CHAPTER L

_POMPEIAN BURIAL PLACES.--THE STREET OF TOMBS_

The tombs of Pompeii, like those of Rome, were placed in close array along the sides of the roads that led from the city gates. Only a few have been uncovered; how many still lie concealed under the mantle of volcanic debris that rests upon the plain, no one has yet ventured to conjecture. The tombstone of a magistrate of one of the suburbs was found at Scafati, a mile and a half east of the ancient town; and others have been brought to light on the east, south, and west sides. The most interesting and best known tombs are those of the Street of Tombs, in front of the Herculaneum Gate; but important remains have been found also near the Stabian and Nocera gates, and burial places of a humbler sort lie along the city wall near the Nola Gate.

Most of the tombs thus far excavated belong to the Early Empire, having been built between the reign of Augustus and 79 A.D. Two or three date from the end of the Republic; and a small corner of an Oscan cemetery has been uncovered on the northwest side of the city. Remains of skeletons were found only in the Oscan graves; the Roman burial places were all arranged with reference to the practice of cremation, the ashes being deposited in urns.

The tombs present so great a variety of form and construction that it is impossible to classify them in a summary way, or to dismiss them with the presentation of two or three typical examples. The character of the monument varied not merely according to the taste and means, but also according to the point of view or religious feeling of the builder. Some deemed it more fitting that the ashes of the dead should be covered over with earth; others preferred to place them in a conspicuous tomb that would please the eye and impress the imagination of the beholder. To many the matter of paramount importance seemed to be the provision for the worship of the dead, the arrangement of the tomb so that offerings could easily be made to the ashes. Others still desired to have the sepulchre convenient for the living, who at times would gather there, and tarry near the resting place of the departed. And there were not a few who attempted, in the construction of a monument, to accomplish at the same time several of these ends. The architectural designs were suggested by the form of an altar, a temple, a niche, a commemorative arch, or a semicircular bench, _schola_.

On account of this diversity of aim and of type, it will be most convenient to study the tombs in topographical groups, commencing with those at the northwest corner of the city.

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The highway that passes under the Herculaneum Gate runs almost directly west, descending with a gentle grade. Above it on the north side is the ridge formed by the stream of lava on the end of which the city lay; here, before the eruption, were sightly villas. Below, to the south, was the sea, not so far away as now, over the shimmering surface of which the traveller, as he rode along, could catch charming glimpses of the heights above Sorrento and of Capri. A short distance from the gate on the left, a branch road, which for convenience we may call the Bay Road, led directly to the sea. Another branch, on the right, followed the direction of the city wall; further from the gate on the same side, a third, which may be designated as the Vesuvius Road, ran off from the highway in the direction of the mountain. The highway itself, so far as excavated, has been named the Street of Tombs.

The tombs that have been uncovered here are distributed in four groups. The first, on the left side, extends from the gate to the Bay Road; it comprises Nos. 1-4a on Plan V. The second, on the right (Nos. 1-9), includes the tombs between the gate and the beginning of the Vesuvius Road. The third group, on the left, lies between the ruins of the villa to which the name of Cicero has been attached and the villa of Diomedes; the tombs are numbered on the plan 16-23. The monuments of the fourth group occupy the tongue of ground at the right between the highway and the Vesuvius Road (33-43). The outer parts of the two villas by which the continuity of the series of tombs on both sides is interrupted, appear to have been used as inns; along the street in front of each there was a colonnade supported by pillars, behind which were small rooms opening toward the street.

At the further end of the villa on the right (10-29) is the potter's workshop (29-30), mentioned in a previous chapter (p. 386). Beyond this are the Oscan graves (31-32), several of which have been explored. In them were found rough stone coffins, made of slabs and fragments of limestone, containing remains of skeletons together with small painted vases, of the sort manufactured in Campania in the third and second centuries B.C. Two coins were found, in separate graves, with Oscan legends that have not yet been deciphered; apparently they were from Nola. The burial places lie close together, and evidently belong to a cemetery for people of humble station; there are no headstones to mark the graves. This is the only place at Pompeii in which painted vases have been found.

A narrow strip of land on each side of the road belonged to the city, and burial lots therein were granted by the municipal council to citizens who had rendered public service. Others, however, might obtain lots by purchase; private ownership may be assumed unless the gift of the city is indicated in the inscription. The location of several tombs--1, 3, 4, 6 on the right, 3 on the left--shows that the direction of the street near the gate was changed after sepulchral monuments had begun to be erected.

An interesting inscription referring to the municipal ownership of land was found at the further corner of the Bay Road: _Ex auctoritate imp. Caesaris Vespasiani Aug. loca publica a privatis possessa T. Suedius Clemens tribunus causis cognitis et mensuris factis rei publicae Pompeianorum restituit_,--'By virtue of authority conferred upon him by the Emperor Vespasian Caesar Augustus, Titus Suedius Clemens, tribune, having investigated the facts and taken measurements, restored to the city of Pompeii plots of ground belonging to it which were in the possession of private individuals.'

To judge from the location of the inscription, the land which the military tribune sent as commissioner by Vespasian gave back to the city, must have been at the sides of the Bay Road. A marble statue of a man dressed in a toga and holding a scroll in his hand, was found near by. It was probably a portrait of Suedius Clemens, and may have stood in a niche in the villa of Cicero.

There is an implied reference to the Bay Road also in another inscription which was found out of its proper place, in the court of the adjoining inn: THERMAE . M . CRASSI . FRVGI . AQVA . MARINA . ET . BALN . AQVA . DVLCI . IANVARIVS . L--'Bathing establishment of Marcus Crassus Frugi. Warm sea baths and freshwater baths. (Superintendent) the freedman Januarius.' We learn from Pliny the Elder that M. Licinius Crassus Frugi, who was consul in 64 A.D., and was afterwards (in 68) put to death by Nero, owned a hot spring which gushed up out of the sea. This spring, then, was at Pompeii, and was utilized for baths. The inscription is at the same time an advertisement and a sign directing people down the Bay Road to the bath house.

A general view of the Street of Tombs is given in Plate X. It is taken from the high ground beyond the fourth group, as one looks toward the Herculaneum Gate. The rugged mass of Monte Sant' Angelo looms up in the distance; at the right the trees skirting the edge of the excavations form an effective background. The beauty of the surroundings, especially on a summer morning, the associations of the street, its deserted appearance, and the unbroken, oppressive stillness give rise to mingled feelings of pleasure and sadness in the visitor.

We commence our survey with the first group of tombs at the left as one passes out from the Herculaneum Gate. Close by the gate is the tomb of Cerrinius Restitutus (1 on the plan, left side). It is simply a low vaulted niche, having seats at the sides. Against the rear wall stood a marble tombstone, with a place for a carved portrait; in front of it was a small altar under which doubtless was placed the urn containing the ashes. Both altar and tombstone (now in the Naples Museum) have the inscription: _M. Cerrinius Restitutus, Augustalis, loc. d. d. d._ (for _locus datus decurionum decreto_),--'Marcus Cerrinius Restitutus, member of the brotherhood of Augustus. Place of burial granted by vote of the city council.' The tomb here was designed as a structure to which relatives might repair on anniversary days in order to make offerings to the dead.

The remains of the other tombs in the first group are shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 236). We notice first two large semicircular benches. That at the left (2 on the plan) marks the resting-place of Veius. It is of tufa, and nearly twenty feet wide at the front. The ends are modelled to represent winged lion's paws, the carving of which is full of vigor and may be compared with that of the lion's paws in the Small Theatre (Fig. 70). The statue that once stood at the rear, on a high pedestal, has disappeared, but the inscription remains: _A. Veio M. f. II vir. i. d. iter. quinq. trib. milit. ab populo ex d. d._,--'To the memory of Aulus Veius, son of Marcus, twice duumvir with judiciary authority, quinquennial duumvir, military tribune by the choice of the people. (Erected) by order of the city council.' The city not only gave a burial place, but built the tomb as well. The cinerary urn was probably placed in the earth in the narrow unwalled space behind the bench.

This monument was intended at the same time to do honor to the dead and render service to the living. Here, on feast days of the dead, relatives could gather and partake of a commemorative meal; but at all times the inviting seat and conspicuous statue served to maintain that friendly relation with the living, the desire for which so often finds expression in Roman epitaphs. The portrait and inscription made it seem as if Veius himself offered a friendly greeting to those that passed by, and was greeted by them in turn as they looked upon his face and read his name.

The other bench (4) was evidently built by the heirs of a priestess, Mamia, upon a lot given by the city. The inscription appears in large letters on the back of the seat: _Mamiae P. f. sacerdoti publicae; locus sepultur[ae] datus decurionum decreto_,--'To the memory of Mamia, daughter of Publius Mamius, priestess of the city. Place of burial granted by order of the municipal council.' In this instance, also, the cinerary urn was probably buried in the earth behind the bench. A certain delicacy in the modelling of the lion's paws seems to indicate for this monument a somewhat later date than that of the monument to Veius,--possibly the end of the reign of Augustus, or the reign of Tiberius. The date of erection is not given in the case of any Pompeian tomb.

Between the two benches we see a lava base and the core of a superstructure; they belong to the tomb of Marcus Porcius. The name is known from a boundary inscription which appears on two small blocks of lava at the corners of the lot in front: _M. Porci M. f. ex dec. decret. in frontem ped. xxv, in agrum ped. xxv_,--'(Lot) of Marcus Porcius son of Marcus, granted by order of the city council; twenty-five feet front, twenty-five feet deep.'

This Porcius may have been one of the builders of the Small Theatre and the Amphitheatre, or a son of that Porcius, whose name appears on the altar of the temple of Apollo. The tomb was in the form of an altar; the terminal volutes at the top, of travertine, have been preserved. The sides were of tufa blocks, which may have been carried off for building purposes after the tomb was damaged by the earthquake of 63. The interior was made hollow to save expense; there was no sepulchral chamber, the ashes being placed in the earth under the monument. This tomb is the oldest of the group.

The conspicuous monument of the (4_a_) stands behind the tombs of Mamia and Porcius, at the left of the Bay Road. It is raised upon a narrow terrace, enclosed by a balustrade of masonry, and has the appearance of a temple, with half-columns at the sides. The remains of the lower story alone are seen in Fig. 236; above this was a circular structure formed by columns supporting a roof, under which were placed statues of members of the family (Fig. 237). The lower story contains a sepulchral chamber, entered by a door at the rear; in the middle of the chamber is a massive pillar reaching to the vaulted ceiling. The decoration of the room is simple, of the third style. On one side is a large niche, for two urns, those of the head of the family and his wife; the other three sides contain ten smaller niches.

The principal inscription of the tomb has not been found, but a number of names are preserved on the commemorative stones set up in the plot of ground about it. These stones are of a peculiar type, met with elsewhere only at Capua and Sorrento; we shall call them bust stones. The outline resembles that of a human head and neck terminating below in a pillar, but the front was left smooth, and an inscription was cut or painted on the bust. Difference of sex was indicated by the treatment of the hair; an example maybe seen in Fig. 240. The bust stones of men are generally larger than those of women; those of children are still smaller, the size perhaps varying with the age.

The bust stones here may refer to those whose ashes were deposited in urns in the tomb, or to others whose urns were buried in the plot of ground in which it stands. From them we learn that the head of the family was Numerius Istacidius, and that he had a daughter, Istacidia Rufilla, who was a priestess. Representatives of two other families, the Melissaei and the Buccii, are named on similar stones found in a plot connected with that of the Istacidii at the rear. The three families were perhaps closely connected by intermarriage. The bust stone of one of the Melissaei, Gnaeus Melissaeus Aper, duumvir in 3-4 A.D., stood in the same enclosure with those of the Istacidii.

Only one of the nine tombs in the second group (2) bears a name. In the case of two (3 and 4) the superstructure has completely disappeared, leaving only the lava bases in place. Another (5) has not been excavated; the front of the burial lot has been cleared, but the monument, lying further back, is still covered.

The first tomb lies in the angle between the highway and the branch road along the wall, which was evidently laid out after the monument was erected. It has the form of an altar, and must have resembled in appearance the tomb of Porcius on the opposite side of the street. Here, however, there is a sepulchral chamber in the base, entered by a low, narrow passage, which was closed until 1887 by a block of stone. In corners of this chamber two cinerary urns, in lead cases, were found covered with earth and with the remains of a funeral pyre--bits of wood and iron nails used in building the pyre, together with pieces of a richly carved ivory casket and broken perfume vials of terra cotta. Among the fragments of bone in each urn was a coin of Augustus. Though the ashes of the dead were here placed in a burial vault, it was nevertheless considered important to cover them with earth. It was not thought necessary, however, to leave the vault accessible for the performance of sacred rites in honor of the dead; the entrance, securely closed, was only to be unsealed for the admission of new urns.

The next tomb (2) is of an entirely different type from any of those previously described. It is an unroofed enclosure, entered by a door at one end. As we learn from the inscription, it was built in honor of Terentius Felix by his widow, the city furnishing the burial lot and a contribution of two thousand sesterces (about $90) toward the expense: _T. Terentio T. f. Men. Felici maiori aedil[i]; huic publice locus datus et [=HS] [M] [M]. Fabia Probi f. Sabina uxor_,--'To the memory of Titus Terentius Felix the Elder, son of Titus, of the tribe Menenia, aedile. The place of burial was given by the city, with two thousand sesterces. His wife, Fabia Sabina, daughter of Fabius Probus (built this monument).' Pompeians who were Roman citizens were enrolled in the tribe Menenia.

The cinerary urn of Felix was of glass. It was protected by a lead case and placed in an earthen jar, which was buried in the earth under a small altar or table of masonry against the wall on the left as one enters. Here also was a tombstone, with the inscription, 'To the elder Terentius'; he probably left a son with the same name. In the urn, or near it, were found two coins, one of Augustus, the other of Claudius, deposited to pay the fare of Charon. The right side of the enclosure was set off by a low wall; here several urns belonging to other members of the household were buried. Shells of oysters and other shellfish were found in the main room, remains of a banquet in honor of the dead; the libations were poured upon the earth above the urns. The plan of this tomb closely resembles that of the enclosure in front of the Doric temple in the Forum Triangulare (p. 139).

Of the remaining tombs of the second group, two are prominent, and may readily be distinguished in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 238), the so-called Garland tomb (6 on the plan), and the roofed semicircular niche at the end (9). The Garland tomb has the shape of a temple, with pilasters instead of columns, between which hang festoons of leaves and flowers. It is solid; the cinerary urn was probably placed underneath. The form of the second story cannot be determined. The material is tufa, coated with white stucco, and the monument is one of the oldest in the series, dating from the end of the Republic.

Adjoining the Garland tomb is a simple sepulchral enclosure (7) with an entrance from the street. Between this and the roofed niche we see in Fig. 238 the limestone base of a tomb, like those seen in Plate X, at the right; the altar-shaped superstructure has disappeared (8). This is called the tomb of the Blue Glass Vase. The base contains a sepulchral chamber, entered by a door at the rear. Here three urns, two of glass and one of terra cotta, were found, standing in niches. On the floor were several statuettes, a couple of small figures of animals, and a mask with a Phrygian cap,--all of terra cotta.

In beauty of material, harmony of design, and skill of workmanship, one of the glass urns, which gave the name to the tomb and is now preserved in the Naples Museum, ranks with the finest examples of its class in the world. Among specimens of ancient glass it stands second only to the famous Portland vase in the British Museum, which was found in a tomb near Rome. The urn has the form of an amphora; the support seen at the bottom (Fig. 239) is modern. It is decorated with reliefs cut in a layer of pure white on a background of dark blue. Near the bottom is a narrow band, showing goats and sheep in pasture. Resting on this are two bacchic masks, on opposite sides of the vase; vines laden with clusters rise in graceful arabesques above the masks, dividing the body of the vase into two fields, which present scenes from the vintage.

One of these scenes is reproduced in Fig. 239. The vintage is interpreted as a festival of Bacchus. Above is a festoon of fruits and flowers. At the sides are two boys on elevated seats, one playing the double flute, the other holding a Pan's pipe in his hands, ready to take his turn; the grapes are gathered and pressed to an accompaniment of Bacchic airs, the two players following each other with alternate strains. A third boy, treading the grapes in a round vat, shakes the thyrsus in honor of the Wine-god, while a companion empties in fresh bunches. The scene is full of action; no reproduction can do justice to the delicacy and finish of the original.

A bench of masonry runs along the inner wall of the semicircular niche (9), which is covered by a roof in the form of a half dome and opens upon the street as do the large unroofed monuments of Veius and Mamia. A blank marble tablet was placed in the gable; the builder of the monument, who was doubtless living at the time of the eruption, preferred to leave it to his heirs to add the memorial inscription, but the disaster interfered with the fulfilment of his wishes. It was probably intended to bury the cinerary urn either in the floor of the niche or in the ground at the rear. The effect of the double series of pilasters at the corners, placed one upon the other without an intervening entablature, and of the fantastic stucco decoration of the gable, is not unpleasing, although the designs are far from classical; the tiles shown in the illustration are modern. The inner wall is painted in red and black panels; the vaulted ceiling, from which the stucco has now fallen, was moulded to represent a shell.

Both the niche and the tomb of the Blue Glass Vase seem to have belonged to the adjoining villa. The stucco decoration of the villa in its main features is identical with that of the niche; and the plot of ground behind the tombs is connected by a gateway with a garden of the villa (12 on the plan), which was too richly adorned to have been intended for the use of the occupants of the inn. In the middle of the garden was a pavilion supported by four mosaic columns (now in the Naples Museum), similar to that in the garden of the villa of Diomedes, and to others belonging to city houses. A mosaic fountain niche was made in the rear wall facing the entrance from the street, and in two corners were short columns on which were placed small figures,--on one a boy with a hare, in marble, on the other a frog of glazed terra cotta.

Nevertheless, the garden seems to possess a distinctly sepulchral character. Besides the entrances from the tombs and from the street, there was a third, which led into a court of the villa, with which the peristyle and living rooms were connected by a passageway; in the corner of the court nearest the garden, and facing the entrance from the street (15), was an elaborate domestic shrine, dedicated, as shown by the symbolical decoration, to Apollo, Bacchus, Hercules, and Mercury. The relation of the garden with the living rooms of the villa was only indirect; and we conclude that it was intended for gatherings and sacred rites in honor of the dead. Relatives could partake of the sepulchral banquet under the pavilion.

The tombs of the third group, as may be seen from Plate X, form a stately series. The prevailing type is that which was in vogue at the time of the destruction of the city--a high base, with marble steps at the top leading up to a massive superstructure in the form of an altar, faced with marble. The burial plot was enclosed by a low wall. In the base of the tomb was a sepulchral chamber, entered by a door in the rear or at one side; it was now the custom for relatives to enter the burial vault when they wished to pour libations on the ashes.

The first of the series (16 on the plan, seen in Plate X next to the cypress) was unfinished at the time of the eruption. Part of the marble veneering had not yet been added, the walls of the sepulchral chamber were in the rough, and there were no urns in the five niches designed for their reception. In the burial plot surrounding the tomb, however, a marble bust stone was found (Fig. 240) with the inscription, _Iunoni Tyches Iuliae Augustae Vener[iae]_,--'To the Genius of Tyche, slave of Julia Augusta,--of the cult of Venus.'

The reference is plainly to a female slave of Livia, the wife of Augustus; how her ashes came to be deposited here it is not worth while, in default of information, to conjecture. In sepulchral inscriptions of women _Iunoni_ sometimes takes the place of _genio_ in men's epitaphs. Tyche was seemingly a member of a sisterhood for the worship of Venus, to which, as to the organization of the 'Servants of Mercury and Maia,' and of the 'Servants of Fortuna Augusta,' slaves were admitted.

The tomb of Umbricius Scaurus (17) is conspicuous by reason of its size and noteworthy on account of its decoration. The inscription on the front of the altar-shaped superstructure gives interesting details in regard to the man the memory of whom is here perpetuated: _A. Umbricio A. f. Men. Scauro, II vir i. d.; huic decuriones locum monum[ento] et [=HS] [M] [M] in funere et statuam equestr[em in f]oro ponendam censuerunt. Scaurus pater filio_,--'To the memory of Aulus Umbricius Scaurus son of Aulus, of the tribe Menenia, duumvir with judiciary authority. The city council voted the place for a monument to this man and two thousand sesterces toward the cost of the funeral; they voted also that an equestrian statue in his honor should be set up in the Forum. Scaurus the father to the memory of his son.'

Why these honors were conferred upon Scaurus, who probably became a duumvir early in life and died soon after his term of office, is not clear. The upper part of the base of the tomb in front was adorned with stucco reliefs--now for the most part gone--in which gladiatorial combats and a venatio were depicted; but a painted inscription along the edge of one of the scenes indicates that the show thus commemorated was given by another man, _N. Fistius Ampliatus; Munere [N. Fis]ti Ampliati die summo_. Perhaps the last two words mean that 'on the last day' the younger Scaurus, a relative or friend of Ampliatus, shared the cost of the exhibition under some such arrangement as that between Lucretius Valens and his son (p. 222). If this be the correct explanation, it is evident that Scaurus could have given no shows in the Amphitheatre during his duumvirate, else the father would have taken pains to mention the fact in the inscription. His term of office may have come after the year 59, when such exhibitions were prohibited at Pompeii for ten years (p. 220).

The gladiatorial scenes, if space permitted, would merit a detailed presentation--they are so full of human interest. Two gladiators are fighting on horseback, the rest on foot. The vanquished with uplifted thumbs are mutely begging for mercy. The plea of some of them is heeded by the populace; in other groups we see the victor preparing to give the death thrust. Beside each gladiator was painted his name, school, and number of previous combats, as in a programme; and letters were added to give the result of this fight. One combatant, who was beaten and yet by the vote of the audience permitted to live, died on the sand from his wounds. We see him resting on one knee, faint from loss of blood; the