Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war from the conquest of Dacia, which ended in 106. The construction began between 105 and 107; according to the Fasti Ostienses the Forum was inaugurated in 112. Trajan's Column was erected and then inaugurated in 113. To build this monumental complex, extensive excavations were required: workers eliminated a ridge connecting the Quirinal and Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hills. Over 300,000 cubic meters of soil and rock were excavated and dumped outside the Porta Collina. It is possible that the excavations were initiated under Emperor Domitian, while the project of the Forum was completely attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, who also accompanied Emperor Trajan in the Dacian campaign. During the time of the construction, several other projects took place: the construction of the Market of Trajan, the renovation of Caesar's Forum (where the Basilica Argentaria was built) and the Temple of Venus Genetrix. Structure The Forum consisted of a sequence of open and enclosed spaces, beginning with the vast portico-lined piazza measuring long and wide, with exedrae on two sides. The main entrance was at the south end of the piazza, through a triumphal arch at the center commemorating the Dacian Wars, decorated with friezes and statues of Dacian prisoners. The arch was flanked by tall walls built from blocks of Peperino tuff clad entirely in marble, which enclosed the Forum on three sides. The tuff walls which enclosed the piazza to the west and east featured exedrae; outside the exedrae, separated by streets, were markets of concentric shape. The three-story eastern market, known as Trajan's Market, buttressed the excavated edge of the Quirinal Hill. The open space of the Forum measured about 300 feet by 380 feet, and was paved entirely in Carrara marble. Via a doorway in the far east wall of the Forum, one gained entry to an open courtyard with a portico, which communicated in turn with the adjacent Forum of Augustus. Along the piazza's north side was the Basilica Ulpia, and north of that was a smaller piazza, with a temple dedicated to the deified Trajan on the far north side facing inwards. The position of – and very existence of – the temple