Mausoleum of Augustus

Mausoleum of Augustus

The Mausoleum was known to be the Augustus’s family tomb where many of his family Members and him self was buried there. However, apart being the Emperor’s Mausoleum, it never attained such reputation as it was seen as an advertising of Augustus’s governance, power, and wealth due to its luxurious structure made out of white marble and the promenade behind it. Tacitus mentioned the Mausoleum as “The Tomb of the Julians” which refers to the Julio-Claudian Emperors Tiberius and Claudies that died after Augustus. Suetonius accounted the funeralProcession of Augustus and illustrates its location within the Campus Martius between Via Flaminia and the mouth of the Tiber river portraying its central and significant setting.

The Inscription of Augustus’s achievements Res Gestae may seem somewhat narcissistic, however, Reading along the list of his accomplishment, one might wonder how he did it all. An intriguing Theory suggested that the Mausoleum was similar to that of Alexander the Great’s in Egypt. The main purpose of the building has always been as Augustus’s family tomb. Among those who passed away before the Emperor itself was his nephew Marcellus in 23 BC, his sister Octavia, The son in law Agrippa, and both of his adopted sons Lucius and Gaius. The Mausoleum has a dimension of 40-45 meters high with a 300 meters diameter and often compared to the size of Tomb of Mausolos in Halicarnassus. 

Augustus Tomb

Mausoleum of Augustus is known to be the largest tomb in the Ancient Roman world and it is declared as his early building projects during his sixth consulship in 28 BC. Strategically located within the sacred Field of Mars Otherwise known as the Campus Martius, the site went through several changes starting of the Middle Ages. Firstly it was converted into a fortress by the Colonna Family C15, it was then bought by the Soderini family in C16 and they built an ornate garden within the compound. However, in the C18 the area was used for bullfights before used for theatrical performances And as a circus in C19. Finally, during 1907-1935 it was reconstructed to be a massive concert Hall which could occupy 3500 people, namely ‘Augusteo.’ The original groundfloor was then Excavated in 1937 and the compound now is still going through stages of excavation, most of The concrete ruins and tufa remains are visible. 

We only managed to see the site from outside the tall big gate and the tomb was very much far away from where we were which was disappointing as I thought we were able to come inside. It was difficult to imagine what the structure would have been like though judging from the site That we visited alone, the tomb was very spacious and secluded thus giving the overall sense of Privacy which was perhaps the Emperor’s point of building such family tomb. We walked Around the block across Ara Pacis where the Mausoleum would have stood and I have to admit that Augustus picked a big enough spot for a family tomb.