An elaborate sculptured frieze of Pentelic marble decorated the entablature of the lower storey in the interior of the basilica, containing episodes from the legendary past of Rome, linking Aeneas and Romulus. Parts of this frieze have been meticulously reconstructed from small fragments, as can be seen in the above panel illustrating the building of a city wall (possibly Alba Longa) under the watchful gaze of a goddess. Women seem to have featured prominently in this frieze, to judge from surviving panels, including the Rape of the Sabine women (seen on this plaster cast). The largest reconstructed section links a dramatic depiction of the punishment of Tarpeia with a wedding scene, possibly that of Romulus and Hersilia, his bride, who successfully pleaded for reconciliation between the Romans and some disgruntled parents of the abducted women (Livy 1.11).
Scholars are still arguing over the dating of this frieze, but technical and stylistic evidence seems to point to the restoration financed by Julius Caesar from 55-34 BCE. However, it is significant that Augustus chose to retain this frieze in his restoration of 14 BCE. So an important question to consider is the meaning these episodes from Rome's legendary past may have held for the men who negotiated the transition from republic to empire.