Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker

Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces

Although there is no conclusive statement on the monument that Eurysaces was a freedman – there is no "L" for libertus in the inscription – there are a number of reasons for believing that this was the case. His name takes the form of a Roman praenomen and nomen followed by a Greek cognomen, nomenclature typical for a freedman, combining as it does the identity of the former owning family with that of the individual when a slave. The inscription also lacks the filiation usual for the freeborn. The banausic and labour-intensive activities commemorated, those of baking, are not usually celebrated by the freeborn upper classes. The unusual form of the monument and of its inscription have also been used to locate Eurysaces as a nouveau riche parvenu in the manner of Trimalchio, with his "naïve ostentation" vulgarly imitative of élite culture.

The slightly later Pyramid of Cestius is another individualistic tomb for an evidently wealthy man outside the traditional élite; in this case it perhaps referred to his taking part in campaigns in Nubia.

Setting

Burial within the pomerium or sacred boundary of the city was generally prohibited. Although the precise extent of the pomerium at the various stages of its history is uncertain, it is believed to have later been coterminous with the Aurelian Walls, perhaps extending to the area of the Porta Maggiore after its expansion by Claudius. Streets of tombs in a prominent position just outside the city gates are known from Pompeii as well as the Via Appia. Eurysaces' tomb, at the junction of the Via Praenestina and Via Labicana just before entering Rome, was in a particularly prominent position, and its trapezoidal form was likely dictated by the space available. Other burial complexes in the vicinity are known, including the columbarium of Statilius Taurus, consul at the time of Augustus, with over seven hundred loculi or burial niches; and the first century BC tomb of the Societas Cantorum Graecorum (Association of Greek Singers). An inscription relating to another baker, Ogulnius, has also been found in local excavations.

Monument

The tomb, dwarfed by the later Aqua Claudia, rises to a height of about 7 meters. Of concrete faced with travertine on a tufa base, it stands as a monument both to Eurysaces and, through the frieze, to the wider profession of baking. The style, very different from the classical Roman styles of tombs, makes Eurysaces' tomb stand out.

The surviving part of the inscription reads EST HOC MONIMENTVM MARCEI VERGILEI EVRYSACIS PISTORIS REDEMPTORIS APPARET, or in English, "This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, public servant." While the final word in this quote, "Apparet", is often translated as public servant, the actual Latin word for a public servant is appāritor; the term can also apply to a gatekeeper, perhaps punning on the tomb's location. Appāret is a verb meaning "appears, makes apparent", this translation however does not seem to fit the rest of the inscription. The word Apparet is yet to be translated within the context of this quotation.

In the BBC documentary Meet the Romans with Mary Beard, professor Mary Beard translates appāret as "it's obvious!" Beard suggests appāret is signalling a joke, as if to say "get it?!". Thus Beard translates the epitaph as "This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, it's obvious."

A relief representing various stages of bread production runs along the top of the tomb. The relief depicts, on the south side, the delivery and grinding of grain and sifting of flour; on the north, the mixing and kneading of dough, forming of round loaves, and baking in a domed "pizza-type" oven; and, on the west, the stacking of loaves in baskets and their being taken for weighing.

Related finds

During demolition of the superimposed late antique fortifications by Pope Gregory XVI in 1838, a full-length relief portrait was discovered of a man and woman in toga and palla (taken to the Palazzo dei Conservatori); along with an inscription honouring one Atistia, a good wife whose remains were placed in a breadbasket; and an urn taking the form of such a breadbasket. Theft of the female head from the relief in 1934 and uncertainty as to the present whereabouts of the urn, believed to be somewhere in the Museo Nazionale Romano, mean their study is now conducted from excavation drawings and early photographs. Reconstructions generally relate these items to the tomb on the grounds of their style, subject matter, and findspot, with Atistia becoming Eurysaces' wife, and the double relief and inscription occupying the upper register of the now lost east facade of the tomb.