Architectural Survey and Orthophoto Plans of the Temple of Peace Flooring

Architectural Survey and Orthophoto Plans of the Polychrome Marble Flooring of the Temple of Peace, Rome

The Forum, or Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis), is one of Rome’s Imperial Fora. Built by Vespasian between AD 71 and 75 to celebrate the Pax Augusta restored by the Flavian dynasty following its victory in the Jewish War, the complex comprised an apsidal hall—the temple proper, housing the cult statue—flanked by several rooms and opening onto a large square (110 × 135 metres). The square was largely occupied by flowerbeds and fountains and enclosed by a quadriporticus.
The complex housed a library, the spoils taken from Jerusalem—including the renowned treasures of Solomon’s Temple—and a public museum containing an exceptionally rich collection of Greek artworks, most of which had been looted by Nero from Greece and Asia Minor to decorate the Domus Aurea. Following the dismantling of the Domus Aurea, Vespasian had these works transferred here.
The Forum was destroyed by fire in AD 192 and later rebuilt by Septimius Severus, who installed the Forma Urbis—the great marble plan of Rome—on one of the interior walls. Archaeological excavations of the temple hall uncovered a surveyed floor of polychrome marble slabs, for which an orthophoto plan was produced.

Client: Archaeological Superintendency of Rome, 2005–2006