Lieu de Memoire

Lieu de Memoire is a term that was first used by the french historian Pierre Nora and it is more commonly known as Memory Space. Nora published his thoughs and views on the concept in the three-volume collection called Les Lieux de Memoire, the parts that have been translate and reprinted in english, is known under the name Realms of Memory. 

Lieu de Memoire, is a theory and term used in connection with the concept of collective memory. The most commonly spread memory spaces are actual places, but not limited to only that. It could also be events, people or the more abstract concept of symbolism. The place of remembrance may be marked with monumental structures, buildings or statues, and is meant to remind those who came later on, about the past. A place of memory might even have different meanings to different people, all depending on what views they have on what is remembered there (if they have good or bad associations with the “memory”). 

The monuments commemorating people and places are
examples on the use of Lieux de Memoire

At the Roman Forum, the usage of the memory space played a big role in the evolution of the spatial development. The Forum Romanum is a good example on the usage of this in Rome. The Forum was a public place which contained not only public buildings, but also various monuments of different kinds. Several of the monuements was changed and swittched out over time, often due to a shift in what was the desired events or people to be honored. 

The Arch of Septimus Severus, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, is a triumphal arch in white marble. It was dedicated in 203 CE in honor of the victory in two campaigns againts the Parthians in 194-95 CE and 197-199 CE in the Parthian-Roman Wars (54 BCE - 217 CE). The campaigns honored, was lead by the Emperor Septimus Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta. The arch served as a place of memory over not only the victories, but also as a rememberance of Septimus Severus and his sons. After Septimus Severus's death, his two sons served as co-Emperors untill Geta was assassinated. After Geta's death, Caracalla had all images and inscriptions referring to to Geta removed as a way to try and erase the memory of his brother. 

The Arch of Septimus Severus

At the Archaic Agora in Athens, the Stoa Poikile was constructed in the middle of the 5th century BCE. The stoa was decorated with painted wooden panels which displayed scenes from important battles where Athens had been victorious, as well as also scenes from the greek mythology. After the Battle of Pylos in 425 BCE, the bronze shields that were looted was displayes as proof of the Athenian military prowess. The Stoa served as a public place of rememberance of the battles that Athens had fought and won. The paintings displayed in the Stoa remained for more than 600 years before they were eventually removed. Generations upon generations of Athenians and visitors to Athens could visit the Stoa and see the displays of Athens former military glory. The stoa, the wooden panels and the shields displayed there, served as a reminder to the Athenians and the visitors, containing the memory of the former glory in the city's past. 

A surviving shield that were once displayed as a trophy and symbol
of the Athenian military prowess. (Agora Object: B 262)

The concept that have been coined Lieu de Memoire have been used for millenniums, even if it the concept itself was not defined untill in the more recent years. Through the changes and spatial use of ancient sites we can finde traces of the concept, and also how it changed over decades, centuries and even millenniums. The memory could be manipulated with the adding or removing of parts of the memorials containing the memory at the site. While it is common that there is a memorial in place to keep the memory, it is not always neccessary. It can be the place itself that keeps the memory. The sites of old battlefields are potential examples of that. 

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Further reading:

Legg, S. (2005) Contesting and surviving memory: space, nation, and nostalgia in Les Lieux de Mémoire.

Nora, P. (1996) Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French Past, Vol. 1 - Conflicts and Divisions. Columbia University Press.

Russell, A (2016) The Politics of Public Space in Republican Rome. Cambridge University Press. 

Forma Urbis Romae

Forma Urbis Romae, also known as the Severan Marble Plan, were created between 203 and 211 CE, under the rule of the emperor Septimus Severus. The marble plan was a map, detailing Rome, where buildings, fora and roads were marked and named. The marble plan was placed on the wall of the Temple pf Peace at the Forum Vespasiani. The wall where the marble plan was situated can still be seen today, though none of the marble slabs are still there. The wall can be seen when standing along the Via dei Fori Imeriali and watching towards the Basilica of Maxentius. The wall of the marble plan is on the building right next to the basilica.

The marble plan depicts the depicts the buildings in great details, displaying architectural elemements such as columns and stairs. The streets and the buildings, both public and privat ones, are described with their names listed on the corresponding feature on the map.

The original site of the marble plan is on the other side of the wall in the middle

The marble plan meassured 18 x 13 meters and consisted of 150 marble slabs. Of these, only c. 10% have survived. At total of 1186 fragments of the marble plan have survived. An additional 87 fragments are known through drawings from the Renaissance, though the fragments themselves are lost.

Forum Romanum is one of the many fora depicted on the marble plan,
the details of it such as the Tabernae in the Basilica
and the columns in the temple is displayed

All of the known pieces of the Forma Urbis Romae, both curently existing and drawings of lost pieces, is collected in an online, searchable database, created by the Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project.