 Plan and elevation of the Tower of the Scipiones |
The most outstanding on the Peninsula Roman funerary building is placed at Augustus Way course close to Tarraco -capital for citerior Hispania-. It communicated Gades and Rome.
It probably owned to an important family from the city, but not to Scipiones one, a mistake that gave it this name. At a second level there are many sculptures that were identified as these famous brothers, but they really represent divinities -probably God Attis-. Different carved inscriptions -probably an epitaph- on building are preserved in a bad state, so they cannot be read: only name "Cornelius" has been identified.
It was built at 1st century.
Its facture is made of rectangular well fit ashlars.
Its elevation shows three rectangular sections with a shape of decreasing towers. Lower one, as a podium, had an almost square plan being 4,40 x 4,70m. Second "floor" in this tower has a plan lesser than the prior one. On its main façade there are sculptures already named. Lastly, at third floor of the elevation, there is a bad preserved inscription. The whole was probably covered by a pyramidal structure.
Inner part of second section keeps a funerary chamber for niche and household furnishing of the dead.
