Tomb of the Scipios Archaeological Site

Address: Tomb of the Scipios (Rome area)

The Tomb of the Scipios is an ancient family burial complex of the Cornelii Scipiones located on the outskirts of Rome along the Appian Way. It served as the funerary monument for several members of the Scipio family during the Roman Republic.

The site includes subterranean burial chambers that once contained sarcophagi and carved epitaphs naming members of the Scipio family. Surviving inscriptions and sculpted pieces recovered from the tomb are key evidence for Roman Republican funerary practice and family commemoration.

The tomb was established by members of the Cornelii Scipiones in the Republican period, roughly between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. It was rediscovered and excavated in the modern era, and many finds were removed to museums for study and preservation.

The tomb lies along the ancient Via Appia Antica southeast of central Rome and within the area associated with the Appian Way archaeological corridor.

• Republican-era family tomb: The tomb dates to the Roman Republic and was used by members of the Scipio branch of the gens Cornelia between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE.
• Excavations and museum holdings: Many of the tomb’s sculpted sarcophagi and inscriptions were discovered during modern excavations and transferred to museums for preservation.

What to See#

• Hypogeum burial chambers: An underground family tomb with burial chambers and surviving monumental sarcophagi and inscriptions dating to the Roman Republic; the interior contains several carved epitaphs of the Cornelii Scipiones.