Murus Romuli
Encyclopedia
Murus Romuli is the name given to a wall built to protect the Palatine Hill
, the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome
, in one of the oldest parts of the city of Rome
. Ancient tradition holds that this wall was built by Romulus
.
The Murus Romuli as remembered by ancient historians is described by Rodolfo Lanciani
:
Though most often believed to be purely a figure of myth, Romulus is believed by some scholars, such as Andrea Carandini
, to have been an actual historical figure, in part because of the 1988 discovery on the north slope of the Palatine Hill of what they believe is the defensive wall built when Rome was founded. These archaeologists contend that the discovery of the wall, along with other nearby finds, indicate that Rome emerged as a dynamic society in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., significantly earlier than had been previously calculated.
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
, the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome
Seven hills of Rome
The Seven Hills of Rome east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the ancient city.The seven hills are:* Aventine Hill * Caelian Hill...
, in one of the oldest parts of the city of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Ancient tradition holds that this wall was built by Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
.
The Murus Romuli as remembered by ancient historians is described by Rodolfo Lanciani
Rodolfo Lanciani
Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani was an Italian archaeologist, a pioneering student of ancient Roman topography, and among his many excavations was that of the House of the Vestals in the Roman Forum....
:
"The text most frequently quoted in reference to the Murus Romuli is that of TacitusTacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
, according to which the furrow ploughed by the hero — the sulcus primigenius — started from a point in the Forum BoariumForum BoariumThe Forum Boarium was the cattle forum venalium of Ancient Rome and the oldest forum that Rome possessed. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. Here, too, is where the first bridges were built...
, marked in later times by the bronze Bull of Myron; and followed the valley between the Palatine and the AventineAventine HillThe Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome.-Location and boundaries:The Aventine hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills...
as far as the altar of ConsusConsusIn ancient Roman religion, the god Consus was the protector of grains and storage bins , and as such was represented by a grain seed....
, the valley between the Palatine and the CælianCaelian HillThe Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
as far as the Curiæ Veteres, the east slope of the hill as far as the Sacellum Larum. The same historian says that the Ara Maxima of HerculesGreat Altar of HerculesThe Great Altar of Unconquered Hercules stood in the Forum Boarium of ancient Rome. It was the earliest cult-centre of Hercules in Rome, predating the circular Temple of Hercules Victor. The altar stood until it was demolished by order of Pope Sixtus IV...
was included within the furrow, and DionysiusDionysius of HalicarnassusDionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
states that Vesta's templeTemple of VestaThe Temple of Vesta is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The temple's most recognizable feature is its circular footprint. Since the worship of Vesta began in private homes, the architecture seems to be a reminder of...
was outside it. The furrow followed the foot of the cliffs or slopes of the Palatine, its course being marked with stone cippi. Others affirm that the city of Romulus was square (τετράγωνος — Roma QuadrataRoma quadrataRoma quadrata, "square Rome", was an area or perhaps a structure within the original pomerium of the city. It appears to have dated to an early stage of the city's formation...
). The truth is that neither the walls nor the pomeriumPomeriumThe pomerium or pomoerium , was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within the pomerium; everything beyond it was simply territory belonging to Rome.-Location and extensions:Tradition maintained that it was the original line ploughed by Romulus around the...
of Romulus can be said to make a square; that a line drawn from beyond the Ara Maxima to the Ara Consi cannot be said to go "along the foot of the cliffs of the Palatine" (per ima montis Palatini); that the valley in those days was covered with water, deep enough to be navigated by canoes, so that neither a furrow could be ploughed through it, nor stone cippi set up to mark the line of the furrow. Moreover, the same marshes extended on the southeast side as far as the Curiæ Veteres, on the northwest as far as the Temple of Vesta; and the shape of the Palatine walls was rather trapezoid, like that of a terramara of the valley of the PoPo RiverThe Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
, than square like an Etruscan templum; while, lastly, the name of Roma Quadrata did not belong to the city on the hill, but to the altar described in Pagan and Christian Rome, p. 70, which stood in front of the Temple of Apollo."
Though most often believed to be purely a figure of myth, Romulus is believed by some scholars, such as Andrea Carandini
Andrea Carandini
Count Andrea Carandini is an Italian archaeologist specialising in ancient Rome. Among his many excavations is the villa of Settefinestre....
, to have been an actual historical figure, in part because of the 1988 discovery on the north slope of the Palatine Hill of what they believe is the defensive wall built when Rome was founded. These archaeologists contend that the discovery of the wall, along with other nearby finds, indicate that Rome emerged as a dynamic society in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., significantly earlier than had been previously calculated.