The Column of Trajan

The Column of Trajan is one of the only well preserved pieces form the Forum Trajan. The entire complex was used as a stone quarry and a source for decorative marble since the sixth century AD. The column was considered a tourist attraction an in 1162 a law was passed forbidding anyone to damage it. The column had many functions. One of the main functions it served as was the resting place for Trajan. The column was never intended to serve as his resting place but the senate decided that after his death it would be an honor to place his ashes there. …