Archaeological evidence left|thumb|Fragment of a terracotta frieze plaque from the Regia at the east end of the Forum showing a minotaur and felines, c. 600–550 BC, Antiquarium Museo del Foro Romano Originally a low-lying, grassy wetland, the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures of Cloaca Maxima, a large covered sewer system that emptied into the Tiber, as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome the problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area.Ammerman, Albert J., 1990, “On the Origins of the Forum Romanum”, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 94, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), p. 627–645. Lomas, 2018, pp. 90–95. In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of the Via Sacra and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them.Wiseman, Timothy Peter, 2008, Unwritten Rome, Exeter: University of Exeter Press, p. 2.
Archaeological evidence left|thumb|Fragment of a terracotta frieze plaque from the Regia at the east end of the Forum showing a minotaur and felines, c. 600–550 BC, Antiquarium Museo del Foro Romano Originally a low-lying, grassy wetland, the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures of Cloaca Maxima, a large covered sewer s,ystem that emptied into the Tiber, as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome the problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area.Ammerman, Albert J., 1990, “On the Origins of the Forum Romanum”, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 94, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), p. 627–645. Lomas, 2018, pp. 90–95. In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of the Via Sacra and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them.Wiseman, Timothy Peter, 2008, Unwritten Rome, Exeter: University of Exeter Press, p. 2.