MAUSOLEUM OF LUCILIUS PETO – UNDERGROUND ROME TOUR

The “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto” was discovered in 1887 during some construction works. It was built in the first century BC on the “Via Salaria”, an ancient road that existed even before the Roman Empire. The “Via Salaria” was very important for the Roman Empire because it was one of the main roads for the trading and transport of salt, which gives the “Via Salaria” its name. This underground site, the “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto”, is part of a burial area on the “Via Salaria”, and it is located on the left side of the road, 500 meters (or 16,040 feet) from the “Aurelian Walls”. The “Aurelian Walls” were built by “Emperor Aurelium” during the third century to protect the city from outside invaders.

An inscription on a marble plaque on the main wall tells us that the mausoleum was built by “Lucilius Peto”, a wealthy member of the family “Gens Lucilia” and a “military tribune”, an officer of the army of Ancient Rome. Lucilius had the mausoleum built for his sister Lucilia Polla and for himself while he was still alive. The Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto underground Rome tour will show you the ancient tomb of a Roman general, so you can learn all about how the important citizens of the Roman Empire were buried after they died.

Visit the “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto” with this underground Rome tour, and see this ancient archaeological site. The tomb is of circular shape, with a diameter of about one hundred feet. The main part was made of “tuff”, a type of rock made of volcanic ash. “Tuff” was used very often by the ancient Romans because it is very lightweight and easy to work with. The “tuff” is covered in “travertine marble”, more suited to the tomb of a member of the Ancient Roman Nobility. The building was likely covered by a conical mound of earth, which could have been as high as fifty feet.

A rear entrance leads inside the mausoleum. Then, a corridor leads to the burial chamber: the burial chamber is in the shape of a cross, and it has three recesses where three funerary beds were located. The “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto” was filled in with dirt during the reign of “Emperor Trajan”, between the first and second centuries. The building was used again in the fourth century, when some other small tombs were put on the outside wall of the “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto”. These more recent tombs were unfortunately destroyed in the past. The “Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto” was unfortunately looted by grave robbers between the sixteenth and the seventeenth century, so many marble decorations are now missing.

The Mausoleum of Lucilius Peto underground tour will let you visit the ancient tomb of a General of the army of the Roman Empire. Come feel the atmosphere of ancient times on the “Via Salaria” and learn about ancient roman burial traditions.