Necropoleis and Tombs
Commonly, as many roman cities, the tombs used to be outside the city, in the
vicinity roads or in the access to the city. Nowadays we don’t know exactly where they were buried in Republic Period. It is supposed they were buried in the southern part of the city, between the Guadalquivir River and the wall. But we don't knows exactly as there are no rests, because the city expands to the south at the time of Augustus, now historical center of the city, and that makes greatly complicating the chances of finding remains of importance.
At the times of Augustus a period of "monumentalization" began in the city. The access of the city became in authentic burial roads where the importance of funerary buildings stand out in the vicinity of them. The result is a remarkable visual and ideological place, which makes clear the value of memory in the roman world.
However, recent excavations show the coexistence of these areas with "harmful" activity centers, as landfill or foundries, naturally, it was better to keep them outside.
The first example, that there are remains, is the Large Tomb Almodovar Old Path in the thirties of the last century by archaeologist Enrique Romero de Torres (father of the famous painter Julio Romero de Torres). It was in a way characterized by the sepulchral architectural riches of their tombs. It is a room made in opus quadratum, of four meters on each side and covered by a barrel vault and a roman arch covers the entrance. It is believed that the tomb could be topped by a monument.
Similar is the Funeral Monument La Bodega Street No. 13. It
is done with stones, and it is covered by a barrel vault and you can enter through a roman arch. On the right there is a little mantelpiece and inside the rests were kept all together with the body and his belongings: a mirror or an ash vase. In the background, a small wall space reserved for a burial, in other words, we have two forms of burial, cremation and burial in a tomb, something usual in the early years of the Empire, as they say archaeologists.
The third example was found in the Palace of La Merced, in the excavation made for adaptation the building to the Provincial Council of
Córdoba. It was the Monumental Tomb of the Palace of La Merced. It is thought it was the tomb of Marcus Aerarius Telemacus a doctor of the Societies Aerariorum, this was a society dedied to the copper in the north woodland, Sierra Morena. This person must have been an important person due to the proximity of the tomb to North Gate of the city.
The other Funerary Monuments of Galician Door are without any doubt the most interesting examples ever known. For this reason we have decided to dedicate a section about "The Monuments" in this web.
Text: J.A.S.C.
Traslated by Sara Moretti
Art, Culture and Tourism in Cordoba