In 93 BC a fire destroyed a large part of the Capitol hill. The Senate entrusted Quintus Lutatius Catulus with its reconstruction. The first building to be rebuilt was the Tabularium, the archive of the Roman State. The reconstruction incorporated an older building, probably destroyed in the same fire, in which we can identify part of the ancient Treasury, connected to the nearby Temple of Saturn.

All of the city’s documents were conserved here, including the laws and treaties with foreign governments.

The building, with a trapezoidal plan, sits on an immense foundation, necessary to compensate for the irregular slope of the hill overlooking the Forum. The entrances to the building from the side of the Forum were located here. The upper floor is entirely occupied by a monumental way covered by twelve arches, whose lava floors were conserved for centuries. Along this street rose a second story which housed the actual Tabularium, decorated with a monumental façade with a columned arcade thirteen meters high.