Pyramid of Cestius historical timeline

An Egyptian-style tomb built to a deadline for a Roman magistrate, swallowed by a city wall, robbed in the Middle Ages and mistaken for the grave of Remus.

Chronology

1. 31 BC — after the conquest of Egypt by Octavian Augustus, following the death of Cleopatra, Roman funerary building begins to take inspiration from Egyptian models, giving rise to a real fashion.
2. 18–12 BC — the tomb of Caius Cestius — praetor, tribune of the plebs and member of the College of the Septemviri Epulones — is built along the via Ostiense, under an inscription stating that the work had to last at most 330 days, on pain of the family losing the inheritance.
3. 1st century BC — it is not the only pyramid in Rome: two stand where the twin churches of piazza del Popolo now are, and one along via della Conciliazione, known as the Meta Romuli.
4. 3rd century AD — four centuries after its construction, on the initiative of the emperor Aurelian, the pyramid is incorporated into the new circuit of walls.
5. Middle Ages — the first violation of the tomb probably takes place, through a tunnel dug on the northern side, causing the loss of the cinerary urn and of notable portions of the decoration.
6. 1499 — the Meta Romuli is demolished on the orders of Pope Alexander VI Borgia for the coming Jubilee; in that period the Pyramid of Cestius is wrongly identified as the Meta Remi, the tomb of Remus, twin brother of Romulus, until the inscription referring to Gaius Cestius Epulo sweeps away every doubt.
7. Recent years — a restoration and enhancement financed with PNRR funds makes the access staircase safe, reorders the garden botanically, renews the lighting and adds explanatory and welcome panels aimed at improving accessibility.

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