subfeature of Forum (Romanum or Magnum)
Alternate names: Arch of Augustus
One or more arches were erected in the Forum to honor the Emperor Augustus. Their designs, locations, and the occasion for their erection are controversial (for discussion, see E. Nedergaard, Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae, vol. 1 [Rome 1993] 80-85). In 1888, O. Richter found the foundations of a triple arch to the south of the Aedes Divi Iulii. Recent studies by Nedergaard (1986-91) confirm Richter's find and date the arch to sometime in the period 42 BC to 6 AD, i.e. to the Augustan period. The triumphal arch measured ca. 18 x 5 meters and rested on foundations of travertine. The side arches (2.66 meters) were smaller than the central arch (4.13 meters). No secure remains of the superstructure survive, though remains of engaged and freestanding columns, frieze, and cornice in the Doric order and also in the Corinthian order have been attributed to the arch. It is probable that the famous Fasti Capitolini, ascribed by some to the Regia, were in fact displayed on the arch.
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