The public political, religious, and business life of Rome took place in the forum. Ridges connecting the Capitoline Hill with the Quirinal, and the Palatine with the Esquiline, enclosed the area of the Forum Romanum. It is believed that before Romans built their city, the forum vicinity was a burial area (8-7th C. B.C.)
Roman Forum
From N.S. Gill, About.com
Plan of the Roman Forum and its vicinity during the era of the Republic. (More below....)
Plan of the Roman Forum and its Vicinity at the Time of the Republic
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