The Tabularium

By David Lowe, Paul Enright, Matthew Hughes, Aaron Balido

ContentsPg 1- Name of the building and other names it may have been called.

Pg 2- What was the main purpose of the building?

Pg 3- What were the secondary purposes of the building?

Pg 4- Design and appearances of the building (colors, architectural features etc)

Pg 5- Location within the forum and relevance to surrounding buildings.

Pg 6- Series of images/videos (computer or model recreations, modern remains, artwork and etc) which will be displayed through a PowerPoint presentation.

Pg 7- A selection of primary and secondary sources relating to the building. Be sure to find reliable sources (Wikipedia doesn’t count).

Pg 8- Significance to a study of Rome in the time of the Late Republic.

Pg 9- Other interesting and/or relevant information.

Pg 10- Think of a modern equivalent to the building in Australia and discuss the lasting impact of the functions and design of the Roman building.

Pg 11- Bibliography

The name of my chosen building and its other names

The name of my chosen building is the Tabularium. Also known as the nova roma. The

word Tabularium in latten means records database.

Purpose of the Tabularium

The Main purpose of the Tabularium, or public record office, was to store the state archives, such as deeds, laws, treaties, and decrees of the Senate. This would be where one would have seen the senatus consultum or the text of the Manilian Law.

Design and appearances of the building

The foundation of the Tabularium has the shape of a trapezium. In all, it consists of eleven arches, with eight of them closed. Basalt blocks rising up from pedestals create a facade that is typical of a modern side-wing. This facade has three large entrances in the form of an arcade. These entrances are lined by mighty Doric columns or half-columns. In the Middle Ages the Tabularium lost its dignity and was used as salt stores. In the 16th century three new storeys were build upon the second floor of the old Tabularium. Today it is used as the city town hall. It is 73.6m long and 34.6, high

Location within the forum

• The Tabularium occupied the space between the temple of Jupiter on one side of the Capitoline Hill and the steps which led up past the Carcer to the Arx on the other. Though it is not mentioned in literature, we know from an inscription found in the building that it was erected by Quintus

Lutatius Catulus in 78 B.C.

primary and secondary sources relating to the building

• The Tabularium is at the western extreme of the Forum Romanum, behind the Temple of Concord, the Temple of Vespasian and Titus and the Portico of the Dii Consentes. It is build on the side of the Capitoline Hill.

• The Tabularium was build in 79 BC on initiative of the consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus as a part of the reconstruction efforts on the Capitolium after the fire of 83 BC. The architect was Lucius Cornelius. It was destined for the state archives (the "tabulae" were the public documents).

• The building is constructed on the slope of the Capitoline Hill, on a massive supporting substructure to overcome the variations in ground level. The whole facade towards the Forum Romanum is 73.6m long. Inside the substructure is a corridor with six windows facing the Forum. The first floor has ten arches flanked by doric semicolumns. Half of arches are now closed. Inside is a corridor with vaulted ceiling. Originally there was a second floor with a portico of corinthian columns.

• In the Middle Ages the Tabularium formed part of a fortress on the Capitoline Hill, later it was incorporated into the Palazzo Senatorio of which it is still a part.

• The building is closed to the public. It is best seen from the stairway connecting the Forum Romanum and the Campidoglio.

• http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/163_Tabularium.html

Significance to a study of Rome in the time of the Late Republic

• The Tabularium in the late republic was a very important place, as it held all the documents of, law, politics, war and many other documents of value to the people of Rome and were needed by senators and emperors often.

Other interesting and/or relevant information

• The Tabularium in Rome was the building in which was housed the state archive. It was commissioned by one of Sulla's lieutenants, Q. Lutatius Catulus, and designed by the architect Cornelius in 78 BC. It survives only to first floor level. The upper storey has been replaced by the medieval Senatorial Palace.

Think of a modern equivalent to the building in Australia and discuss the lasting impact of the

functions and design of the Roman building

• The NSW public records office would be the equivalent of the Tabularium as it holds all the information about NSW laws and legislations as well as other documents about the state

Series of pictures of the Tabularium

Bibliographywww.romanempire.net/tours/rome/tabularium.html the senate and people of Rome. Accessed on

6/6/08

http://www.vroma.org/~forum/tabul.html Tabularium. Accessed on 6/6/08

www.sights.seindal.dk/sight/163_Tabularium.html Tabularium. Accessed on 6/6/08

www.penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/romanforum/tabularium.html Tabularium. Accessed on 6/6/08