Identification This fragment depicts part of the arena of the Circus Maximus and its identifying inscription (PM 1960, p. 66). The rest of the Circus is depicted in 7e, 7abcd, 8bde, 8fg, 8h, and 9. Situated in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine Hills, the circus Maximus played a central role in Rome's earliest history. Sources attribute its conception to the Etruscan kings and relate it to the rise of the ludi Romani (LTUR I, p. 272). For centuries, the Circus was nothing but an open space with wooden partitions and seating; more permanent walls were not constructed until the 2nd c. BCE. Julius Caesar is credited with giving the Circus the shape and enormous size it was to retain for centuries: According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (3.68.1-4), the Circus had a length of 421 m. and a width of 118 m., and the cavea held 150,000 spectators (LTUR I, p. 273). The Circus was destroyed by fire several times and it collapsed occasionally, but it underwent several reconstructions by various emperors and remained in use until the 6th c. In Medieval times, the area was mainly used for agriculture, and in the following centuries it was gradually encroached upon by various forms of construction until it was cleared at the beginning of the 20th c. (LTUR I, pp. 274-75).

Evidence gathered from excavations, written sources, coins, and standing remains reveals the architecture of the Circus in the imperial period: Raised above the surrounding area, the building measured 600 m. in length and 140 m. in width. The long sides of the structure were not precisely parallel; one side, facing the Aventine, was slightly inclined, as is usual for Roman circuses (LTUR I, pp. 275-76). The exterior facade was divided into three sections, the bottom section being as tall as the two above combined. The walls of the two upper sections were solid but decorated with pilasters and windows. The bottom section was perforated by arches that led to a covered ambulatio that surrounded the entire building. Behind the covered passageway, radial walls created a series of rooms, every third of which served a different purpose: One room led directly to the lowest seating area; the next room contained stairs that gave access to the corridors and seating areas above; and the third room functioned as a shop (LTUR I, p. 275). The seating area, the cavea, was divided into three sections: the ima, media, and summa cavea. The start gates, the carceres, occupied the N end of the Circus; these were placed on a curve and on a slightly oblique angle in relation to the central axis of the building. The arena itself was divided along the central axis by a spina or a euripus (LTUR I, p. 276, with references and reconstruction in fig. 158). Nothing remains of this divider, but numerous representations on coins and other sources suggest it was decorated with a variety of features: Tricuspid metae marked the two ends of the divider and flanked an array of statues, columns, altars, and small temples. Here was also placed the device, consisting of sculpted dolphins, that counted the completed rounds (LTUR I, p. 276).

The lines to the left and right in this fragment represent the seating arrangements along the long sides of the Circus. Curiously, the outer half of the Circus is depicted in ground plan (compare fr. 7abcd) but the inner half, seen here, is illustrated as if seen from above (PM 1960, p. 66). This is clearest at left: the long lines depict the primary and secondary praecinctiones, or seating areas divided by rank (Reynolds 1996 p. 85-86). The two lines that frame the arena on either side are not exactly parallel; the line to the right moves slightly towards the center at the bottom, reflecting what has been demonstrated by excatations: that one side, facing the Aventine, was slightly inclined, as is usual for Roman circuses. The two close parallel lines in the middle of the slab depict the central divider, which either had the shape of a regular spina or, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (3.68.1-4), of a euripus (LTUR I, p. 273). None of the features of the divider, known to have been heavily decorated, is visible on the part seen here.

Significance This fragment is the only evidence we have for the ground plan of the central divider of the Circus. The slight incline of the vertical line on the right, representing the actual shape of the Circus, is a testimony to the accuracy of the Plan.

Text by Tina Najbjerg and Jennifer Trimble.