This chapter is periodically updated with the latest news, unpublished, on the findings and work provided by the work site Staff of the Imperial Forums.

APRIL 1999
Since April 21st, 1998, excavation research has progressed- in the Forum of Trajan they have been focusing on work in the area between Via Alessandrina and Via dei Fori Imperiali. This was the original area of the piazza and southern wall of the the Forum of Trajan, transformed into public landscaping in 1932.
They have already recovered structures in the Alessandrino quarter which was destroyed during the years 1924-1932. Particularly visible today are three blocks almost completed intersected by two streets, apparently the old roads of the quarter: Via del Priorato and Via Dei Carbonari. Here there is an intermediate block as well as two other blocks of buildings arranged along the north and east edge of the excavation.
While the two blocks at the extreme southern and northern sectors reveal homes and structures from a modern epoch, the intermediate block has revealed the presence of an interior hall (about 10x30 meters) built with tufa on the inside and brick on the outside, dating it between the end of the XII century to the first half of the XIII century.

This medieval structure occupies the northern limits of the area. This area is where the 1600's church of Sant'Urbano was inserted and destroyed during the 1930's with the annexed convent of the Sisters of Cappuccine.
One of the objectives trying to be reached in these days is the identification of the original function of this medieval structure. In the past, Ceschi interpreted it as a hospital belonging to the Priorate of Cavalieri from the order of Malta and a member of the noble "domus" Bianco family.

Some sectors have already reached down to the floor of the Forum, where imprints for marble slabs of pavement are evident. The antique floor is located less than one meter under the convent floor.
In one area, used as a storage space after 1870, they have been able to reach the level of the Forum under the convent's cellar floor. An excavated area here pointed out the probable use of a garden or threshing floor from where architectural fragments were buried together with a giant statue of a Dacian prisoner.

On the bottom of this stratification are a series of strong muddy layers that indicate the probable presence of a swamp, and a sign that the Roman monuments were abandoned. Also here, as in Caesar's Forum, certain tombs indicate that the Temple of Peace was transformed into a sepulchral area during the first years of the early medieval period (VI-VII A.D.). Just now, they have recovered structures related to the antique era marked by the Forma Urbis in the excavation area between Via Alessandrina and Via dei Fori Imperiali. These pieces have been interpreted differently: as garden-bed borders, as fountains, and as bases of statues.
However, they have seemed to identify the revived structures as what were large enclosures for garden-beds since a drainage pipe from the same enclosure was revived nearby. Only the continuation of excavation can provide useful data that can resolve the functional mysteries of such elements. Furthermore, it provides us with information on both the organization and architectural structure of the Templum Pacis- actually one of the most enigmatic monuments of antiquity of which little is known.

Enter into the chapters that describe work in progress:

> Presentation of the operation

> Imperial Forum area

> Methodology of the archeological excavation

> The staff engaged in recovery

In the other chapters you can find the history of Rome, the life and habits of the Antique Romans, interesting phrases from the Latin language, and a quiz to test yourself on your knowledge. Select a chapter among the four titles in the black column on the right.