Trajan's Column

This marble column is about 30 metres tall, a hundred Roman feet, and with its pedestal it rises above 38. It was inaugurated in AD 113 in the Forum of Trajan, the last and largest of the imperial forums, whose design is attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus.

1A story in a spiral

A frieze some 200 metres long winds 23 times around the shaft and tells the story of Trajan's two wars against the Dacians, in 101–102 and 105–106, in what is now Romania. It contains around 2,500 figures: legionaries building bridges and camps, battles, embassies and the end of King Decebalus. Trajan himself appears dozens of times. It was originally painted, and from the terraces of the two libraries that flanked it, people could see the upper scenes close up.

2An emperor's tomb

When Trajan died in 117, his ashes were placed in a golden urn in a chamber inside the pedestal. It was an exceptional honour, because the law forbade burials inside the city. The urn vanished centuries ago. A bronze statue of the emperor once stood on top; since 1587 the spot has belonged to St Peter, placed there on the orders of Pope Sixtus V.

The inscription on the pedestal says the column shows the height of the hill that was dug away to make room for the forum, although archaeologists disagree on how to interpret it.

3What to look for

• The inscription on the pedestal, whose letters have long been held up as the model of classical Roman capitals.
• The first scenes, at the bottom: the Danube shown as a god and the soldiers crossing the river.
• The small slit windows that light the spiral staircase inside.