This relief once showed a temple with a façade of ten columns – of which only five now remain – topped by Corinthian-order capitals with smooth leaves. A wall of the cella, constructed in large blocks, is discernible through the columns, with the left-hand shutter of a door open.
On the pediment is a representation of the legend of the Birth of Rome, with Rhea Silvia slumbering at the centre being surprised by the god Mars, of whom only the legs and spear grasped in his right hand survive.
To the left of the composition, the She-Wolf is suckling Romulus and Remus as two shepherds flee in fear, with to the far left a sheep and a ram. Two fragments of figures wearing togas are known to be part of this relief. One is from the Forum of Trajan and the other from the church of Santa Maria Antiqua. The decorative elements of the temple – the object of considerable conjecture regarding their identification – indicate that the relief dates from the reign of Trajan.