From Whence and Wherefore Were the Trees? Some Critical Thoughts on the Ustrinum Domus Augustae
By Christopher Villeseche
Published Online (2012)
“Earth and heaven intersect at the pyre…” - Paul Rehak
Historical evidence suggests that Augustus Caesar, first Emperor of Rome, was a person who liked to plan ahead. His predilection for preparedness is perhaps most apparent when we consider the details pertaining to the end of his life. When he was a young man, even before he took on the responsibility or title of Augustus, the fledgling Emperor commissioned the construction of his own tomb and later on prepared “detailed instructions regarding his funeral.” Indeed, it would seem that the most powerful ruler in the Classical world spent much of his life pondering over the occurrence and implications of his own demise.
The first Imperial funeral was apparently a solemn, precedent-setting affair. The historians Suetonius and Cassius Dio describe funerary proceedings that began in the Forum and ended in the Mausoleum, both sites abundantly attested in the architectural topography of Rome. Yet it was at a venue somewhere between these locations that the procession stopped for the most dramatic and perhaps most meaningful part of the ceremony – the cremation of the deceased Emperor’s body.
Having been conveyed through the city “on the shoulders of senators,” the body was placed on a pyre inside of a unique crematory structure called an ustrinum in Latin. Various rites were performed around it and tokens of honour were heaped upon it and then the whole thing was set ablaze. At the peak of the ceremony an eagle was released, “appearing to bear his spirit to heaven.” The Emperor’s wife and distinguished associates remained inside the ustrinum for several days before carrying on with the concluding phase of the funeral.
While the histories present a fairly detailed account of events that took place in and around the ustrinum, there is preserved in the literary record only one passage that describes the structure itself. Just a few years after the death of Augustus, the travelling scholar Strabo published his work Geographica, in which are recorded observations of many places throughout the ancient world. In his notes on the Campus Martius the geographer gives particular consideration to the “most remarkable” Mausoleum of Augustus, and then turns his attention to a site located some unknown distance away, in some undetermined direction:
“… in the centre of the Campus is the wall (this too of white marble) round his crematorium; the wall is surrounded by a circular iron fence and the space within the wall is planted with black poplars.”
It seems that apart from this vague reference, every other memory or mention or material trace of the ustrinum simply faded into obscurity over millennia. However, ruins and artefacts uncovered in recent centuries have prompted scholars to consider more closely the possible location and layout of the nearly-forgotten structure. For the humble purposes of this casual assessment it will be necessary to consider scholarly interpretations of archaeological evidence but for the moment we will rely on the ancient sources and on our own plain reasoning to formulate an opinion. Before anything else, we must attempt to get oriented.
The ruins of the Mausoleum are located just a few hundred feet from the Tiber River at the north end of the Campus Martius. Where, then, in relation to this point, might be the location that Strabo considered “the centre of the Campus”? With due consideration given to the “marvellous” size and the rough boundaries of the area, we can reasonably surmise that the geographer was referring to a site somewhere to the south or southwest, near to the natural centre of the river-bounded plain. However, this is just a passing observation, an assertion of nothing more than likelihood; we are yet far from reaching any conclusions.
Regardless of the precise location of the ustrinum, close consideration allows us to deduce that in terms of physical dimensions it was quite large. Common sense and Cassius Dio both suggest that a pyre of considerable size was required to achieve successful cremation and/or sufficient dramatic effect. Beyond this was required room to accommodate the processional march round the pyre undertaken by priests and soldiers. How much further out, then, might have stood the trees and marble boundary? The interjection might be made that no fixed perimeter was erected around the pyre until sometime after the cremation ceremonies were completed. After all, it does seem somewhat counter-intuitive to suppose that the intended site of a large conflagration would have been enclosed with flammable foliage and delicate marble facing. However, if we reflect upon the simple mechanics involved in maintaining a good fire on a windy plain we realize that the surrounding barrier of solid stone and tall trees was likely an elementary expedient intended to facilitate and contain the long-burning blaze of a funeral pyre. Thus we may begin to imagine an ustrinum that appears more like a precinct or small park than a confined utilitarian structure.
So much we have gathered from our own reading of the ancient literary sources. Before moving on to consider the contributions of modern researchers and scholars, we will pause briefly to emphasize particular points about the black poplar trees. If, as we have suggested, the trees constituted a functional aspect of the ustrinum then it goes without saying that they were planted by order of Augustus himself at some time well before his death and cremation (the question of why he might have chosen black poplars is one that we have explored elsewhere). With these things established in our minds as reasonable and most likely true, we proceed to consider the matter in the light of scholarly purview.
Today, material evidence is the fulcrum for any discussion of Augustus’ crematorium. During the late 18th century, excavations undertaken just a few hundred feet to the east of the Mausoleum by one R. Venuti uncovered stone remains that were at once intriguing and suggestive. The ruins consisted of a small travertine-paved area on which were scattered a number of cippi inscribed with the names of Imperial family members; of six cippi, three bore an epitaph that read “here was burnt” while three others bore an epitaph that read “here was lain.” No evidence of wall footings was found.
On the basis of these finds, scholarly opinion about the long-missing ustrinum is divided. Among those who believe that the ruins represent the actual site of the first Emperor’s cremation is Dr. M. Boatwright; in her treatment of “problematic Roman ustrina,” she references the Venuti ruins as a model of practical crematory design. Among those who believe that the cremation site should be sought after elsewhere is the late Dr. P. Rehak; in his interesting work on the esoteric aspects of Augustan architecture, he notes that the Venuti ruins are “attractive” yet altogether inconsistent with the antecedent documentary evidence. Apparently neutral in the matter is Dr. D. Noy, whose informative article on ruined Roman cremations is highly germane to the matter under our consideration. Among other things he tells us that a disorganized or mismanaged cremation was a sure sign of poverty or shame; that the construction and maintenance of a funeral pyre was surely “a skilled task”; that it was important to safeguard against natural forces, such as wind. Altogether, what can we learn from these learned opinions?
In the end we can more confidently hold to our original understanding of the sources. We have found much to support and very little to refute our ideas about the location of the ustrinum, and we have posited an important point about the role of the tell-tale trees in the overall layout of the site. Indeed, in all that we’ve covered it seems clear that a proper cremation – one befitting a grand Imperial funeral – would have called for considerable preparation. And of course we know that Augustus Caesar, first Emperor of Rome, was a person who liked to plan ahead.
Works Cited
Boatwright, Mary T. “The ‘Ara Ditis-Ustrinum of Hadrian’ in the Western Campus Martius and other Problematic Roman Ustrina.” American Journal of Archaeology 83.3 (1985): 485-497. JSTOR. Web.
Noy, David. “‘Half-Burnt on an Emergency Pyre’: Roman Cremations Which Went Wrong.” Greece & Rome, Second Series 47.2 (2000): 186-196. JSTOR. Web.
Platner, Samuel B., Thomas Ashby. “A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.” Perseus Digital Library. From 1987, ongoing. Web.
Rehak, Paul. Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the Northern Campus Martius. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. Print.
Strabo, trans. Hamilton, H.C. “Geography.” Perseus Digital Library. From 1987, ongoing. Web.
See also: Augustus Caesar and the Exile of Ovid: a Mystery Revisited