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Sepulchre of Largo Talamo in Rome: the funerary monument discovered in 1935
In 1935, following the route of the ancient Via Collatina, a funerary monument came to light in the vicinity of Viale San Lorenzo and Via dei Sardi. The sepulchre was later reconstructed at Largo Eduardo Talamo, where it still stands today. It is one of those pieces of ancient Rome that almost nobody seeks out on purpose, but that is well worth the detour.
A cylindrical drum
The original structure, entirely clad in travertine, consisted of a cylindrical drum resting on a square base measuring 5.90m per side and 2.70m in height. Over time, other funerary monuments were built against it, and additional structures erected on top. This was probably due to the gradual raising of the ground level. At the front there was a bench with lion-paw supports, and at the ends of the first course of travertine blocks the monument's size was given as per the Roman formula: fronte (width) XXXII, agrum (depth) XX. Only a few fragments of the drum survive, including a piece of frieze with acanthus scrolls.
Inside the chamber
The inner wall was built in opus reticulatum, plastered and painted with floral and geometric decorations. In the centre of the floor, a circular well collected water, covered by a travertine slab. The brick stamps recovered from the facing masonry date back to the age of Commodus (180–193), with another from the years 198–212 and a third from 205–212. The sepulchre dates to the first half of the 1st century AD, and was used up to the 3rd century.
