Alexander Severus

Alexander’s body was buried together with the body of his mother Julia Manaea in a mausoleum in Rome. The actual mausoleum, called Monte di Grano, is the third in size in Rome after the ones of Hadrian and of Augustus. It is still visible in Piazza dei Tribuni, in the Quadraro area in Rome, where it resembles a large earth mound. The large sarcophagus found inside the tomb in the 16th century, and which contained the emperor’s remains, is in the Palazzo dei Conservatori Museum in Rome. According to some sources inside the same sarcophagus in 1582 a precious glass urn was found, the Portland Vase, currently on display at the British Museum in London.

Perhaps his most tangible legacy was the emergence in the 16th Century of the 'Barberini vase'. This was allegedly found at the mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus and his family at Monte Del Grano. The discovery of the vase is described by Pietro Santi Bartoli and referenced on page 28 of a book on The Portland Vase. Pietro Bartoli indicates that the vase contained the ashes of Severus Alexander. However, this together with the interpretations of the scenes depicted are the source of countless theories and disputed 'facts'. The vase passed through the hands of Sir William Hamilton Ambassador to the Royal Court in Naples and was later sold to the Duke and Duchess of Portland, and has subsequently been known as the Portland Vase. Following catastrophic damage in 1845, this vase (1-25BC) has been reconstructed three times and resides in the British Museum. The Portland vase itself was borrowed and near copied by Josiah Wedgewood who appears to have added modesty drapery. The vase formed the basis of Jasperware.