Editing Trajan's Column (section)

==Setting==
{{See also|Trajan's Forum}}
[[File:Trajan's column dupondius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Two examples of [[Dupondius]] struck 114–116 AD, showing Trajan's column with the original statue on top and his portrait]]

Today, Trajan's Column is the most prominent architectural feature of Trajan's Forum, left nearly intact but now isolated from its original setting. The column was placed toward the northernmost point of the forum, acting as the focal point of the entire forum complex. It was surrounded on three sides by two flanking libraries and the Basilica Ulpia. The two libraries to the northeast and southwest of the column were for the study of scrolls written in Latin and in Greek.<ref>Hungerford Pollen, John. A Description of the Trajan Column. George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode. Queen Victoria, London. 1874.</ref> These libraries were built in tandem with the column.{{sfn|Lancaster|1999}} They apparently included upper level viewing platforms for two sides of the column.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} By having an elevated vantage point, the figures of the scenes, carved in shallow relief and detailed with paint and metal fittings, could be seen more closely (nevertheless it remained impossible for the ancient viewer to follow sequentially the continuous spiral of the reliefs). The problem with visibility of the upper areas is further apparent when we compare Trajan's Column to the [[Column of Marcus Aurelius]]. The figures in the later Column of Marcus Aurelius are more deeply cut and even simplified over the height of the shaft because there were no surrounding buildings to serve as viewing platforms. The different carving style seems to have been adopted to enhance visibility.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

The two libraries flanking the column helped to further the emperor's program of propaganda. In addition to serving as viewing platforms for the column, they housed valuable works of literature for the people of Rome. Surely one important text kept here was Trajan's own account of the Dacian Wars, now lost. The reliefs on the column documenting the Dacian campaigns would have provided a vivid complement to Trajan's account of the wars. The people of Rome were reminded of his victories every time they enjoyed the open space and amenities of the forum.<ref name="Packer, James E 1998">{{cite journal |last=Packer |first=James E. |date=1998 |title=Trajan's Glorious Forum |journal=Archaeology |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=32–41}}</ref> The combination of the column and the magnificent buildings that surrounded it would have created an awe-inspiring spectacle.