380 Johnson
Unlike every other building erected in Ravenna during the reign of Theoderic,
the mausoleum is constructed of stone, a white limestone cut in fine ashlar
blocks. The niches of the lower level give depth to the wall and heighten the stark
geometric qualities of its design. Arches covering the niches are constructed
using what are known as ‘joggled voussoirs’, in which the blocks interlock—a
technique found elsewhere in the 6th century only in Syria, suggesting that the
builders came from there, a place where stone was the common building mate-
rial. The upper level appears unfinished, with a series of small arches carved
into the stone, awaiting the placement of a roof that would have extended out
over the ledge, presumably to be supported by columns as suggested by De
Angelis d’Ossat in his reconstruction (Figure 14.18).80 At the top of the wall is
a narrow band of carved decoration, with a ‘tong’ design repeated numerous
times in each section that has parallels in Ostrogothic metalwork.81
The Anonymus Valesianus reports that to cover the building Theoderic
sought out a large stone.82 He found it in the Vinkuran quarry south of Pula,
across the Adriatic Sea in Istria, where it was quarried, loaded onto a ship, and
80 De Angelis d’Ossat, Studi ravennati, pp. 93–111; also, Deichmann, Ravenna, 2.1, pp. 223–9.
81 Rupertsberger, “Zangenmotiv”.
82 Anonymous Valesiana, pars posterior, c. 96, ed. Mommsen, p. 328.
FIGURE 14.17 Plan of the Mausoleum of Theoderic, Ravenna
Plan by Mark Johnson