The funerary monument – this is how celebrities were buried
The funerary monument gives an impression of the lengths the Romans went to when burying important personalities.
The huge monument is located right outside the town gate on the road to Vindonissa (Windisch near Brugg in Canton Aargau). The edifice is unique in this region. Whilst we do not know who was buried here, the size of the monument suggests that the person must have been very important.
The deceased was burnt on a funeral pyre together with amphorae full of wine, grain and cuts of meat. After the cremation the ashes were gathered up and buried along with two small perfume bottles in a wooden box. The funerary monument, a structure composed of several relieving arches covered by an earthen mound, was then built over the grave. The person, who had been around 35 to 40 years old at the time of death, was buried around AD 80.