I watched the khan academy video on Ara Pacis Augustae. Ara Pacis Augustae is an old altar made in Rome, commissioned by the Roman Senate on the 4th of July 13 B.C. .It stands for "Altar of Augustan Peace" and it commemorates the return of Augustus, the nephew of Julius Ceasar, to Rome. Parts of it had been discovered in the 1460s as well as the 1930s. It was a miracle as to how much of it was recovered and was restored. There are only a few missing fragments but they don't seem to have much of an impact on the meaning of what is carved on the altar.

         Ara Pacis Augustae is a square shaped altar with a opening on one side. It is made of marble and shows the new era of sculpture which is when Romans transitioned from clay to stone and marble. It has elaborate designs on the bottom half, showing off great craftsmanship and the top half telling a story. The most important reason this altar was made is to show that Augustus brought peace and prosperity to Rome. The bottom half has over 50 species of plants carved into it. This amazed the excavators, that how easy it was to tell what the plants were. Many thought it was to show how fertile Rome was in agriculture and in life. Many people also believe it was in color before but it faded away.

         Ara Pacis Augustae to this day stands in the museum of Ara Pacis or Museo dell'Ara Pacis in Rome.

LINK TO ARA PACIS IMAGE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_the_Ara_Pacis