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Origin and history

The Roman tombs of Trion, discovered in 1885 in the Saint-Just district of Lyon, are part of an ancient necropolis bordering the Roman way between Lugdunum (Lyon) and Aquitaine. This set of ten funeral monuments, dated the second century, illustrates the funeral practices of the local elites. Five mausoleums in large aircraft were preserved and rebuilt in Place Eugène-Wernert, including the triple mausoleum (Julius Severianus, Quintus Valerius, Julia) and those of Satrus and Turpio.

Turpio's mausoleum, the most intact, consists of a square block made of Midi stone (Burdigalian limestone), placed on a podium with canned pilasters and ionic capitals. His dedication reveals that he honored Quintus Cauius Turio, a rich freed man and august (member of a priestly college), whose freemen erected the tomb according to his will. The inscriptions, mixing great archaic capitals and names piled up, suggest early dating, before the Christian era for some parts.

These monuments, classified in 1905, were constructed of Midi stone, a typical Lugdunum material in the first century before being replaced by Seyssel stone. Their alignment along the Roman way highlighted their ostentatious role, marking the social status of the deceased. The site, now accessible near the Choulans climb, offers a rare testimony of Gallo-Roman funeral art in the capital of Gauls.

The dedication of the tomb of Turpio mentions its freedmen (Regulus, Chresimus, etc.), highlighting the networks of dependence and social ascension peculiar to Roman society. The nickname Turpio ("the Shame"), probably linked to its servile past, contrasts with its final status as notable, embodying the paradoxes of social mobility under the Empire.

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