Trajan's ashes deposited under his Column by his Wife & Niece. A.R. 866.

This is one of a group of drawings by British artist and book illustrator Edward Francis Burney, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman history and mythology. This composition was used for a headpiece in 'Le Souvenir, A Pocket Remembrancer', a memorandum book printed by J Cary for Godwin in 1807, on the page for 15th May. After the Dacian Wars, a victory monument was built to honour Emperor Trajan (reigned 98 - 117 CE) , in what is now Romania. The frieze on the column depicts the Roman victories over the Dacians, and Trajan features prominently. The column eventually came to be Trajan's tomb, and here Burney depicts his family on their way to the column to lay his ashes to rest.