or custom to prevent the choice.
There exists no "crematorium," and the Silii are regularly burned at
their own sepulchral allotment beside the "Queen of Roads."

If you were with the procession on this day you would find yourself
before one of an almost continuous chain of monuments, built in all
manner of shapes and sizes--such as great altars, small shrines,
pyramids (like that of Cestius on another road), or round towers like
the beautiful tomb of Caecilia Metella. The exterior of these
structures is often adorned with commemorative or symbolic carvings,
and the inside, which may be wholly above the surface or partly sunk
beneath--is a chamber surrounded by niches, in which are placed the
urns containing the ashes of the dead. Perhaps an illustration of the
present state of the "Street of Tombs" at Pompeii will afford some
notion, although the sepulchres of that provincial place by no means
matched those upon the various roads outside the Roman gates. Often
the monumental chamber stands somewhat back from the road, leaving
space for a large semicircular seat of stone open to public use, its
back wall being inscribed with some statement of honour to the family.
Round the sepulchre--"where all the kindred of the Silii lie" is a
space of ground, planted with shrubs and trees, and surrounded by a
low wall. Somewhere near, on an open level, the funeral pile has been
built of pine-logs, with the interstices stuffed with pitch,
brushwood, or other inflammable material. It is natural that the pyre
should take the shape of an altar and that cypress branches should
lean against the sides.

Upon the summit of this pile is laid Silius on his bier; incense and
unguents are shed over him; wreaths and other offerings, often of no
little value, are cast upon the heap. While loud cries of lamentation
are being raised by the company present, a near kinsman approaches the
pile with a torch, and, turning his face away, sets fire to the whole
structure. It speedily burns down, the last embers are quenched with
wine, the general company thrice cries "farewell," and, except for the
nearest relatives, the procession returns to the city. The relatives
who stay take off their shoes, wash their hands, and proceed to gather
up the bones--which they cleanse in wine and milk--and the ashes,
which they mix with perfume. These remains are then placed in the urn
of bronze, marble, alabaster, or maybe of coloured glass, and the urn
fills one more