Ancient site · Italy · Restored

Pyramid of Cestius

Piramide Cestia

The Pyramid of Cestius is an ancient Roman tomb in Rome built for Gaius Cestius. It is a steep-pointed, marble-clad pyramid standing beside the city walls near the Porta San Paolo. The interior contains a small barrel-vaulted burial chamber decorated with frescoes.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

11 BC

Its prime

12 BC

Today

Restored

As it stood in 12 BC

What Pyramid of Cestius looked like in its prime.

A sharply pointed, square-based pyramid clad in pale white marble slabs with visible horizontal joints, rising to about 37 m on a low travertine plinth. Each broad face is smooth and planar, bearing incised dedicatory lettering near eye level; the apex is narrow and acute. At its prime it stood isolated on flat funerary ground within a low-walled enclosure, flanked by statue plinths and columns, the pale stone contrasting with open sky.

Step inside

6 places to explore in 12 BC.

The record describes 6 distinct spots at Pyramid of Cestius, including 1 interior: burial chamber (barrel-vaulted interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Approach from the fork of the Via OstiensisFull elevation showing pointed silhouetteNorthwestern face with dedicatory inscriptionSoutheastern face with construction inscriptionLow-walled funerary enclosure with statues and columnsBurial chamber (barrel-vaulted interior)

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