Rome’s other Arch of Titus, mostly forgotten

[guy]

Most of us know the above Arch of Titus in Roman Forum. Most of us don’t know about the other Arch of Titus at the Circus Maximus in Rome.

This excellent short video about the Circus Maximus depicts the older Arch of Titus, now mostly obliterated by time.

 

Very little remains of this earlier Arch of Titus (seen below).

 

Rome once had two arches dedicated to Titus: the well‑known arch in the Forum, which still stands, and a second, larger arch at the eastern end of the Circus Maximus that was dismantled centuries ago. 

Excavations in 2015 uncovered more than 300 marble fragments, including column bases and pavement remains, which allow archaeologists to reconstruct its scale and design. The Circus arch was a triple‑bay structure, about seventeen meters wide and fifteen meters deep, with columns nearly ten meters tall. It was originally built in AD 80–81 by the Senate to commemorate Titus’s victory in Jerusalem, and later reused in aqueduct construction and medieval fortifications.

 

The Circus Maximus arch was a ceremonial gateway, replacing the porta Pompae and serving as a monumental entrance to the circus while also celebrating the victory.

The Forum arch, still intact, was built by Domitian in AD 81–82, functioned as a triumphal arch marking the Via Sacra and the triumphal route. Its reliefs vividly depict the triumphal procession, including Roman soldiers carrying the treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem and Titus crowned by Victory.

 

 

https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/05/28/news/circo_massimo-115493901/#gallery-slider=115510532

 

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/36814

Edited 19 hours ago by guy

[caesar novus]

To get a sense of racetrack structures, walk a quarter mile SE from Circus Maximus to Baths of Caracalla. Your ticket there will include the best preserved Circus of Maxentius which is a reasonable couple mile walk towards Via Appia. Visiting hours are exasperatingly sparse: