Out the Appian Way, just beyond the city walls of Rome to the south, is the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, one of many monuments that line the road outside of the city.

What is fascinating about this particular tomb is that it was re-appropriated by the Caetani family and turned into their own fortress.

The tomb was turned into the keep of the compound, and additional halls and storehouses were added to the exterior, using spolia of old Roman buildings in the walls.

Nowadays, both the tomb and additions are in ruins, but you can imagine how this structure had two lives: first for the dead, and then for the living.