Ostia Antica

A trip to Ostia Antica from Rome starts at Porta San Paolo train station,...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:00:44 GMT

A trip to Ostia Antica from Rome starts at Porta San Paolo train station, which is named after the gateway. The Porta San Paolo is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome

Photo by Blithe

Via Ostiense The ancient Roman town of Ostia was linked to Rome by this...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:00:52 GMT

Via Ostiense
The ancient Roman town of Ostia was linked to Rome by this street. The town, named from the Latin 'ostium' for 'mouth' was at the mouth of the Tiber river - which was much closer than it is today.
The port was the landing point for cargo as well as war ships. The city had a long history until the fall of the empire.
A large necropolis (city of the dead) is adjacent to this road, which is outside the city walls.

Photo by Blithe

Columbarium with semicircular niches for funerary urns containing human ashes.

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:00:58 GMT

Columbarium with semicircular niches for funerary urns containing human ashes.

Photo by Blithe

Tomb of the Archetti (or Tomb of the Small Arches) This tomb dates from the...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:01:06 GMT

Tomb of the Archetti (or Tomb of the Small Arches)
This tomb dates from the first half of the first century CE. The facade has six blind arcades, framed by brick pilasters. The arch top is decorated with a brick and tufa design, with some of the original colour remaining.

Photo by Blithe

Decumanus Maximus paved with basalt rocks, this leads from Porta Romana to...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:01:13 GMT

Decumanus Maximus paved with basalt rocks, this leads from Porta Romana to the Forum (hard going after a few hours walking here)

Photo by Blithe

The plaques, which used to be on either side of Porta Romana, hold the...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:01:19 GMT

The plaques, which used to be on either side of Porta Romana, hold the inscription - the Senate of Rome gave walls and gates to the colony of the Ostians; Cicero, when he was consul (63 BC), oversaw the construction; Clodius, arch-enemy of Cicero, finished the work when he was tribune of the people (58 BC). Line 5 cannot be reconstructed completely. It mentions the rebuilding in the first century AD."

Photo by Blithe

In the Baths of Neptune some fine mosaic floors remain. Built by Hadrian...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 20:59:44 GMT

In the Baths of Neptune some fine mosaic floors remain.

Built by Hadrian (117-138) on pre-existing baths and then restored at the end of the 2nd and the fourth centuries.

A Triton is a kind of merman, usually depicted with a human torso and a fish tail. Here a triton plays cymbals and has a long snake-like tail.

Photo by Blithe

Neptune's wife, Amphitrite on a hippocampus (seahorse) preceded by Hymenaeus...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:15 GMT

Neptune's wife, Amphitrite on a hippocampus (seahorse) preceded by Hymenaeus (winged Eros with a torch referring to marriage)

Photo by Blithe

Neptune on chariot pulled by four hippocampi, surrounded by dolphins, tritons...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:27 GMT

Neptune on chariot pulled by four hippocampi, surrounded by dolphins, tritons and nereids on seamonsters

This mosaic gave the baths its modern name.

Photo by Blithe

One of the oldest brick theatres anywhere

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:40 GMT

One of the oldest brick theatres anywhere

Photo by Blithe

Piazzale delle Corporazioni, behind the stage, as seen from the top of the...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:34 GMT

Piazzale delle Corporazioni, behind the stage, as seen from the top of the amphitheatre.

The Forum of the Corporations is situated in a kind of U-shape arrangement of offices for merchants and businessmen. It is dated about the same time as the theatre.

Raised in the centre of the U a brick temple dedicated to Ceres once stood

Photo by Blithe

Decorative marble masks. probably used in the theatre.

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:46 GMT

Decorative marble masks. probably used in the theatre.

Photo by Blithe

Area which could have been the office of a shipping business .. 2 ships sail...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:00:56 GMT

Area which could have been the office of a shipping business .. 2 ships sail to a lighthouse. To the rear of the office the mosaic shows a nereid on a sea creature.

Photo by Blithe

Mosaic floors of the offices of naval merchants. The first depicts two date...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:01:04 GMT

Mosaic floors of the offices of naval merchants. The first depicts two date palms and an amphora. The second ships and a lighthouse.

The third a large container, possibly a grain measure, as is the last one.

Photo by Blithe

Doli House Doli were huge storage jars often up to two metres high, which...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:53:00 GMT

Doli House
Doli were huge storage jars often up to two metres high, which were sometimes buried up to their necks.

Photo by Blithe

Domus di Giove e Ganimede Wall decorations

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:53:20 GMT

Domus di Giove e Ganimede

Wall decorations

Photo by Blithe

20-hole latrine. The cutout below the seat was to accommodate the washable...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:53:27 GMT

20-hole latrine. The cutout below the seat was to accommodate the washable sponge on a stick used rather than toilet paper

Photo by Blithe