Trajan’s Forum - Rome, Italy - Ancient Ruins at the Edge of the Imperial Fora

Ancient walls, arches and foundations mark the edge of Trajan’s Forum in Rome, with later buildings rising above the archaeological remains.

Trajan’s Forum was the last and most ambitious of Rome’s Imperial Fora, created during the reign of Emperor Trajan and inaugurated in AD 112. Designed as a monumental centre for administration, justice and imperial representation, the complex was closely connected with Trajan’s victories in the Dacian Wars and is traditionally associated with the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. In this photograph, the surviving remains at the edge of the forum show a dense combination of ancient walls, arches, foundations and paved areas, while later buildings rise directly behind them. The layered scene illustrates how the historic centre of Rome developed continuously over the remains of the ancient city. Nearby stood the monumental Basilica Ulpia, once the largest basilica in Rome, as well as Trajan’s Column, which still survives almost intact. The image captures both the scale of the archaeological area and the extraordinary continuity between ancient and modern Rome.