Pile (monument)

A pile, also known as a Roman pile, Gallo-Roman pile, or funerary pile, is a specific type of funerary monument in the archaeological vocabulary of France: elevated towers, typically square or rectangular in plan, with circular forms being less common. Their primary function was to serve as funerary structures within Roman Gaul.

Constructed between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, piles are found across a wide area of south-western Gaul, with a high concentration in the civitas of Ausques, around the present-day city of Auch, where they often bear a local name, such as tourasse or tourraque, derived from the Occitan word for "tower".

In the absence of in-depth site excavations, their function has long remained an enigma, but it is highly probable that they were funerary monuments dedicated to the memory of a local notable. Although they are not true mausoleums, since almost none have a burial chamber, they indicate the proximity of the burial itself, very often in an enclosure at the foot of the pile. Their ostentation also serves to demonstrate the wealth and power of the family of their patron, whose villa is frequently nearby.

Fourteen piles are protected as French historic monuments.

Monuments with a similar function also exist in other parts of the Roman Empire: Italy, where they may have originated, Hispania and Proconsular Africa. However, their morphology is often slightly different, and they are not called pile in the languages of the countries concerned.