Denmark funds excavations Forum of Caesar in search of remains Temple of Venus

Archaeological excavations began today on the eastern side of the Forum of Caesar, aimed at the expansion of the latter’s archaeological area and the possible recovery of architectural members still underground, where parts of the Temple of Venus Genetrix and the eastern portico of the square could be found buried.

The investigations are being conducted by the Capitoline Superintendency in collaboration with theAcademy of Denmark, which donated 1,500,000 euros thanks to the Copenhagen Carlsberg Foundation and the Aarhus University Research Foundation. The first phase of the investigations had been presented in 2017, on the occasion of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s visit to Rome, and this second phase is also part of the agreements made that year between the Capitoline Superintendence and the Academy of Denmark.

The excavation operations were preceded by a program of research with the aim of learning about the various phases of the monumental complex’s life, through archival investigations, cataloguing and study of the finds, particularly ceramics, unearthed in the 1998-2000 excavations. A preliminary cleaning of the area was carried out in the winter of 2019, thanks to which remains of wall structures pertaining to the ground floors of modern buildings (16th-20th centuries) demolished in the 1930s for the opening of Via dei Fori Imperiali were brought to light. The first batch of excavation was funded for 428,000 euros, used to investigate an additional 400 square meters of the forensic complex out of a total area of 13,300 square meters of Caesar’s Forum. In this new phase, archaeological investigations will continue in the area identified in 2019: they are scheduled for completion in August 2021.

“Rome holds constant surprises for us,” commented Mayor Virginia Raggi. “The start of the excavations of the Forum of Caesar allows us to bring to light different phases of life of this ancient urban sector that presents a very rich stratification, as revealed by the investigations conducted by the Superintendence in recent decades. I thank Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the Danish Academy for this important act of patronage. With everyone’s support, we continue to uncover our history.”

“The resumption of excavations at the Forum of Caesar is a new stage in the journey of knowledge and enhancement of one of the most important archaeological areas in the world, which from 2019 will be open to the public on a permanent basis. Thanks to the Academy of Denmark for this important economic and scientific contribution,” added Capitoline Superintendent Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli.

“We are very pleased with the start of the work in which the Academy of Denmark in Rome, the Carlsberg Foundation, the Aarhus University Research Foundation and the Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) headed by Professor Rubina Raja have actively participated,” said Director of the Academy of Denmark in Rome Charlotte Bundgaard and scientific director of the project of archaeological research and excavation at the Forum of Caesar on behalf of the Academy of Denmark in Rome Jan Kindberg Jacobsen. “We will contribute to the research with great enthusiasm. This occasion is welcome to thank Mayor Virginia Raggi, Superintendent Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli and especially excavation director Claudio Parisi Presicce and his team for welcoming the Italian-Danish collaboration in this project of undoubted scientific value in the international arena, a source of great pride for Danish cultural institutions.”

Finally, the director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park Alfonsina Russo commented, “The excavation of the Forum of Caesar constitutes an important new opportunity to expand the knowledge of the forensic area in its entirety. Our shared goal with Roma Capitale has always been to return to the public and the scientific community a journey into the history of Rome through the discoveries that archaeological research is able to return.”

Ph.Credit

Denmark funds excavations Forum of Caesar in search of remains Temple of Venus

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