Caesar decided to construct a forum bearing his name in the northeast section of the Forum Romanum, of which he purchased a very expensive, select amount of parcels of land in that area. Forum construction began in 54 BC. The Forum spanned from the Ariletum on the southeast side of the Forum Romanum to the Atrium Libertatis and spanned 160 meters by 75 meters. As part of the dedication, lavish games were offered and funded by Caesar, indicating the staggering cost and thus the personal interest that Caesar had invested in the project.
The Forum of Caesar originally meant an expansion of the Forum Romanum. The Forum, however, evolved so that it served two additional purposes. As Caesar became more and more involved in this project, the Forum became a place for public business that was related to the Senate in addition to a shrine for Caesar himself as well as Venus Genetrix.
The Temple of Venus Genetrix was completed after Caesar's assassination by Roman senators, which included lavish games in reference to Caesar's original dedication to the Forum. The Temple contained an important collection of statues, paintings and engravings. A gilded statue of Cleopatra VII was erected, setting a precedent for dedications to notable women in the precinct. Paintings in the forum included one of Medea, mythological Greek hero of Euripides' play Medea, as well as one of Ajax, mythological Greek hero of Sophocles' Ajax, done by Timomachus. Perhaps more personal to Caesar were six collections of engraved gems. These surpassed in number the collection of Mithridates dedicated by Caesar's rival Pompey. It is not known where or how Caesar obtained these six collections.
The forum is destroyed in the fire of 80, under Titus, fire that also affected the Roman Forum. Towards 85, begin the work of construction of the Transitorium but the forum of Caesar is not restored before 95 and the beginning of the works of excavation of ensellement between the Capitol and the Quirinal. The temple of Venus Genitrix, touched during the excavation work, is entirely rebuilt and inaugurated again on May 12, 113, the same day as Trajan's column.
Since 1999, new excavations carried out by archaeologists Anna de Santis and Paola Catalano have been undertaken in the area and have uncovered tombs dating from the tenth century BC, five between July 1999 and April 2006 and a new one in May 2006.
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