Daily Updates
Week Eight: 7 November
7 November. Daniel Racic Reporting
Today was the first day or oral presentations of imperial monuments, and I was the lucky one to kick off the fun with a report on the mausolea of Augustus and Hadrian. The Mausoleum of Augustus was conceived by Augustus before the battle of Actium, and was occupied by 28 B.C. by Marcellus, the nephew of Augustus. The enormous tomb stretches 89 meters in diameter, and consists of five concentric circles. The floor plan below provides further details. The height of the building is unknown, with estimates ranging from 45-65 meters, depending on which reconstruction one favors. Two possible reconstructions are pictured below. The mausoleum was covered with a mound of dirt in the manner of an Etruscan tumulus, and in fact Augustus was probably attempting to draw a connection between himself and the Etruscans, in order to associate himself with an Italic ancestry. Augustus may also have been influenced by the tombs of ancient Trojan princes, the great Mausoleum of King Mausolus of Helicarnassus, or the tomb of Alexander the Great.
The Mausoleum of Augustus was constructed of tufa blocks and concrete, reinforced by travertine blocks (see picture below). A bronze statue of the emperor was placed on the top of the monument, and the Res Gestae, bronze tablets chronicling his deeds, achievements, offices, and honors adorned each side of the entryway to the tomb. The area was open to the public and decorated with lush gardens or laurel trees, which would have had connotations with Apollo, Julius Caesar, and victory. The mausoleum was used for many of the emperors, their kin, and their friends, and the final emperor to be buried here was Nerva in 98 A.D.
Next we continued on to the Mausoleum of Hadrian, completed in 139 A.D. by Antoninus Pius for the deceased emperor Hadrian and his wife. Construction had begun in the 120's, and Hadrian probably played a role in designing the monument and choosing its location. This mausoleum bears much resemblance to that of Augustus. It is composed of a number of drums, surrounded by a perimeter fence 89 meters long, making it exactly the same size as the tomb of Augustus, and tied with that monument as the largest mausoleum in the Roman world. This perimeter wall was finely decorated; the base faced with marble, the wall divided into panes of marble on the bottom and drafted masonry on the top. A cutaway (pictured below) reveals elements of the original wall, because almost all of the original work has been built over. A cornice and a frieze of garland and the heads of bulls decorated the top of the wall. Marble statues were placed on the top of the drum, as shown on the reconstruction overlay, and a bronze statue of Hadrian in a quadriga rested on top.
The interior possessed the many of the same elements as that of Augustus, although Hadrian's tomb had more levels, accessed by a circular ramp. The floor plan below reveals the interior plan in more depth. The mausoleum was used for most of the Antonine and Severan emperors; the last to be buried here was Caracalla in 217 A.D.
Following this presentation, as entertaining as it was, we were all a bit tired and hungry, so we took a lunch break before continuing with the next report: Briar's presentation of the Forum of Augustus.
Image of Exterior of Mausoleum of Augustus, reinforced with travertine.
Image of Mausoleum of Augustus.
Image of Wall of Mausoleum of Hadrian, revealing opus quadratum base with area for marble panes.
Plan of Mausoleum of Augustus, from Toynbee.
Plan of Mausoleum of Hadrian.
Reconstruction of Mausoleum of Augustus, from Claridge.
Reconstruction of Mausoleum of Hadrian, overlaid on image. Reconstruction from Claridge.