Archaeological activities at the site of the ancient city of Ostia have yielded new and exciting finds.
Newly discovered features at Ostia. Satellite imagery courtesy of Digital Globe Inc.
Archaeologists led by Prof Simon Keay from the University of Southampton and Prof Martin Millet from the University of Cambridge have discovered a new section of the boundary wall in Ostia, proving the Roman city was much larger than previously estimated.
Previously, they thought that the Tiber formed the northern edge of the ancient city. However, a new survey of an area lying between the city and another Roman port called Portus has shown that Ostia’s city wall also continued on the other side of the river.
“Our research not only increases the known area of the ancient city, but it also shows that the Tiber bisected Ostia, rather than defining its northern side,” Prof Keay said.
The survey has also revealed three huge, previously unknown warehouses – the largest of which was the size of a football pitch.
“The presence of the warehouses along the northern bank of the river provides us with further evidence for the commercial activities that took place there in the first two centuries,” he said.
The archaeologists have been using an established technique known as magnetometry, which involves systematically and rapidly scanning the landscape with small handheld instruments in order to identify localized magnetic anomalies relating to buried ancient structures. These are then mapped out with specialized computer software, providing images similar to aerial photographs, which can be interpreted by archaeologists.
Newly discovered features at Ostia. Satellite imagery courtesy of Digital Globe Inc.
In antiquity, the landscape in this study was known as the Isola Sacra and was surrounded by a major canal to the north, the river Tiber to the east and south, and the Tyrrhenian sea to the west.
At the southernmost side of the Isola Sacra, the survey as revealed very clear evidence for the town wall of Roman Ostia, interspersed by large towers several meters thick, and running east to west for about 500 m.
In an area close by, known to archaeologists as the Trastevere Ostiense, the team has also found very clear evidence for at least four major buildings.
“Three of these buildings were probably warehouses that are similar in layout to those that have been previously excavated at Ostia itself, however the newly discovered buildings seem to be much larger. In addition, there is a massive 142 m by 110 m fourth building – composed of rows of columns running from north to south, but whose function is unknown,” Prof Keay said.
“Our results are of major importance for our understanding of Roman Ostia and the discoveries will lead to a major re-think of the topography of one of the iconic Roman cities in the Mediterranean.”
