Among the monuments along the route of the so-called _clivio Palatino_, there is a large cement podium immediately west of the western pillar of the arch of Domitian. The podium remains measure 24 m at the front and 47 m along the sides. The short side faces east towards the clivio Palatino. The podium was broken into six large segments, of varying sizes and appearance, emerging above ground level at different heights. The very bad state of preservation is due to the presence of deep cavity below, discovered by P. Rosa during his excavations. The cavities have caused the subsidence of the structure above, leading to the opening of large cracks in its nucleus. The cement podium was excavated in 1866 by P. Rosa. Based on his interpretation of the sources he thought he would uncover the remains of the temple of Jupiter Stator. The excavation was difficult as the monument lay under over 9 m of earth. According to Rosa, the rear of the podium rested on the tufa of the hill, whilst at the centre at foundation level, tufa blocks were found, some bearing the inscription “Pilocrate/Diocle\". Lastly, Rosa’s excavation led to the discovery of other monumental structures in the area, including a large _opus caementicium_ structure situated immediately west of the podium and extending both to the north-south and towards the Neronian cryptoporticus of the _domus_ Tiberiana. Rosa’s investigations were followed by those of G. Boni in 1918. Boni excavated the west pillar of the arch of Domitian. However, he interpreted the remains uncovered by Rosa not as belonging to a temple but rather to the \"Turris Iniquitatis\", a medieval fortification. The merit for the reopening of the discussion in this regard goes to F. Castagnoli, who in 1964 suggested that the cement nucleus, dating to the early imperial period, was the temple of Victory. Subsequently, in an important study in 1987, M. Torelli suggested that the podium was what remained of the _aedes Iovis in Palatio_, known by the epithet of _Victor_ in the _Cataloghi Regionari_. Coarelli’s hypothesis is similar but with the some differences: in his opinion the temple podium is that of _Iuppiter Invictus_ and not of _Iuppiter Victor_. Lastly, Tomei’s theory, based on the reconstruction of the Palatine’s topography, partially debates the traditional positions. On the basis of the above, a series of investigations were undertaken in October-November 2009 with the aim of revising the known data, excavating, checking the condition of the preserved walls, with a view to their restoration and the recovery of the monument and adjacent sectors. This preliminary study will be followed by more specific field work, with the opening of new excavation areas.

The new archaeological investigations on the so-called temple of _Iuppiter Invictus_ on the _clivus Palatinus_, concentrated on the area west of the temple podium and, in two sectors a short distance from it. The trench along the western side of the podium revealed interventions post-dating P. Rosa’s excavations which began in 1866. At the centre of the area being investigated a large circular pit with a diameter of 1.30 m emerged, which had been filled with ancient (marble mouldings, lumps of mosaic) and modern (bricks, wall tiles, plastic, fragments of perforated bricks) material, as well as marble and tufa chippings and stones. During the removal of the fill a large block of tufa was found incorporated into the cement of the podium, at a depth of 1.40 m below the floor level. The block was squared and present housings for tenons. The block rested on another cement layer, and had clearly been reused as the side with the tenon housings was visible instead of being on the top so as to be able to interlock with the next block. At a short distance from the block a small access (a narrow opening 30 cm in diameter) to a cavity below the podium was identified. The cavity had not been documented previously. The photographs taken inside the cavity showed how the stone quarry had been filled with a great quantity of earth and that this continued to the east, below the podium itself, whilst to the west the structure rested on natural. Further excavation was undertaken at circa 25 m west of the temple around a large parallelepiped block of cement conglomerate made up of alternating bands of basalt, brick and travertine, resting on a large platform of tufa chippings. The block was leaning to the east, in the direction of another tufa quarry situated at a short distance away. The west side presented a brick stamp incorporated into the wall which read: [---]P(?)R AVRELI C(?)[---], or [EX] PR(AEDIS) AVRELI C[AES(ARIS)] The text can be interpreted in two ways: CIL XV 401 and CIL XV 719; both are stamps of _Marcus Aurelius_ and _Faustina_, datable to between 155 and 161 A.D., before the death of _Antoninus Pius_. The final intervention involved the sector to the south of the temple in the direction of the _Domus Flavia_. In a section of the new trench a moderate quantity of basoli from road paving were intercepted suggesting the existence of a road passing in front of the Romulean Walls already excavated by Rosa in 1867 and which ran along this part of the hill. This hypothesis will have to be tested by the continuation of excavations in the future.

La zona, già indagata da Rosa a partire dal 1866, aveva il fine di localizzare le vie di accesso alla sommità del colle ed individuare gli elementi fondamentali della topografia dell’area. Gli scavi di Rosa misero in luce una sporgenza ritenuta un bastione, seguito a breve distanza da una apertura larga ca. m. 4, in cui viene individuata la Porta Mugonia o Porta Vetus Palati, e di un muro che correva in senso sud – nord/ovest riconosciuto come un tratto delle mura romulee. Degli scavi condotti nella zona non abbiamo una documentazione grafica e fotografica soddisfacente, né è facile oggi effettuare verifiche. Per questa zona purtroppo manca anche una pubblicazione degli estesi scavi che G. Boni condusse al di sotto della Domus Flavia, rimettendo in luce l’intermonzio che divideva le due colline. È certo che il palazzo Flavio fu costruito su una larga spianata artificiale ottenuta riempiendo completamente l’intermonzio, ma è probabile che già Nerone con la Domus Transitoria avesse avviato delle trasformazioni. La campagna di scavo ha permesso di riaccendere l’attenzione su una zona dimenticata da molti anni, e di riprendere il dibattito sull’effettiva ubicazione della Porta Mugonia e del percorso della Roma Quadrata. La zona d’indagine presenta problematiche connesse con la sistemazione dell’area avvenuta nel dopoguerra. Il terreno asportato non ha restituito una stratigrafia antica, in quanto una buona parte del materiale rinvenuto era di epoca più che moderna. Sono riemerse alcune strutture di notevole interesse, sicuramente viste anche dal Boni agli inizi del ‘900, consistenti in un muro nel quale sono state identificate tre diverse fasi: il muro di prima fase, con orientamento est – ovest divergente rispetto alla Domus Flavia, composto da un conglomerato in cementizio con frammenti di mattoni e tegole, presenta una cortina laterizia la quale è stata coperta nella seconda fase da un ambiente voltato, del quale si conserva solo l’imposta della volta ed una coeva cortina laterizia nella parte inferiore. L’ultima fase è caratterizzata da un piccolo muro costituito da frammenti di tufo allettati su un piano di laterizi e bipedali che copre per ¾ la lunghezza del muro di prima fase. A ca. m. 1.20 ad est si trovano tre grossi blocchi squadrati in tufo di Aniene orientati allo steso modo della prima fase del muro adiacente. La scoperta, avvenuta a ridosso della fine della campagna di scavo non ha reso possibile indagare ulteriormente, per tanto è indispensabile la prosecuzione delle indagini nel settore. Purtroppo non è stato possibile in questa campagna di scavo raggiungere i livelli indagati da Rosa (si trovano a ca. m. 4 di profondità dal piano di calpestio attuale), ma si sono evidenziate strutture delle quali gli scavi precedenti non avevano dato notizia alcuna. Anche per questo è indispensabile proseguire le indagini nel settore per dare completezza e veridicità a quello che era stato visto oramai 145 anni orsono.