Corkery, Schmitz 1

Corkery, Schmitz 1

Introduction
Rome’s port city of Ostia was founded as a military fortification somewhere in the sixth or seventh century BCE. The city has been known for shipping and trading grain; the first main product that was handled in Ostia was salt, which was an ancient commodity. In the first century CE Augustus and Agrippa saw how important Ostia was to Rome and began to build the city up. It now had the main components of a major city. It had gathering places, warehouses, and temples. Ostia reflected what Rome looked like at its height in the Imperial Period. If Ostia is doing well, then Rome will do well; Ostia was the security of Rome. Again the city is built up by Trajan and Hadrian in early second century CE. They covered the city with frescoes, marble structures, and stucco. Around the time of Constantine in the fourth century the town of Ostia was a Christian city, dedicating a basilica to the emperor. They also began dismantling pagan structures.[1]
A Bit on Ostia

The following will direct a walk through Ostia Antica in the third century.Not everything in the excavations is really a part of Ostia Antica. There have been many renovations to the area to keep the real ruins intact. Keep in mind that if you see a difference in the color or style of brick, there is a good chance that stone might have been added to the structure to give it support.

Ostia Antica
We begin our walk towards Ostia on Via Ostiensis, the main highway connecting Rome and Ostia. This main road was extremely important as it was the primary source of travel for trading. Heading in the direction of the city, tombs can be seen lining the road on both sides as we pass a cemetery. The road runs along the Tiber, with olive groves and gardens on either side. Many little streams can be seen trickling towards the Tiber as we walk over several bridges.[2]Heading in the direction of Ostia, this highway lead’s to the city’s eastern gate, PortaRomana. This is where the ticket booth stands today. Directly behind the gate is a Republican cippus as well as an early Imperial marble base with a dedication to the health of the emperor Augustus.[3]

Walking through this gate down DecumanusMaximus we see the Republican warehouses on the right, which were mainly a commercial establishment, or a type of bazaar. We walk a little further down the road and take a right down Via deiVigili where we see the Baths of Neptune, or TermediNettuno. These baths were among the largest in the city, begun by Hadrian and finished by Antoninus Pius.[4] These baths were built to a square plan, each side measuring approximately 67 meters. Baths were very popular at the time. It became the public baths where the Romans kept clean since there was very little washing that was done in their homes. It was also a place to exercise to stay fit. It was also used as a community center with food and drink, so the people could just stay in the area and never had a reason to leave. The baths were always kept clean, as it was considered good for health of the people and could not be used for swimming, since the sea was so close to the city. They were not only used for exercise and cleanliness though; they were a very popular place for the Romans to gossip and talk about scandals throughout the town. This made the baths extremely important for the social life of the city. At times men and women were allowed to bathe together, but both Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius were not fans of this and they banned it. At the times when this ban was strictly enforced, special hours were reserved for the women to take their baths separate from the men.[5]

Upon entrance to the baths from Via deiVigili, we start in a large hall with many open rooms used for dressing rooms. To the north of this is the Frigidarium, with two cold water baths at its eastern and western ends. From the Frigidarium the bather proceeded on to the Caldarium through rooms heated with hot air by hypocausts under the floor and hollow pipes lining the walls; this can be seen in figure 1. Slaves worked underneath the baths, feeding the furnaces to supply the baths with hot water. The Caldarium contained three small baths for hot water. In the center of the building is an open Palaestra, surrounded by columns on all three sides where people could exercise before or after their baths. Several rooms came off of this open area, most likely used for less energetic recreation. At the most western wall is a statue of Hadrian’s wife Sabina as Ceres. A lavatory can be seen at the most northwestern corner room.[6]As we exit to the south of the baths we see a mosaic of Neptune. It is a black and white mosaic that depicts Neptune in a chariot surrounded by sea creatures. This is what gives the Baths of Neptune its name. Right next to this is a hall with a mosaic of Neptune’s wife, Amphitrite. As we exit the baths towards DecumanusMaximus, we see shops and arcades lining the road.[7]We head back to DecumanusMaximus and march further down the road towards the theatre.

Continuing past the Neptune Baths, the barracks of the vigiles is seen, or CasermadeiVigili. This is also known as the barracks for the firemen. There were large main entrances on the north and south sides of the complex. Entering the south entrance and looking right you can see two fountains in the courtyard. Staircases to the upperlevels can be located in the four corners outside of the courtyard. A private bathroom for the firemen is behind closest fountain on your right. Looking to the left, past the four columns, is a shrine. Surrounding the complex were small rooms that the men may have lived in. On the west end of the building shops may have been present for the firefighters to buy goods. There are many inscriptions in the barracks that state Rome and Ostia must have shared vigiles, and Rome must have sent men to stay in Ostia for months at a time. Leaving from the way you entered and walking back to the main road, the Forum and Theatre are next to visit.[8]

Continuing walking down DecumanusMaximus you can enter the Ampitheatre from Via DelleCorporazioni, or through the bottom of the theatre. If you choose to walk down Via DelleCorporazioni you can enter the “Square of the Corporations” and walk around the outside of the square on a small sidewalk looking into small rooms with black and white mosaics on the floor; one of these mosaics can be seen in figure 2. One of the sides of the Forum can be seen in figure 3. Each room is a store and they all surround the Forum. The sidewalk circles around the square on the three sides and on the fourth side is the theatre. As you walk around the square the floor of the shops can be seen. The mosaics show what each shop traded or was known for. Many of the mosaics depict the trading of goods like fish and grains. A couple of the mosaics are dedicated to ships, possibly ship builders or people who would fix ships for fishermen. These mosaics tell us how important Ostia must have been when it was a thriving port city for Rome in the early Roman Empire. Looking into the center of the square you can see a Temple dedicated to Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, grain, and crops.[9]
If you enter the Amphitheatre from the bottom of the theatre you will climb a set of stairs and be looking directly at the stage and the back wall of the Amphitheatre. Directly behind the wall are the Temple and the Forum of the Corporation. In figures 4 and 5you can see the ruins of the present day Theatre from the Temple and turning around a view of the present day Temple.
The Theatre and the Forum of the Corporations dates to the second century CE and was probably commissioned by Agrippa, the successor of Augustus. The Theatre can seat about three to four thousand people all watching plays or dances. The stage may have also been flooded to perform mock battles in the water. The lower tiers of the Theatre, where the wide steps are located, are where the wealthy people would have sat to watch the performances. To get a good view you can climb to the upper tier and look out over the city.
Leaving the Forum and the Theatre you pass by four small Republican Temples. The temples were dedicated to Venus, Fortuna, Ceres, and Spes. These temples were ordered built by the most influential citizen of Ostia, P. LuciliusGamala. In front of the temples is a shrine of Jupiter.
Going back to the main road and taking a right on the next road, Via Dei Grandi Horrea, will take you by the Gandi Horrea, or big warehouse. This is the largest warehouse in Ostia. The Horrea was built with raised floors to allow air to circulate under the grain to keep it dry and prevent the grain from rotting. The outside walls of the Horrea were very thick to protect the grain inside in an event of a fire. The walls were made of tufa block, or volcanic rock. There were 64 rooms that could hold grain in the Horrea. All the goods brought to Rome always stopped at Ostia and were checked and catalogued as inventory if they were kept in the warehouse. To keep track of the grain in each part of the process there was a complex system of measuring the grain. Many men would carry sacks of grain and empty them by climbing ladders and walking planks to the top of the grain piles. The goods that usually passed through the warehouse include olive oil, wine, and grain. Six tons of grain passed through the warehouse every day. The grain that passed through Ostia made its way to Rome, and further south to African and Egyptian villages. There must have been many men employed at the Horrea to help move the thousands of tons of grain that were needed to be shipped through Ostia’s ports every day.[10]

Along the left side of Via deiMolini, beyond the intersection with Via di Diana, a large mill can be seen. This was the place of a bakery, using grains to make all different varieties of breads for the city. In this building we can see large furnaces used for making the goods. Ruins of the mills and furnaces can be seen in figures 6 and 7. Walking back to Via di Diana, we can see the House of Diana on the right side of the road. This was a large insula, or building complex, with balconies which contained rental units and possibly a hotel. A corridor provides access to the courtyard containing a fountain and a figure of Diana, from which the building takes its name. The main room on the south was contained decorations, but was then later used as a stable with a trough for animals.[11]

Further along Via diDiana , a thermopolium, or a wine shop or bar, can be seen. These buildings were essential to the social life in Ostia. Gossiping over a drink of wine was routine during this time of the middle class. Many of the shops were similar to a fast food building, catering for a quick food or drink for anyone passing by. This building contains characteristic marble counters at the entrance and shelves for glasses, dishes, and food available for sale. Paintings on the walls of these buildings are good indications of what was being sold in the shop. Examples of this would be grapes on the walls of a winery. Food and wine could be consumed in the area, most often behind the shop in a small open court with a fountain in the middle. Benches line the sides for customers to sit, allowing them to talk with others or watch people in the area.[12]

Still on Via di Diana, we see several apartments which makes up a large block in the area, called the Apartment Block of the Wall Paintings. This area is subdivided into three complexes, the largest being the Insula of Jupiter and Ganymede. This building contains rich wall paintings, including Ostia’s largest fresco representing Jupiter and Ganymede, from which the building is named. The other two complexes are called the InsuladiBaccoFanciullo (Insula of Bacchus as a Child), and InsuladeiDipinti (Insula of Wall Paintings). Both of these also contain many rich decorations.[13]Going back to DecumanusMaximus and heading west, we reach the Forum.

The Forum was the central part of Ostia and probably the most important area of the city. The center was created to mirror the Roman Forum in Rome, with similar structures such as temples, columns, and buildings. Looking north from DecumanusMaximus, a temple can be seen; this temple can be seen in figure 8. Beyond this the square contains the Capitolium, a large building made of marble flanked on both sides by gray granite columns. This monument was dedicated to the Capitoline triad: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Standing on top of the Capitolium allows us to see over much of the southern part of this city and all of the Forum south of the monument. (picture) Beyond the Capitolium is the main north-south road called the CardoMaximus, which intersects DecumanusMaximus at the forum.

Also just behind the Capitolium to the northwest is the Piccolo Mercato, or small market, which was a large Hadrianic warehouse. Just west of the main road is the curia, a building resembling a temple. This was probably the temple of the Imperial cult or the headquarters of the Augustales. On the opposite side of the street just south of the main road is the basilica with large halls opening on the north and east sides through double porticoes. At the center of the square is a circular monument known as the shrine to the lares of Augustus. At the most southern part of the forum, completely opposite of the Capitolium, stands a marble temple, called the Temple of Rome and Augustus, erected during the reign of Tiberius. Passing through the east entrance of the forum on Via dellaForica, we see a large public latrine with two sections, one for men and one for women. Opposite this latrine is the entrance to the Forum Baths, the largest and most luxurious of the city.[14]At the center of this area was a large open square, the Palaestra, lined with colonnades along the east and west sides with a statue in the center. The columns consisted of varieties of marbles and granites, and there was a temple at the west end.

The Frigidarium can be found at the very northern part of the baths. This included two baths on the north and south side, lined with small rooms that had good heating in the floors to warm the baths. Between this and the Palaestra are several buildings in a row with very large windows in their southern walls, maximizing the use of sunlight in the room. The most western room is the Heliocaminos, an octagonal room heated by a hypocaust with no pipes in the walls. This room was used for sunbathing with wide and tall windows open to allow sun in. A heated passage to the east leads to an elliptical room called the Sudatorium, a room like a sauna for people to sit while they sweat.Further east are to more rooms called the Tepidaria, which had heated floors and walls but received much less sun than the others so the temperature was much cooler here. The last of the rooms to the east is the Caldarium with three hot baths on its north, east, and south sides. These baths were heated in the service room through boilers.[15]

Working farther westward, we come to the intersection of DecumanusMaximus and four other roads. Looking ahead, slightly to the right along Via dellaFoce is the area of the Republican temples. To the left is the Macellum, the food market with an interior courtyard with numerous shops grouped around the center.[16]We then turn around and head back down DecumanusMaximus towards the PortaRomana and out through the city towards Rome.

In the fifth and sixth centuries the city of Ostia began to decline. A new port city, Portus, to the north began to thrive. It had a channel directly connected to the Tiber River and it now handled much of the business that Ostia had. Ostia had come to power so quick and had so much of Rome’s goods channeling through it. It became too much for Ostia to handle, though, so Portus was developed in order to help Ostia getting goods to satisfy Rome. Portus grew so much that it actually took over Ostia’s role and eventually became the only source of goods to Rome from the Mediterranean Sea. Ostia was left behind in the dust, and we are only left today with excavations of the ancient city.