Overview
The Forum is the large central square of the city, which measured approximately 150x36 metres and was divided in two by the decumanus maximus that crossed it transversally. In the square, citizens gathered to meet, discuss and trade or to learn about decisions made by the city's administrators.
The north-western part was the sacred part. It was dominated by the Capitolium, the city's main temple, possibly dedicated to the Capitoline Triad or to other deities that cannot be identified at the moment.
The Capitolium of Julia Augusta Bagiennorum measured about 10x23 metres and was built on a podium about 4 metres high, accessed by climbing a large frontal staircase. Once at the top, one crossed a portico, the pronaos, and then entered the cella, a large hall in which the large statues of the deities and also the treasures offered to them for good luck were kept. A double-sloping roof covered the temple and was decorated both in the tympanum and along the sides with antefixes with a "palmette" motif.
Parts of the marble decorations, some terracotta antefixes, the probable end of the shaft of one of the statues of the gods and the curl of the throne are exhibited in the Museum.
In front of the temple, traces of an ara, an altar used for votive sacrifices, were also found.
The temple was surrounded on three sides by a single-nave portico overlooked by various rooms; one of these, rectangular in shape and paved, has been interpreted as a curia, a building reserved for the meetings of the senate.
AR Experience: click here to activate the immersive experience and step back in time.
