Importantly, this new monograph on the Forum of Caesar is compiled by the archaeologist who led the excavations in the area between 2005 and 2008; the volume provides a complete account and interpretation of the results of those campaigns, which were previously outlined in a conference held in Rome in 2008 (published in volume 16 of Scienze dell'Antichità in 2010).
This is an edited volume with a set of specialist contributors (J. De Grossi Mazzorin, V. Di Cola, H. Di Giuseppe, P. Maisto, C. Minniti, B. Pinna Carboni, J. Remesal Rodriguez, C. Rosa and S. Zampini). The book is divided into five core chapters, and includes an appendix on the radiocarbon dating of fragments of charcoal from the Forum of Caesar through an Accelerator for Mass Spectrometry by a team of the CEDAD (Dating and Diagnostic centre) of the University of Salento-Lecce.
In the first chapter the editor presents a brief description of the evolution of the monument and an overview of earlier studies to 2005, setting out the nature and scope of all the excavations, investigations and surveys in Caesar's Forum, and providing a complete picture of the main scientific issues connected to it and of the progress of research.
Chapter 2 focuses on the geomorphological aspects of the area (Argiletum); it provides a description of the geology of the Argiletum and of its geomorphology before the Caesarian work, in the light of the enormous impact on this sector of the city by the works for the construction of the imperial fora. A brief description of the history of the studies on the geological composition of the Capitoline hill and of the southern slope of the Quirinal follows. Finally, in collaboration with C. Rosa, D. reports on the discoveries of the latest excavations on the geology and geomorphology of the area of the Forum of Caesar, which have resulted in greater understanding of the geomorphological profile of this sector and have determined the extent of the Caesarian-period excavations. Furthermore, combining the data from the 2005–2006 excavation campaign with those collected in the previous core samples on the hill where the church of the SS. Luca e Martina now stands, it was possible to create a geomorphological section from the area behind the first taberna of the Forum to the Comitium: this revealed the existence of a sharp drop in the hill's height just before the church, that might imply an ancient artificial cut of the hill in the area where Coarelli (see F. Coarelli, Il Foro Romano I – periodo arcaico [1983], pp. 153–6) locates the Curia Hostilia.
The data from the 2005–08 campaigns are detailed in Chapter 3 in a set of phases running from the Late Bronze age to the Augustan intervention. After the explanation of the excavation methodology and that for the classification of the ceramic material, D. briefly describes the phases related to the Late Bronze Age (thirteenth century b.c. – the first attested phase in the area) and to the Iron Age; subsequently, five periods are identified in the history of the area, and each of them is divided into subsections that, as D. states in the introduction, have the purpose of separating the archaeological data from their reconstruction. First the description of the activities is presented, then the analysis of the finds (pottery and archaeozoological material) and finally the interpretation of the data and the reconstruction of the area. This method of presentation occasionally means a certain degree of repetition of the data, or else a need to refer back repeatedly to the description of the activities while reading the interpretation.
Some of the most important discoveries related to the pre-Caesarian phases include a Late Bronze Age path and two Early Iron Age tombs (eight were discovered during the previous campaign) on the south-east corner of the Forum; the presence of a residential area from the ninth to the early sixth century b.c.; and two buildings, a road and other structures that have to be put in relation with the existence of a residential sector dating from the second half of the sixth century to the first half of the first century b.c.
For the Forum of Caesar itself, the editor describes in detail some archaeological evidence that had been anticipated in the aforementioned publication as well as previously unpublished data, which suggest new solutions to old issues, notably with regard to the complex's architectural form, such as the porticus duplex, the interaxis of the porticoes’ columns and the roofing of the porticoes. Crucial, however, is recognition both of an earlier Caesarian phase of the Forum, dated to 54–46 b.c., when the square was noticeably shorter, and that of an earlier phase to the temple podium, this too shorter than previously thought. The chapter also offers an exhaustive description of the hydraulic system of the complex and a reconstruction of the equestrian statue of Caesar which, according to contemporary sources, stood in front of the temple of Venus. Two contributors (Maisto and Pinna Carboni) assess the architectural elements of the Forum, many fragments of which were only recently attributed to its Caesarian phase.
In Chapters 4 and 5 D. discusses two specific moments in the life of the area occupied by the Forum of Caesar: the first deals with the thorny dispute about the famous fire of 390 b.c., and D. discusses the historiographic tradition for the plundering of Rome by the Gauls. It is suggested that the destruction phase of the two pre-Forum buildings, attributed to the beginning of the fourth century b.c., may well relate to that historical episode. The final chapter contextualises the Forum of Caesar in the history and cityscape of Rome. D. convincingly argues that the complex has too often been seen as the result of a single project, as if Caesar had established the final form of his personal monument from the beginning. D., on the contrary, maintains that the Forum as presented in 46 b.c. was the result of various changes in the concept and undertaking of the project resulting from and reflecting contemporary historical and political events. Accordingly, D. gives an ideological interpretation of the architecture and decoration of the complex. In this context, he also tackles the issue of the topographical position of the Curia Hostilia, which he places on the artificial cut of the hill where the church of the SS. Martina e Luca now stands, analysed in Chapter 2 (see above).
Every chapter contains extensive footnotes, that often expand on contentious or broader issues; ancient texts are not provided in translation. The theme of study requires good visual support, and D. presents many useful photographs, plans and fine reconstruction images which are numbered by chapter, in order to allow easy referencing. The vast majority of these are black and white, but colour reproductions would have sometimes offered much more clarity, especially for phase plans to buildings.
This is a fundamental study of the Forum of Caesar, fully informed by recent archaeology and explored by a variety of specialists; not only do we learn of the Forum complex, but en route notable data are presented on the topography and archaeology of the area of the imperial fora from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Republic.
