The Tomb of Caecilia Metella (Tomba di Cecilia Metella), or the Mausoleum of Caecilia Metella (Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella), is an ancient Roman funerary monument located just outside Rome at the three mile marker of the Via Appia. It was built during the first century BCE to honor Caecilia Metella, who was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, a consul in 69 BCE, and the wife of Marcus Licinius Crassus who served under Julius Caesar and was the son of the famous triumvir with the same name, Marcus Licinius Crassus.
The tomb of Caecilia Metella was one of a large number of funerary monuments along the Via Appia Antica and was probably built in 30–10 BCE by her son who also had the same name, Marcus Licinius Crassus. The Tomb of Caecilia is one of the most well known and well preserved monuments along the Via Appia and a popular tourist site. Along with museum circuit of the Baths of Caracalla, Villa of the Quintilii the Tomb of Caecilia Metella is one of the most visited site in ancient Rome. Today it forms part of the medieval period (early 14th century CE) Castrum Caetani complex.
circa 30-10 BCE
Exterior
Located on top of a hill along the Via Appia, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella consists of a cylindrical drum, or rotunda, atop a square podium (inspect). The square podium stands at 8.3 meters tall with the cylindrical drum standing at 12 meters. The foundation of the Tomb of Caecilia Metella rests partially on tuff rock and partially on lava rock. The lava rock is part of an ancient lava flow from the Alban Hills that covered the area approximately 260,000 years ago. The core of the podium was cast in several layers of concrete, ranging from .7 to .85 meter thick. The thickness of each layer corresponds with the height of the travertine facing-blocks that surrounded the podium, as the travertine was used as a frame in order to help the concrete layers form. The monument in totality stands at a height of 21.7 meters tall. The diameter of the circular drum is 29.5 meters, equivalent to 100 Roman feet.
On the outside of the monument drum, an inscription (inspect) can be seen reading "CAECILIAE | Q·CRETICI·F | METELLAE·CRASSI,[6]" which means "To Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Creticus, [and wife] of Crassus". Further up the monument, decorations can be seen depicting festoons (inspect) and bucrania (inspect), heads of bulls, which were the inspiration for the area being named Capo Di Bove, meaning head of the bovine. At the top of the monument, medieval battlements can be seen from the time when the tomb was used as a fortress. The rotunda was built in this same fashion, travertine blocks on the outermost section with cement poured in the middle to give the concrete some structure and then covered in travertine revetment, most of which has been stripped away. The walls of the circular tower are 24 feet thick.
Decorations were very popular on funerary altars and votive offerings and the most famous example are identified in the frieze of carved ox skulls and festoons on the inside of the fence. Three types of bull heads can be distinguished: complete bovine head, skull of bull but still covered with skin, and a full skeletal skull. The inclusion of the naked skull is indicative of the termination of use of the complete bull skull and the skull with skin occurred around 30 BCE and the inclusion of the use of particular bull heads allows for an approximate date to be made, as bull heads seen on dated monuments can be compared. The bull heads and garlands indicate and verify the timing of the creation of the monument. During the time period, the Roman decoration of bull heads was shifting and thus the representation of particular bull heads approximate the date.
Originally the top of the monument would have been a cone-shaped earthen mound, as conical shapes were common with Roman rotundas, but the earthen mound has long been replaced by medieval battlements.
The Roman concrete was made up of semi-liquid mortar and aggregate, which consisted of broken pieces of stone or bricks. The aggregate is cobble-sized stone (the size of a fist). Mortar and concrete were alternated in the construction as the semi-liquid mortar would bind the stone pieces together. The mortar utilized the lava rock quarried from beneath the monument as an additive or substitute for sand in the concrete.
circa 30-10 BCE
Interior
The interior of the Tomb of Caecilia Metella can be separated into 4 sections: the cella, the upper and lower corridors, and the west compartment. The most important being the cella which was used for funerary purposes and for "housing" the dead. The cella is a tall, circular shaft rising all the way through the center of both the podium and the rotunda. The cella is about 6.6 meters in diameter at the bottom but tapers as it rises to a 5.6 meters diameter at the top. The top features an oculus allowing for light. Throughout the cella, there are over 143 cut outs, divided into 12 rows of 10–14, in the walls of the cella that were used as putlog holes in the creation of the monument. The upper corridors is believed to be the main entrance to the cella.
circa 30-10 BCE
Sarcophagus
A marble sarcophagus, currently located in the Palazzo Farnese, is believed by some to originate from the Tomb of Caecilia Metella. According to literary sources, the sarcophagus was discovered in the cella of the mausoleum and is said to have been there since before the construction of the Caetani Castle. However, there is no conclusive evidence to definitively link the sarcophagus to Caecilia Metella, and many historians argue that it likely does not belong to the monument. Instead, it is thought to have been found in the surrounding area of the mausoleum, rather than within its confines.
Recent studies of the sarcophagus, which suggest a dating between 180 and 190 CE, further cast doubt on its association with the tomb. At the time of Caecilia Metella's death, cremation was the predominant burial practice, and a funerary urn would have been more typical than a sarcophagus. Additionally, records from 1697 regarding the Farnese Collection note that the sarcophagus was cataloged without a specified provenience, indicating that even contemporaneous scholars were uncertain about the sarcophagus's connection to the tomb.
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