An impres­sive – if rather con­fus­ing – sprawl of ruins, the Roman Forum was ancient Rome’s show­piece cen­ter, a grandiose dis­trict of tem­ples, basil­i­cas and vibrant pub­lic spaces. The site, orig­i­nal­ly a marshy bur­ial ground, was first devel­oped in the 7th cen­tu­ry BCE, grow­ing over time to become the social, polit­i­cal and com­mer­cial hub of the Roman empire.