The Pyramid of Cestius may look a little weird. The problem is we are all used to the perfect proportions of the Pyramids of Giza but it may not have been understood fully by Caius Cestius or the people that built this for him in 12BC. ⁣

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But Caius Cestius was ahead of his time, the whole “Egyptian Craze” that swept up Imperial Roman society had barely even started yet. After this pyramid was built emperors started pilfering obelisks from the recently conquered Egypt. ⁣

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The proportions of this pyramid may seem off to us however the pyramids of Nubia in the Sudan looked a little like this so it’s possible it was intentional, or they didn’t quite know how to make them in the classical Egyptian style. ⁣

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The most thrilling part of Cestius’ Pyramid is that it gives us a taste of what the Giza pyramids would have looked like when they were still covered in gleaming marble (before it was stolen). For context sake, Cestius Pyramid is just a hair over 2030 years old while the Great Pyramid of Giza is more than twice that, 4600 years. ⁣

You’ll notice also that this pyramid is set into a wall, it wasn’t that way when it was built but the Aurelian Walls were built 275 years later to protect Rome from invasions and the pyramid was used as part of that wall. ⁣

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The Aurelian Wall now fences in the Protestant Cemetery (the Pope didn’t want non-Catholics buried within the city but he okayed them being buried by a pagan pyramid, perhaps as an insult). Keats and Shelley are buried here and it’s also another cat sanctuary. This cat in the last photo befriended me immediately.