Velabrum

The Velabrum (Classical Latin: [weː.laː.brũ]) is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium,[1] and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill.[2] The name Velabrum may translate to "place of mud."[3] It was believed that before the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, which probably follows the course of an ancient stream, the area was a swamp,[4] though this claim has been disproven by core samples taken from Velabrum in 1994.[5] Ancient authorities state that in this marshy area the roots of a fig tree (Ficus Ruminalis) caught and stopped the basket carrying Romulus and Remus as it floated along on the Tiber current.[3] The place therefore has a high symbolic significance. It was also used as a marketplace and a center of commerce.[6][7]

Plan showing the area of the Velabrum

Even after the Cloaca was built, the area was still prone to flooding from the Tiber,[8] until the ground level was raised after the Neronian fire.

It is the site of the Arch of Janus, the Arcus Argentariorum and the church San Giorgio al Velabro.[9]

References
  1. Schmitz, Leonhard (2012-12-13). The Classical Museum: A Journal of Philology, and of Ancient History and Literature. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-108-05777-6.
  2. Richmond, Ian Archibald; Patterson, John (2016-03-07). "Velabrum". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6712. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  3. Landart, Paula (2021-12-05). Finding Ancient Rome: Walks in the city. Paula Landart. p. 45.
  4. Beard, Mary (2009-06-30). The Roman Triumph. Harvard University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-674-02059-7.
  5. Ammerman, Albert J. (2013-03-28), Evans, Jane DeRose (ed.), "Looking at Early Rome With Fresh Eyes: Transforming the Landscape", A Companion to the Archaeology of the Roman Republic, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, pp. 167–180, doi:10.1002/9781118557129.ch11, ISBN 978-1-118-55712-9, retrieved 2023-01-14
  6. Platner, Samuel (1929). Velabrum. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rom. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2023-01-14.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Ammerman, Albert J. (1998). "Environmental archaeology in the Velabrum, Rome: interim report". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 11: 213–223. doi:10.1017/S1047759400017268. ISSN 1047-7594. S2CID 163003508.
  8. Littlewood, R. Joy (2006-06-29). A Commentary on Ovid's Fasti, Book 6. OUP Oxford. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-19-927134-4.
  9. Wiseman, T. P. (2007). "Where was the Porta Romanula?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 75: 231–237. doi:10.1017/S0068246200003548. ISSN 2045-239X. S2CID 163018804 – via Cambridge Core.

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