400 Rome: buildings, engineers water in the Fountain of Juturna was said to have medicinal properties It was named after Juturna, the sister of the Dioscuri Many Romans received their water from this fountain before the construction of Aqua Appia, the first aqueduct into Rome, built in 312 b.c.e After the Roman victory at Antium in 338 b.c.e., the Comitium, a circular area with stepped-seats for people to sit and listen, was built and served as a center for political discussions during much of the Roman Republic Bronze figureheads from ships captured at the battle were used to decorate some of the structure With Rome’s growing population, a second aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 272–269 b c e At this time the population of Rome was said to be between 290,000 and 380,000 In 204 b.c.e., the Temple of Magna Mater was built in part in celebration for the victory of Rome over Carthage in the Second Punic War The temple was finally completed in 191 b.c.e and provided a place to worship Cybele, the “Great Mother.” Soon afterward, in 170 b.c.e., work began on the Basilica Julia, which was organized by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the father of the Gracchi brothers It was restored by the emperor Diocletian but was destroyed in subsequent sackings of Rome In 144–140 b c e the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex built a third aqueduct, Aqua Marcia, bringing more water into Rome Soon afterward, in 125 b c e., the Aqua Tepula was built By this time the population of Rome was estimated at 400,000 people Although the period of the Roman revolution saw big changes in the use of buildings in Rome, there were not many new building projects within the city, although the Gracchi did attempt major civil engineering projects, including roads and the provision of freshwater into Rome When the Comitium in central Rome was demolished, the Imperial Rostra was built on the site and was inaugurated by Mark Antony in either 45 or early 44 b.c.e., just prior to the assassination of Julius Caesar It was later modified by Augustus Caesar, possibly to remove parts of the design credited to Mark Antony Julius Caesar felt the existing forum was too small and had the Forum Julium (also known as the Forum Caesaris) built, providing more room for the conduct of public business However, it was in the old forum that the body of Julius Caesar himself was cremated, prior to being interred in what became the Temple of the Divine Julius Augustus was also involved in the construction of the Temple of Apollo and the paving of the Forum in about b.c.e The population of Rome during the reign of Augustus has been estimated as being more than million persons Of these, a relatively high proportion would have been slaves However, the figure shows the dramatic increase in the population during the Roman revolution and the period that immediately followed it The Romans were well known for their roadbuilding skills, and the roads into and from Rome were heavily used, with many having roadside graves alongside them Most roads were made from cobblestones, but there were often stones cut to allow the easy use of carts and wagons There were five more aqueducts built to bring freshwater to Rome: the Aqua Julia (built in 33 b.c.e), the Aqua Virgo (19 b.c.e), the Aqua Alsietina (2 b.c.e), the Aqua Claudia (52 c.e.), and the Aqua Anio Novus (52 c.e.) The great fire of Rome, which broke out on July 18, 64 c.e., during the reign of the emperor Nero destroyed many buildings in Rome, and Christians became the scapegoats for the disaster However, Nero was able to rebuild, making the new structures better able to withstand fires He also had a massive Domus Aurea (Golden House) built in an extravagant fashion, which caused much consternation A massive bronze statue of Nero, 120 feet high, was placed in the atrium of the Domus Aurea, which dominated the site of what became the Temple of Venus The next major works constructed were the Temple of Vespasian and, subsequently, the Arch of Titus, dedicated to the emperor, Vespasian and his son Titus The major civil-engineering project during this period was undoubtedly the Colosseum, built in the 70s c.e., with work starting in 72 c.e when Vespasian initiated the project It occupied some of the site of Nero’s Domus Aurea and was completed in 80 c.e during the reign of Titus and then enlarged during the reign of the next emperor, Domitian It remains one of the marvels of civil engineering and one of the most recognizable images of ancient Rome The Colosseum was 510 feet in diameter, and 157 feet high, with 80 arches on three levels The arena was 280 feet by 175 feet and covered in sand to allow for naval combat reenactments The emperor Domitian started work on yet another forum, but it was not completed and dedicated until the reign of the emperor Nerva and as a result is known as the Forum Nervae The fifth and last of the forums in Rome was the Forum Trajani, built by the emperor Trajan Within it Trajan’s Column (98 feet high), finished in 113 c.e and topped by a statue of a bird, later replaced by a statue of Trajan and many years later by a statue of St Peter On the column there are friezes showing Trajan’s victories against the Dacians The next large temple construction was that of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, erected in 141 c.e by the Senate of Emperor Antoninus Pius in memory of his late wife, Faustina Twenty years later when the em-