Ancient Rome The first iteration of the Basilica Julia was begun around 54 BC by
Julius Caesar, though it was left to his heir
Augustus to complete the construction and name it in honor of his adoptive father. The basilica was built over the remains of two important Republican structures: the
Basilica Sempronia, which was demolished by Caesar to make way for the new basilica, and pre-dating both, the house of
Scipio Africanus, Rome's legendary general. The Basilica Sempronia was built in 169 BC by
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and required the demolition of the house of Africanus and a number of shops to make room. The first Basilica Julia burned in 9 AD, shortly after completion, but it was reconstructed, enlarged, and rededicated to Augustus' adoptive sons
Gaius and
Lucius in 12 AD. The Basilica was restored after a fire in 199 AD by
Septimius Severus, and later reconstructed by the Emperor
Diocletian after another fire in 283 AD. The Basilica is bordered on its short sides by two important ancient roads which led from the Tiber to the Forum: the
Vicus Jugarius to the west, and the
Vicus Tuscus to the east. The ground floor was divided into five east–west aisles inside, with the central aisle forming a large hall that measured 82x18 meters, sheltered by a three-story high roof. It was the favorite meeting place of the Roman people. This basilica housed public meeting places and shops, but it was mainly used as a law court. On the pavement of the portico, there are diagrams of games scratched into the white marble. One stone, on the upper tier of the side facing the
Curia, is marked with an eight by eight square grid on which games similar to
chess or
checkers could have been played. The last recorded restoration of the Basilica Julia was undertaken by the Urban Prefect Gabinius Vettius Probianus in 416 AD, who also relocated several Greek statues by the sculptors
Polykleitos and Timarchus for display near the center of the façade. The inscribed bases of these statues recording the restoration still survive. and the site slowly fell into ruin over the centuries. The marble was especially valuable in the medieval and early modern eras for burning into
lime, a material used to make mortar. The remnants of kilns on the site, which were found in early excavations, confirmed that most of the building's components were destroyed in this way. Part of the remains of the basilica were converted into a church, generally identified as that of
Santa Maria de Cannapara which is mentioned in catalogues from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Other parts of the basilica were sectioned off in the medieval period for the use of different trades. The marble workers, or
marmorarii, took up most of the remaining space not occupied by the church in the 11th century for re-fashioning and selling marble architectural ornaments; the eastern aisle was
occupied by the rope-makers and was called the
Cannaparia as a result. In the 16th century, the long-buried site of the Basilica was used as a burial ground for patients of the adjacent
Ospedale della Consolazione. The building consists now only of a rectangular area, levelled off and raised about one metre above ground level, with jumbled blocks of stone lying within its area. A row of marble steps runs full length along the side of the basilica facing the
Via Sacra, and there is also access from a taller flight of steps (the ground being lower here) at the end of the basilica facing the
Temple of Castor and Pollux. == Archaeology and excavation ==