Mausoleum: Augustus

One of the few surviving Augustan monuments is the monumental tomb built by Octavian early in his reign for both his own burial as well as the interment of other members of gens Iulia and his notable friends (for a discussion of the burials, Macciocca). In 1934, the environs of the ancient structure were cleared of residential urban fabric as part of the creation of a Fascist architectural ensemble at Piazzale Augusto Imperatore. The archaeological excavations and primary architectural restorations were completed in 1938 (Gatti 1934, id. 1938). In antiquity, the location of the Mausoleum, immediately W of the *Via Flaminia, fell within the N limits of the *Campus Martius. Its colossal architectural form marked the N entrance to the marshland of the Campus, having been built at the mouth of the isthmus created between *Collis Hortulorum and the *Tiber. Strabo (5.3.8) describes the monument, ‘the so-called Mausoleum’ (τὸ Μαυσώλειον καλούμενον), as a great mound by the river on a lofty platform, topped by poplar trees (ἐπὶ κρηπῖδος ὑψηλῆς λευκολίθου πρὸς τῷ ποταμῷ χῶμα μέγα) and with ‘a large sacred grove’ (μέγα ἄλσος) and promenades behind it. Suetonius (Aug. 100.4) approves such an urban setting, and mentions the public groves and walks (silvas et ambulationes) around the Mausoleum, which were opened to the public by Augustus in 28 B.C. This formal public landscape probably encompassed the area from the modern Piazza del Popolo up to the pavements of the *“Horologium Augusti”, and spanned the wide stretch between the *Via Flaminia and the river (Rakob 687-88; von Hesberg 1994, 35-36; id., LTUR 234). These gardens held numerous altars (including the *Ara Pacis), aediculae and statues, as well as the *“Ustrinum Domus Augustae”. The precise construction dates for the Mausoleum are a matter of debate (Kraft, for a critical discussion of the historical controversy). According to Suetonius (loc. cit.), the building was already completed by 28 B.C., but perhaps only to a certain extent, since at the time of the first burial at the Mausoleum (that of Marcellus in 23 B.C.), the construction may not have been complete (Dio Cass. 53.30.5). Based on the stylistic criteria of the architectural details, especially the design of the Doric entablature, von Hesberg (1994, 47-48, 54-55; id., LTUR 235) argued that the construction must have started before 31 B.C., which concords with the earlier suggestion of Kraft. The recent study by von Hesberg (1994, figs. 1-3, 46-48) improved our understanding of the building’s overall design, which was known from Gatti’s earlier work (1938, figs. 1, 13 for reconstructed plan and elevation). A lofty travertine socle (diam. 89 m) formed a monumental base (krepis) for its tumulus, while the concentric wall around the burial chamber rose higher to form a cylindrical tower which held a second earthen mound and the statue of the emperor on the summit. Von Hesberg reconstructs a marble Doric entablature for the upper drum, punctuated by shield plates and a marble revetment for the lower socle, extending c. 20 m on each side of its main doorway (LTUR 235). The Res Gestae was posthumously inscribed on two bronze tablets and either ‘installed at the entrance of the Mausoleum’ (Suet., Aug. 101.4) or ‘engraved on two bronze pillars’ (RG, praef.). Von Hesberg reconstructs a 120 x 120 m travertine pavement around the Mausoleum (1994, 31-33, fig. 48). The basalt and caementicium foundations for the two red granite obelisks (Amm. Marc. 17.4.16) have been located by the recent coring and excavations adjacent to the drum on either side of the doorway, both c. 22 m from the center (Buchner). Based on the archaeological remains of a short-lived canal that ran from the base of the W obelisk to the Tiber, and which must have been used for the transport of the obelisks, it is now believed that they were raised during the lifetime of Augustus.