(urth) Dionysus, the Mausoleum

[Andrew Mason]

Son of Witz wrote:

> Then there is the *clue* about the false assertion of the age of the necropolis.

> When Severian returns to the Citadel in UotNS, he is marched as a prisoner from the river, with steps much like where he swam, then up a wooded hill, then, to his surprise, to the Curtain Wall of the Citadel and the Sally Port later known as the Corpse Door.  The Necropolis is not described at all, and if it was there, Severian would have recognized his location before the shock of the Wall, which he initially thinks is the Wall of Nessus.


He goes through what appears to be a public garden. I would take this
to be the necropolis, which he does not recognise as such because
there are not many graves yet. It may well have been started about the
time the Citadel was converted from a spaceport to a fortress, i.e.
not too long before Severian's visit. Given that the actual city has
been around for chiliads at least, this won't make it the oldest in
the city, just pretty old.

I agree it's odd Typhon has a family vault in the necropolis. Perhaps
it's actually Echidna's family vault? Ot perhaps it's not a family
thing at all - e.g. a Severian avatar might have given Cilinia shelter
when her father threw her out. Hard to say.