Trajan's Column

Trajan’s Column can be found in the city of Rome on the Via Dei Fori Imperali, in Trajans Forum about half a mile east of the Tiber River. The senate and Trajan himself commissioned the building of the column in AD 113 in order to pay homage to Trajan and serve as tomb, “…as a tomb for himself”(Dio). In fact he is the only emperor to be buried within the city walls as his bones and ashes from cremation lay below in a gold urn, “…received the singular honor of burial within the city boundaries” (Eutropius). The Column itself is 128(RF) roman feet high with a 16(RF) statue of Trajan placed on top. The base is made up of 29 massive square blocks of White Italian Marble. The pictures that were placed on the Column after Trajan’s death depict his personal account of the Dacian wars. The Dacian wars were a series of battles between the Romans and the Dacians under the rule of Agustus. As well as serving as a tomb the column stands for the great prosperity that Trajan brought to the Roman Empire. However the Column today does not exist as it once did, in the 1550’s it was converted into a bell tower and the statue of Trajan was replaced by one of Saint Peter. The column is now a part a large tourist attraction.
1 roman foot= .296 meters