site, although a large number have fallen. The whole of the construction was decorated with war spoils and trophies from the Dacian Wars conducted under the command of Trajan. The frieze above the entrance was inscribed with the names of the victorious legions involved in the Dacian campaign. Later, it was used as the architectural prototype by Constantine as the basis for the layout of the new Christian churches. The Basilica Ulpia was used as to model for Constantine completion of the Basilica of Maxentius. Excavations The Basilica Ulpia was first excavated by the occupying French government of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1813, after two convents on the site were demolished (Santo Spirito and di Santa Eufemia). In 1814 Pope Pius VII returned from exile and resumed the excavations: it was under Pius that the grey granite columns were reassembled on their bases and walls built to delineate the excavation area. The excavations also uncovered the remains of the pavement made from rare marbles, which gradually disappeared over the course of the 19th century due to rapacious tourists. Clement VII removed several of the yellow giallo antico marble columns which once flanked the doorways of the structure to Saint Peter's Basilica, where they were erected in the transept, while one went to the Lateran Palace. Part of the foundation of the basilica continues today under the modern Via dei Fori Imperiali, a trunk road constructed during the rule of Benito Mussolini. The reconstruction of the basilica, planned by former Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino in 2014, began in 2021. The work will be carried out by the method of anastilosis, in which the ruins are restored using the original architectural elements. The funds for the reconstruction in the amount of 1.5 million euros were donated by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. See also List of Greco-Roman roofs References Further reading External links Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Ulpia Trajan's Forum Rome R. I Monti