Igel Column

A 23-metre-tall Roman funerary monument in Igel, 8 km south of Trier along the Moselle River, dated to c. 250 AD. Built of red and red-grey sandstone by the wealthy Celtic cloth merchants Secundinius Aventinus and Secundinius Securus, it is the only Roman mausoleum north of the Alps still standing in its original location. The reliefs depict mythological scenes (Achilles, Perseus, Hercules) alongside textile trade activities, crowned by a sculptural group of Jupiter and Ganymede. Designated part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Roman Monuments in Trier in 1986. It survived medieval destruction because a family scene was mistaken for depicting Saint Helena's marriage.