The Furrow in the Ground

Here, at the foot of the hill, Romulus dragged a plough through the earth to mark the edge of his city, and he declared that line sacred.

Remus jumped over it in mockery. Romulus killed him, saying the same fate would meet anyone who crossed his walls, and the city took his name.

That line was called the pomerium, and for centuries it remained far more than a story. No army could enter within the boundary, no weapons, no burial ground. Generals returning from a campaign left their troops outside and walked in alone, and anyone who broke that rule was effectively staging a coup. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army, this was the principle he violated.

The date the Romans gave to that furrow is 21 April in the year 753 BC, and the city still celebrates that day with costumed parades.

We cross the Forum to the western side and take the slope up to the square at the top of the hill.