Of the great roads along which the principal traffic from ancient Rome passed, the Appian Road may perhaps be said to have been the most important, as it led to the southern and oriental provinces of the great empire; and it is on the line of this ancient road that the greatest number of ruined tombs and other buildings are still left. Two hundred ruins are said to stand on the sides of the Appian Road between the site of the Porta Capena, by which this road left the Servian walls, and Albano, a distance of fourteen miles. The tombs were of the most varied and fantastic shapes and designs, the most common forms being those with square or circular bases, cylindrical superstructure, and conical roof. Some were square with several floors, and surmounted by a pyramid, others consisted of chapels in brick, placed upon a cubical base, or of sarcophagi in various shapes, mounted upon brick substructions. Many fragmentary inscriptions have been found which once belonged to these tombs, but not one of any historical importance. The greater part of them record the names of freedmen, and other obscure people, as the larger and more highly decorated tombs were plundered first, and their marble casing and inscriptions completely destroyed at an early period. The older fragments which have been saved may be studied in the Berlin Collection of Inscriptions where they are learnedly and ably edited by Th. Mommsen. There were also many fountains and semicircular ranges of seats by the side of the road designed as resting-places for travellers. The commencement of the ancient Appian Road now lies between the Porta S. Sebastiano and the site of the old Porta Capena. From this part of the road the Via Latina diverged on the left, and the Via Ardeatina on the right. Beyond the Porta S. Sebastiano, the first monument now visible is a mass of stonework on the left hand, about one hundred yards from the gate. From its form and the style of masonry there can be little doubt that it was a pyramidal tomb similar to that of Caius Cestius at the Porta S. Paolo, and that it was built in the Augustan era. The road then crosses the Almo, and the remains of another pyramidal tomb are to be seen on the left. This is sometimes called the Tomb of Priscilla, mentioned by Statius, but that name more probably belongs to the larger tomb further on, beyond the Church of Domine quo Vadis. This latter ruin agrees better with the description of Statius, as it had a cupola and loculi for the reception of unburnt corpses. The immense number of ruined tombs and other buildings which crowd the sides of the road beyond this point, make it necessary to restrict our remarks as much as possible, and we shall therefore only notice a few of the most prominent ruins upon the road or in the immediate neighbourhood. [Sidenote: Divus Rediculus.]