Greetings, visitor, you have arrived at my tomb. Stop for a moment and I will tell you my story. My name was Mamia, daughter of Publius. I had the good fortune to be born into an illustrious family, but I also knew how to bolster my good luck with great effort and dedication, working a great deal during my life for the benefit of the community. In Pompeii, I am famous for having built, with my own money, the first building that elevated Emperor Augustus to a god, just after his cult had been established in Rome. And I built it in the forum, the very heart of the city, donating the land on which I had had the privilege to live. Men built public works for the purpose of advancing their political careers. Like other women, I could not aspire to that, but by building a temple for the emperor, I was able to show my approval and devotion, through which I gained a position of absolute prestige in society. Through my dedication, I earned the position of public priestess, which very few women here in the city have held. Perhaps you already know Eumachia, or you will soon meet her on your travels: like me, she was responsible for overseeing the cult of Venus, patron goddess of Pompeii, and Ceres, protector of crops, a god very dear to us women. As a sign of respect for my role and of gratitude for my works, the members of the city council granted me a great honour: a prestigious plot of land for my tomb, right outside the Porta Ercolano. This is the tomb you are standing in front of at this moment, and it is visible evidence of my position in society, because only very honourable people here in Pompeii have a tomb like this. And so I am very proud of it. Please come closer, sit on the bench and on reading my name, inscribed on the backrest, spare a thought for the illustrious woman who will rest here for all time. Ave atque vale!

THE TOMB IN THE NECROPOLIS OF PORTA ERCOLANO

Mamia was a public priestess who had the honour of receiving, by decree of the decurions (officials), a burial place on public land, right outside Porta Ercolano. The monument is of the schola tomb type: a semicircular seat made of tuff, more than 6 metres wide and 4 metres deep, dating to the first decades of the 1st century AD. On the backrest of the seat, a dedication has been inscribed. This is a type of monumental tomb intended for prominent members of the community, first and foremost because it is located on a stretch of public land between the city gate and the street leading out of town.