Who's buried inside the Mausoleum of Augustus?

The Mausoleum of Augustus was one of the definitive monuments in Rome. We'll discuss its construction, location (and relation to other moments, like the Pantheon), who was buried inside (and who was excluded), as well as its afterlife after Antiquity.
0:00 Introduction and construction
2:00 Appearance and location in the Campus Martius
4:40 Death of Augustus and burial inside
6:38 Who's buried inside: Marcellus to Julia Domna
10:29 Who's excluded: Nero and the Julias
13:26 Afterlife of the monument and ongoing conservation work
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[@amiann44]

I visited Rome in 1982 and viewed the Mausoleum from the outside. At that time it was neglected and weed strewn. I could not find much information about the history. Thank you for your in depth knowledge!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Our pleasure

[@nedthemumbler9942]

Yeah I was there in 1763 and it was pretty nice still but that was a long long time before you there Sonny.

[@JohnDoe-yq9rt]

I would love to sit and listen to all of your stories

[@johnconnery1939]

Great job. Visited Rome six times, always wondered why this site was ignored. Took my 4 grandchildren to Rome in Feb 2023. Was delighted to see the restoration work.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thank you

[@VivaSepulchre]

👋🏼 please adopt me as your grandchild 😂

[@barorepor3079]

I visited Rome numerous times and read a lot about its imperial history. With you I learn always more.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thank you!

[@CigarAttache]

It must have been an incredible sight in antiquity with the fields, groves and the sun dial.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Yes it was quite the open space

[@michaelwhite9513]

How magnificent Rome must have been.

[@ericastier1646]

but still, Voltaire wrote : "The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheaters, for wild beasts to fight in."

[@nascarbryant]

Fantasticvideo! I enjoyed Rome so much and visited 3 times! I saw the ara pacis….next time i want to see the Mausoleum!

[@antoniousai1989]

They are restoring the whole house block and making a new square now to integrate the monument with the other buildings around. It will be ready in a couple of years.

[@nascarbryant]

@@antoniousai1989 then i will wait a little more! I had the luck to be one of the first to visit the reopened House of Livia on the Palatin!

[@antoniousai1989]

@@nascarbryant Yeah, I've seen the project and the mausoleum will be removed of some concrete inside (placed during earlier 20th-century restoration attempts), plus with the addition of the grass and trees around, and the stair entrance in front. It will look way better than it is now and quite similar to how it was supposed to appear originally. Cause the building is way lower than the road level and the stairs will put you at the pantheon level when you arrive.

[@mariadelcarmenvaldezlozano9534]

ITS 4 am here in México yet here i am thanks for your content

[@AncientRomeLive]

Enjoy!

[@MikeS29]

No other channels have such in-depth content! Thank you for this update 🙂

[@AncientRomeLive]

So nice of you- lots of new content coming up!

[@johnderekmurphy]

Fantastic video, and outstanding presentation! Greatly appreciate everyone who's involved in these videos!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Our pleasure!

[@user-ky8ik1fm8f]

Very anxious to tour the Mausoleum myself. Enjoyed hearing about all the people interred here but wonder where they were moved to and by whom. Wonder, too, if there's any discussion about moving them back at some point. It's hard to imagine the Campus Martius area being so devoid of structures so it was enlightening to see the model laying out the Mausoleum in relationship to the Pantheon. I'd heard once that the Pantheon was built on a hill and subsequent deposits from flooding by the Tiber raised the level of the ground around it over time. If that's true, I wonder if it was same for the Mausoleum. Great lesson...thanks!🙂

[@vamika45tika]

Nei sotterranei del vaticano........sicuramente si trovano documentazioni che riguardano la vera storia di Roma !!!!!!!

[@funfact8660]

All the Julio Claudian Emperors and many family members were once entombed in the Masoleum of Augustus at one point in time.

[@cratecruncher4974]

The point at 12:30 where the camera shoots the dome of the Pantheon over the roof tops of Rome made it for me. I never knew the two buildings were aligned, much less on purpose!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Thanks- that was the intention!

[@superdivemaster]

Excellent Comprehensive Video Amico !!! I give you an A+ !!!

[@AncientRomeLive]

Much appreciated!

[@zman4539]

Well Done! The importance of this structure to Caesar Augustus and his family can not be overstated. The symbology of the Pantheon within eyeshot of the mausoleum speaks volumes of how Augustus wanted to be remembered. I wonder , was it Agrippa's gift to Augustus to construct both?

[@Anna-ky7ix]

Darius, are there ever any remains of these emperors or their family members found in these crypts or mausoleums? Or just the headstones and placards? I wonder because dna testing of remains would be interesting to see lineage between them all. Is that at all a route being explored?

[@AncientRomeLive]

No remains - sorry!

[@fredpierce6097]

A comprehensive and technically excellent production.

[@TWOCOWS1]

Thank you for this informative video. Really helpful. Now, In light of all the new findings that you explain, I hope they change that dated and inaccurate mockup. As you said in another vid of yours on this structure, the contemporaryTropaeum Alpium, near Nice, France,--or even the ancient Mausoleum of Halicarnassus itself-- should be leads ua as to how this structure must have looked like (instead of a "wedding cake" with a bunch of trees on it, as seen in this mockup). It looks so pedestrian like this, rather than monumental, as Tropaeum is. A large hill with trees with a monument on it, not under it!

[@marial8235]

It is kind of touching that an entire family rested there for eternity. Too bad the “Barbarians” dispersed the ashes and it was allowed to get into such ruin. It would be awesome to have it totally restored, but one shudders to think of the cost. As usual, Darius brings the best content.👍

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Why the inverted commas?

[@AncientRomeLive]

We thank you!! A team effort!

[@kiely4561]

@@maxsonthonax1020probably because the word Barbarian wasn’t a tribal name given to one’s self, the word originated from the ancient Greeks to define an outsider or foreigner who spoke a language not of their own, hence the words “bar bar” a sound which the Greeks would use to describe their indistinguishable way of speaking.

[@vamika45tika]

Ma Che barbari !!!!! Come potevano essere al corrente sche il mausoleo conteneva e resti degli imperatori....solamenta i fondatori della nuova religione -il cristianesimo- ne sapevano....danno la colpa ai barbari ????.....solo gente istruita "sapeva" che cosa doveva distruggere......coloro che odiavano la culla della civiltà europea

[@gregmiller9710]

purdy good vid!

[@jan-toreegge9252]

Thanks for the tour. Looking forward to the opening.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Coming soon!

[@guslevy3506]

I’m guessing that General Grant is buried in Augustus’s tomb…

[@Gorboduc]

And his wife!

[@ifga16]

I have trouble with the concept of the tombs of such important people to the history of Rome. To me, it would be like turning Lincoln's tomb into a disco club or St Paul's in London razed for a car park. I've visited both Hadrian's and Augustus' tombs.

[@AncientRomeLive]

Most people don’t spend a lot of their life savings on their tombs … Ancient Romans certainly did !!

[@vamika45tika]

Ma ,mi può dire dove sitrovano??????? ....mi sembra inverosimile ....scusi !

[@rodfleck]

@ancientromelive Darius, what are the murals on the building across the way seen at time stamp 12:43?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Part of the Fascist era constructions that surround the piazza.

[@marthaarya167]

Interesting!

[@MichaelLFogarty]

I visited in 1974 and took photos. In substantial visits it was closed. I look forward to seeing it again.

[@NorceCodine]

The tomb of Alexander and the Ptolemies was a pharaonic tomb from the New Kingdom period, i.e. modeled after the rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The Ptolemies were Pharaos of Egypt, their rule hinged on that they were perceived as legitimate Pharaos by the people. On the other hand the Mausoleum of Augustus is Etruscan in style, not a surprise since Augustus styled himself as the champion of classical Roman traditions.

[@user-py7wp6nw9h]

very good videeo

[@RP-mm9ie]

thanks

[@johnhaines8752]

Does anyone know what happened to the various buried/entombed bodies?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Long ago stripped and ransacked … look at the history of the site!

[@artmann7684]

Wow...we've walked past that site before without knowing it's importance. Will see if I can tour it when back this coming fall.

[@ElCarboon]

Gonna be at least few years before it's ready 😢

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

. . . just wondering if the process of becoming a Roman god bears any resemblance to becoming a _saint_ in the Catholic Church today. *New topic:* Also, Italy receives tons of sunlight, but it seems that very little effort was made to preserve trees for refuge in the heat. Yet, they knew how to plant them for beauty and must have discovered the pleasure of standing under tree shade on especially hot days.

[@superdivemaster]

I believe that Lucius and Gaius Cesar were poisoned by Livia ...

[@AncientRomeLive]

Maybe …. Maybe not … an open question

[@arriuscalpurniuspiso]

What happened to all the bones?

[@thaitom6410]

Well, I'm a little more pragmatic when it comes to the question, "Who is buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus?" Actually, nobody IS buried there. There are no remains whatsoever. They are all gone, scattered, lost. The same goes for the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the Column of Trajan, etc. etc. Actually, I am not aware that the remains of ANY emperor (or any of their family members, for that matter) have survived at all. The best we can say about places like the Mausoleum of Augustus is that high-ranking member of the imperial family once WERE buried there.

[@boilingwateronthestove]

They should honestly rebuild it completely

[@claudioferreira3870]

Are the remains still in there?

[@ltcl8135]

No there long gone around the 4th century

[@robertwilliamson922]

So where are the containers with the ashes? Were they concealed in the walls or something? Never found ?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Long ago discarded, lost..

[@Giorgi.Koberidze]

So now can I visit the mausoleum or not?

[@AncientRomeLive]

nope- maybe it will be open in 2024...

[@dannycorsaro546]

Question,what happened to their bodies and are they still there?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Site was stripped and sacked--- so long gone- just discarded, not kept ...

[@andrewlankford9634]

Ulysses S Grant of course

[@ddmagee57]

Who was buried in Grant's tomb?

[@kikinnit]

Anyone still buried there??

[@AncientRomeLive]

Nope

[@kikinnit]

@@AncientRomeLive where are they all then?

[@jakegarvin7634]

12:20 who said mussolini never did anything good

[@danielpalmer643]

I was assuming the answer would be Ulysses S. Grant

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

It appears that Il Duce (Mussolini) did a lot of good archeological work on Roman ruins during his 21+ years running Italy.

[@marccollins1966]

Yeah, like destroying the Meta Sudans next to the Colosseum….it had stood since antiquity but he had to make room for his Fascist troops to parade down the Via dei Fori Imperiali. 😮😮😮

[@maxsonthonax1020]

​@@marccollins1966 Great point! Also failed to get the trains running on time! Big talking dude whose jealousy of Lenin leading a revolution before him led him down a demented path.

[@spankflaps1365]

He built the Via Dei Fori Imperiali road next to the Colosseum, bulldozing through the Forums of Trajan, Augustus, and Nerva.

[@AncientRomeLive]

It was a massive project - among many - lots of history lost to unearth the ancient levels

[@xmaniac99]

@@marccollins1966meta sudan was not destroying, it was removed and has been in storage since then.

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

Who is buried in Custer's tomb?

[@moesypittounikos]

Maybe who's ashes are stored inside the mausoleum will be a better title?

[@scottbrower9052]

Ulysses S. Grant?

[@donjohnson487]

With all those people burred inside are any remains left? And where did they go 😊

[@AncientRomeLive]

Nope. The site was sacked and repurposed so many times.. we are lucky to have a few inscriptions!

[@watermunteconomie3938]

Romans!! Rebuild Rome to the best of your ability..

[@johnjasperguce4125]

Any reports of ghost in there?

[@AncientRomeLive]

Not yet!

[@MZeki-gw2xg]

Is there any hint of the physical remains of those interred?

[@AncientRomeLive]

No just the incriptions - and some marble bases for holding urns

[@MZeki-gw2xg]

@@AncientRomeLive that’s a pity, apart from the ruins of Pompey we don’t have the physical remains of anyone from the Roman times?

[@MZeki-gw2xg]

Or even; has anyone ever done a full mri scanning of the Pompey remains, a lot could be determined with regards to their specific lifestyle based on the skeletal remains

[@wazzupjbab]

It almost looks like the SOMA, the mausoleum of Alexander the Great

[@wilfredruffian5002]

Grant

[@dorsetdumpling5387]

It’s not Augustus is it?

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

I thought Grant was buried there.

[@mencken8]

Ulysses S. Grant

[@theovanderstorm3171]

Who was buried in the mausoleum of augustus, september!!!

[@tuscanyjc]

How much of the modern Rome was saved-revived my Mussolini?

[@AncientRomeLive]

A lot of ancient monuments were “liberated” from later structures and revealed. These projects destroyed a lot of historic sites and monuments. We are left with the results- isolated ancient monuments. It’s good to be aware of the 20th century projects.

[@dshock85]

From clay to marble to cement...

[@delphinazizumbo8674]

hmmm...it's a tomb of Livia's victims

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Whose buried in Grant's tomb? US Grant? Yes!

[@hdibart]

and his wife.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

@@hdibart Julia

[@anthonyseoane6891]

I took a DNA test (MyTrueAncestry), I'm related to some of the people buried in the Mausoleum according to the site.

[@ElCarboon]

And now Xi Jingping has your DNA

[@DerbyKnowledge93]

what color was George Washington's white horse

[@hanssolos3699]

0:34 😂😂😂😂 gurl, dafuqqq u still use BC ????

[@theshrivelstein7118]

Is the answer Augustus??

[@nv_spartan1771]

Ulysses S. Grant?

[@delphinazizumbo8674]

Ulysses S. Grant?