from Nimes, in France, is a
well-known and very picturesque structure of this character.

_Commemorative Monuments._

These comprise triumphal arches, columns, and tombs. The former
consisted of a rectangular mass of masonry having sculptured
representations of the historical event to be commemorated, enriched
with attached columns on pedestals, supporting an entablature crowned
with a high attic, on which there was generally an inscription. In the
centre was the wide and lofty arched opening. The Arch of Titus,
recording the capture of Jerusalem, is one of the finest examples.
Later on triumphal arches were on a more extended scale, and comprised
a small arch on each side of the large one; examples of which may be
seen in the arches of Septimius Severus and of Constantine (Fig. 139).
The large arched gateways which are met with in various parts of
Europe--such as the Porte d'Arroux at Autun, and the Porta Nigra at
Treves--are monuments very similar to triumphal arches. There remain
also smaller monuments of the same character, such as the so-called
Arch of the Goldsmiths in Rome (Fig. 1).

[Illustration: FIG. 139.--THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE, ROME.]

Columns were erected in great numbers during the time of the Emperors
as memorials of victory. Of these the Column of Trajan and that of
Marcus Aurelius are the finest. The former was erected in the centre
of Trajan's Forum, in commemoration of the Emperor's victory over the
Dacians. It is of the Doric order, 132 ft. 10 in. high, including the
statue. The shaft is constructed of thirty-four pieces of marble
joined with bronze cramps. The figures on the pedestal are very finely
carved, and the entire shaft is encircled by a series of elaborate
bas-reliefs winding round it in a spiral from its base to its capital.
The beauty of the work on this shaft may be best appreciated by a
visit to the cast of it set up--in two heights, unfortunately--at the
South Kensington Museum. The Column of Marcus Aurelius, generally
known as the Antonine Column, is similarly enriched, but is not equal
to the Trajan Column.

The survival of Etruscan habits is clearly seen in the construction of
Roman tombs, which existed in enormous numbers outside the gates of
the city. Merivale says: "The sepulchres of twenty generations lined
the sides of the high-roads for several miles beyond the gates, and
many had considerable architectural pretensions." That of Cecilia
Metella is a typical example