Also called the Plutei Traiani, these carved stone balustrades were built by Trajan

Trajan

Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

. They are on display inside the Curia Julia

Curia Julia

The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or 'curia' of the Roman Republic. It is believed to have begun as an Etruscan temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus . During the early kingdom, the temple was for the use of the Senators who acted as...

 on the Forum Romanum today, but are not part of the original structure.

It is unknown exactly where Trajan erected them. They are believed to have been built either on the edge of the rostrum

Rostra

The Rōstra was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between...

 or on the sides of the black pavement marking the underground "Tomb of Romulus". In spite of this uncertainty, they are of great historical value because the carvings show the full length of both sides of the forum at the time they were erected.

Foreground carvings

The relief on the right side shows Trajan in the Forum Romanum, where he institutes a charitable organisation for orphans (known as the 'alimenta'). Trajan is seated on a podium in the middle of the forum, together with a personification of Italia

Italia (Roman province)

Italia was the name of the Italian peninsula of the Roman Empire.-Under the Republic and Augustan organization:During the Republic and the first centuries of the empire, Italia was not a province, but rather the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status: for example, military...

 carrying a child on her arm.

The left relief shows the destruction of tax records in the presence of the emperor, probably Hadrian in 118, to the tune of 900 million sesterces. The wooden tablets with the tax records are carried forth and burned in the presence of the emperor, who is standing in front of the Rostra

Rostra

The Rōstra was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between...

. The practice of 'fiscal pardon' had been carried out previously under Trajan following his victory in the Dacian War in 102.

Background carvings

The backgrounds of both the right and left sides depict buildings on the Forum Romanum.

On the right relief, depicted left to right, the buildings are: The Ficus Ruminalis

Ficus Ruminalis

The Ficus Ruminalis was a wild fig tree on the Palatine Hill in ancient Rome near the Lupercal on the Palatine. This tree was said to be sacred to the goddess Rumina...

 and the statue of Marsyas

Marsyas

In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double flute that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged Apollo to a contest of music and lost his hide and life...

; the Basilica Julia

Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia , is a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the early Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated...

; the Temple of Saturn

Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Saturn is a monument to the agricultural deity. The Temple of Saturn stands at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in the western end of the Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy.-Archaeology:...

; the Temple of Vespasian and Titus

Temple of Vespasian and Titus

The Temple of Vespasian and Titus is located in Rome at the western end of the Roman Forum between the Temple of Concordia and the Temple of Saturn. It is dedicated to the deified Vespasian and his son, the deified Titus. It was begun by Titus in 79 after Vespasian's death and Titus's succession...

; and the Rostra (only one of which are visible). A part of the relief is missing, where the Temple of Concord

Temple of Concord

The Temple of Concord in the ancient city of Rome was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia at the western end of the Roman Forum. The temple was built in the 4th century BC as a promise towards peace after a long period of civil strife within the city...

 should have been.

On the left, again from left to right: the speakers' platform in front of the Temple of Divus Julius; the Arch of Augustus

Arch of Augustus, Rome

The Arch of Augustus was the triumphal arch of Augustus in the Roman Forum. Dedicated in 29 BC, it commemorates the great battle of Actium against Antony and Cleopatra...

; the Temple of Castor and Pollux

Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Castor and Pollux is an ancient edifice in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus . Castor and Pollux were the Dioscuri, the "twins" of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda...

; the Vicus Tuscus

Vicus Tuscus

Vicus Tuscus was an ancient street in the city of Rome, running southwest out of the Forum Romanum between the Basilica Iulia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux towards the Forum Boarium and Circus Maximus via the west side of the Palatine Hill and Velabrum.-History:The name of Vicus Tuscus is...

; the Basilica Julia; the Ficus Ruminalis and the statue of Marsyas, champion of the people.