Forum
An open space of ground in which the public met for the transaction of public business, and for the sale and purchase of provisions. The number of fora increased at Rome with the growth of the city. They were level pieces of ground of an oblong form, and were surrounded by buildings, both private and public. The principal forum at Rome was the Forum Romanum, also called simply the Forum, and at a later time distinguished by the epithets vetus magnum. It lay between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, and ran lengthwise from the foot of the Capitol or the arch of Septimius Severus in the direction of the arch of Titus; but it did not extend quite so far as to the latter. The origin of the forum is ascribed to Romulus and Tatius, who are said to have filled up the swamp or marsh which occupied its site, and to have set it apart as a place for the administration of justice and for holding the assemblies of the people.