Velabrum

thumb|right|Plan showing the area of the Velabrum

The Velabrum () is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium, and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill. The outer boundaries of the area are not themselves clear. Roman etymologies of the name are confused, with attempts to connect it to the Latin words (conveyance) and (cloth): Varro, Propertius, and Tibullus claimed that it was the location of a ferry; Plutarch, however, claimed the name derived from the awnings placed over the Circus Maximus during games. The name may also translate to "place of mud".