphs wrestling a swan, a serpent, a sea horse and a dragon. The figures so scandalised the city that officials had a timber screen built to shield passersby from the sight.
What is the story of the Lacus Curtius in the Roman Forum?
The Lacus Curtius marks a spot in the Forum where, in 362 BC, a soldier named Marcus Curtius was said to have ridden his horse into a chasm that priests claimed only Rome's greatest strength could close. The same ground later stood near the Temple of Divus Iulius, built where Caesar's body was burned on 15 March 44 BC.
What happened at the site of Julius Caesar's funeral?
Caesar's body was burned on this ground in the Roman Forum on 15 March 44 BC, and a temple, dedicated in 29 BC, was later built over his ashes near the Rostra ad Divi Iulii.