Rome Wasn't Built In a Day: New Evidence the Eternal City May be Older Than We Think

Abstract

According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the sons of Mars, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BCE. Seven hills comprise the ancient city. Existing structures on Aventine and Palatine hills are aligned to the moon, specifically in the direction of major lunar standstills. Temples dedicated to the Roman goddess Luna once existed on Aventine and Palatine hills. West of the old city lies Campus Martius - The Field of Mars. The Pantheon, one of Rome’s oldest temples is in this part of modern-day Rome just east of Piazza Navona. This section of Rome is aligned in a direction that currently has no known astronomical or geographic significance. We show the Pantheon and surrounding area could have once been aligned in the direction of major lunar standstills relative to a former North Pole located in Hudson Bay and show that if the geographic pole were in Hudson Bay the path of the moon during a major lunar standstill would have been high enough in the sky to have been barely visible through the oculus of the Pantheon. These findings suggest the possibility that the current Pantheon may not be the original structure but could have been built over an earlier structure many thousands of years older.