Tomb of the Baker
(M. Virgilius Eurysaces and his wife)
century 30 B.C.

Photo: D. Pulsifer, Spring 1998 Art History Study Tour		 Eurysaces was a slave who bought his freedom and subsequently earned a fortune through his skill as a baker. In the Roman Republic, tombs were erected along roads outside the city walls; this tomb was quite large and complex with multiple levels including a relief sculpture of Eurysaces and his wife, a frieze of relief sculptures showing the work done in a bakery and, the most dominant feature, large framed circular openings which are thought to suggest the actual openings of the ovens. The tomb, made of travertine, was incorporated into the fortifications of the Porta Maggiore, a gate through the wall in the southwest side of the city; it was rediscovered only in 1838 and what remains of it has been separated from the massive gate behind it.
 


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