Cloaca Maxima and the Forum

• A good portion of the land of what is now the Forum Romanum was approximately 6 feet below sea level and therefore prone to flooding by the Tiber
• It also had streams draining into it from the surrounding hills; e.g., spring of Juturna
• Between 650-635 BC, there was a long term inundation of the forum
• Between 650-625 BC, the basin was reclaimed
• In the 6th century BC, the Cloaca Maxima was built in order to drain the forum area (Course of the Cloaca provided)
• It was not a sewer but an open drain built in a monumental style with cut stone bifurcating the forum area in two

• The Cloaca was covered over later, during the Republican period, in a different style of construction and repeatedly repaired and rerouted during the imperial period

• A small temple to Cloacina, the goddess of drains was located in the forum near or directly above where the drain entered the forum
• Cloacina was also the protector of sexual intercourse in marriage
• She was Etruscan in origin, later she was associated with Venus

Political and military implications

• Initial construction of the Cloaca in an unnecessarily sophisticated monumental way, indicates a propaganda aspect to the project
• If drainage of the forum area was the objective, then there were simpler engineering solutions available; examples of such solutions can be found in some neighboring cities of Latium
• The work in the monumental style was so demanding that workers began deserting the project; the king had to threaten crucifixion in order to maintain a stable workforce
• Such a level of engineering sophistication, of physical coercion and project coordination suggests a great deal of centralized power and resources