Bk. IV. Ch. I. TUMULI. 289 description is quoted from Varro, being evidently regarded by Pliny himself as not a little apocryphal. According to this account it con- sisted of a square basement 300 ft. each way, from which arose five pyramids united at the summit by a bronze circle or cupola. This was again surmounted by four other jjyramids, the summits of which were again united at a height of 300 ft. from the ground. From this point rose still five more pyramids, whose height Varro (from modesty, as Pliny surmises) omits to state, but which was esti- mated in Etruscan tradi- tions at the same height ais the rest of the monu- ment. This last statement, which does not rest on any real authority, may well be regarded as exaggerated ; but if we take the total height as about 400 ft., it is easy to understand that in the age of Pliny, when all the buildings were low, such a structure, as high as the steeple at Salis- bury, would appear fabulous ; but the vast jjiles that have been erected by tomb-building races in other parts of the earth render it by no means improbable that Varro was justified in what he asserted. ^ Plan of Cocumella, Vulci. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in. 175. View of Cocumella, Vulci. Near the gate of Albano is found a small tomb of five pyramidal pillars rising from a square base, exactly corresponding with Varro's description of the lower part of the tomb of Porsenna. It is called by tradition the tomb of Aruns, the son of Porsenna, though the character ^ A diagram is given in "The True Principles of Beauty in Art," p. 459. which shows at least that there is no difficulty in designing a monument in perfect accordance with the text. Whether the latter is to be depended upon on or not is another matter.
