Ostia

Major Roman port and colony at the mouth of the Tiber River, founded in the 4th century BC. Towards end of 4th century BC, a rectangular fort was constructed, securing Rome's interest in trade routes through Ostia; the town was for a long time effectively the port of ancient Rome. It grew until 78 BC when it was destroyed in the Roman civil wars. It was later rebuilt by Sulla with a forum and capitolium. Claudius (41-54 AD) and Trajan (98-117 AD) had two harbors built at Portus, immediately north of Ostia. The 2nd century AD proved to be a period of unprecedented prosperity, which has left the most plentiful traces in today's ruins. The new harbors were largely administered through Ostia, and presumably much of the workforce chose to live at Ostia. Large brick apartment blocks were built in 1st-2nd centuries AD. They were of three, four, and five stories; the floors in these buildings were paved with mosaic and the walls elaborately painted. The second century also saw the construction of an aqueduct, imperial suites of public baths, and synagogue. The need for depositories and warehouses (horrea) became very important. The increase in trade brought prosperity to many areas of the city. In a double colonnade behind the theater, a large number of small offices housed agencies for all the major shipping destinations and types of trade. In the city, over 800 shops are known. Third century AD political instability at Rome combined with an economic recession brought a general decline in shipping. Constantine preferred Portus to Ostia, so it became a seaside-resort with expensive houses. Even with that use, the area declined from barbarian raids in the 5th century. It was abandoned after the erection of Gregoriopolis, site of Ostia Antica, by Pope Gregory IV (827-844). The Roman ruins were quarried for building materials in the Middle Ages and for sculptors' marble in the Renaissance. Archaeological excavation was begun in the 19th century under papal authority, and about two-thirds of the Roman town can now be seen.

Roman settlement situated in antiquity at the mouth of the River Tiber, but now inland and up-river.The town was for a long time effectively the port of ancient Rome. Traditional early links with a salt industry are quite plausible, but little trace had been found. The earliest evidence we have suggests a 4th-century bc fort with defences of tufa block and an area of only some two hectares. The foundation is almost certainly Roman, and may be one fort in a series forming a coastal guard for the growing city of Rome. Development through the stage of naval base (probably in connection with the Punic Wars) to harbour seems to have been quite rapid. The demands of Rome’s growing population, particularly for corn imports, soon boosted the port to an area of some 64 hectares, which were now guarded by new walls (early 1st century bc). However, the problems created by silt deposits, sandbanks and an advancing coastline, which have today left Ostia well inland, were already making themselves felt. In an enterprise initiated by Augustus, and carried on by Claudius and Nero, a new large harbour was constructed just north of the Tiber mouth, and two canals dug to connect it to the Tiber and thereby to Rome. Experience soon showed that the new harbour was too exposed to the open sea and the weather. After some shipping disasters, Trajan eventually excavated a large hexagonal basin a little further inland (now Lago Traiano) and encouraged the development of a new port in the immediate area — Portus Traiani (later Portus Romae and now Porto). A further canal was dug to the sea, the fossa Traiana. This had the effect of separating off a stretch of land that was to become an island necropolis for the new Portus (now Isola Sacra). Whereas it might have been thought that this intense activity which essentially by-passed Ostia would have blighted the earlier port, the reverse is the case. The 2nd century ad proved to be a period of unprecedented prosperity, which has left the most plentiful traces in today’s ruins. The new harbours were largely administered through Ostia, and presumably much of the workforce chose to live at Pressure on building land brought extensive new building programmes that concentrated in particular on high-density housing. The ATRiUM-type house, familiar from Pompeii, gave way to the new insula apartment-block. The insula might be up to five storeys high, and the ground floor was often devoted to a row of shops. Unlike Rome, however, where the insula also became a standardized unit, there is little evidence at Ostia of slum and squalor. The second century also saw the construction of an aqueduct, and the erection of no fewer than three major imperial suites of public baths, which were in addition to many smaller establishments. The greater capacity of the new harbours had the effect, as so often, not only of facilitating existing traffic, but of attracting yet further amounts of shipping, and diverting it from elsewhere. The need for depositories and warehouses (horrea) became paramount not only because of a general need for storage, but also because the re-shipping of loads upstream to Rome in smaller vessels required temporary transit storage. The typical warehouse became bigger, upper storeys were added, and the buildings were sometimes equipped with the sophistication of underfloor ventilation. The increase in trade brought prosperity to many areas of the city. In a double colonnade behind the theatre a large number of small offices housed agencies for all the major shipping destinations and types of trade. In the city as a whole over 800 shops are known, and some trades, such as building and shipconstruction, show particular signs of a boom period. The small scale of the theatre, seating perhaps only some 3000-4000 spectators, suggests perhaps that the more urbane of entertainments had little appeal for most of the perhaps 80,000-strong population, and some have proposed the existence of an amphitheatre. The cosmopolitanism of a thriving port is, however, quite clear in the local proliferation of cults, with representation for Serapis, Isis, Cybele, a Jewish synagogue, fifteen lodges of Mithras, and eventually competition from a newly established Christianity. With the 3rd century ad political instability at Rome combined with an economic recession brought a general decline in shipping. Constantine gave explicit favour to Portus in preference to Ostia, and gave the rival port the grand title of civitas flavia constantiniana portuensis. The failure of commerce provoked the emergence instead of a seaside-resort function for Ostia, and expensive houses for the urban rich begin to appear. Even this latter-day use, however, decayed with the general breakdown of imperial administration in the 5th century, and malarial swamps led to further desertion.