In 1970 further excavations were carried out by Ingrid Pohl in the west porticus. The excavations took place when mosaics were lifted and restored. This work is indicated with colour pencil on a plan in NADIS (inv. nr. 644). The excavations were published in the Notizie degli Scavi 1978 (the volume appeared in 1987; plan: figures 1-4, going from north to south), with a summary and notes on the painted decoration in the Mélanges de l'École française de Rome 1978. A review is included in a publication of excavations in the theatre in 1993-1995, carried out by Battistelli and Greco, published in the Mélanges de l'École française de Rome 2002. For the stationes Pohl uses the wrong numbers introduced by Calza (one too low). See the appendix below for highlights of the trenches.
Interpretation by Pohl
- The layers investigated by Pohl are dated by her as follows:
- I: Commodus-Septimius Severus
- II: Hadrian, after 119 AD
- IIb: late first / early second century
- III-VI: Claudius
- VII: Augustus
Phase 1 - Augustus (layers VII-VIII)
The square was built together with the theatre at the end of the first century BC by Agrippa, right hand man of Augustus.[1] This Augustan square is usually called a porticus post scaenam by the archaeologists, that is: a standard porticus behind a theatre, as described by the architect Vitruvius. It had walls of opus reticulatum (tufa blocks with sides of 0.065, modulus of three layers ca. 0.20). There was an outer wall on the spot of the current outside wall (th. 0.45). An inner wall on the spot of the current inside edge is mentioned by Calza,[2] and was seen during the (unpublished) 1963 excavations in the east porticus. Calza states that the outer wall was 2.80 high. Apparently the inner wall was preserved up to ca. 1.30. The oldest porticus had the same depth as that of the current double porticus (c. 9.00). It is not known what the square looked like in this period. There may have been wide openings in a continuous inner wall, and perhaps we may even think of a cryptoporticus, to be compared with the Crypta Balbi in Rome.[3]Comments
Greco remarks that a monumental entrance to the north of stationes 26-36, towards the Tiber, consisting of eleven wide openings (opus vittatum simplex), may belong to this period or the next phase. She also states that the internal wall of opus reticulatum might belong to the Claudian phase. This is incorrect. At this level a very wide foundation from the period of Claudius was found.Phase 2 - Claudius (layers III-VI)
During the reign of Claudius the level was raised 1.50 metres with four different layers. The date is based on the masonry and ceramics (contemporaneous in all four layers). For the outer wall opus reticulatum was employed once again, this time with somewhat wider joints between the tufa blocks (tufa blocks with sides of 0.065, modulus of three layers ca. 0.24). The wall was decorated with paintings and stucco reliefs. The inner wall was razed to the ground and incorporated in a foundation ca. 0.90-1.00 wide. According to Pohl the square from now on had only one outer nave. The roof of the outer nave was supported by brick columns (from centre to centre 4.20 apart; diam. 0.70), resting on square travertine plinths. They were decorated with stucco imitating fluted columns in the Tuscan order. The tapering foundations suggest that they were added secondarily. A second, inner nave cannot be entirely excluded, but Pohl prefers to think of a platform serving as sidewalk, because on top of the inner wall no remains of columns were found: the foundation did not support anything. The ceiling consisted of undecorated wooden beams, no remains of any decoration were found in subsequent layers. Of the floors no remains were found. The mosaics in stationes 53 and 58 do not belong to this phase, because they are at a higher level (ca. +0.10-0.12 and ca. +0.15) and touch the shaft of the columns (layer IIb).Comments
Battistelli does not wish to exclude that there were columns on the inner wall. Such columns, also resting on travertine plinths, could have been removed without a trace. It would indeed be curious if the very wide foundation did not support anything at all.Domitianus
Here we may add that during the last years of the reign of Domitianus a temple was built on the square (dated through brick stamps: Bloch, SO I, 221). In the porticos nothing has ever been related to this period, but the rooms to the east of the square (along the street, and including the back wall of the east porticus) are Domitianic according to Becatti (based on the brickwork: SO I, 121).Phase 3 - Trajan (layer IIb1-2)
In stationes 52, 53, 57 and 58 mosaics at a low level had been excavated earlier. They are approximately at the level of the travertine plinths, but those in rooms 53 and 58 rest on a further raising, 10-15 centimetres high, and touch the shaft of the columns. Pohl says that they are older than the next phase, which she dates to the reign of Hadrian. Therefore she does not follow the stylistic datings proposed by Becatti (c. 150 AD or somewhat later), but suggests a date in the late first or early second century. She also notes however, that phase IIB cannot be dated accurately. She highlights two aspects of this phase.First of all, the stucco decoration of some of the columns (not all) was changed from Tuscan to Ionic. Fragments of both orders, scraped from the columns, were found in layer II, so they coexisted. Stucco was still attached to the lower part of three columns: 42south, 44south, and 53south, the latter two with Attic bases, so belonging to the Ionic order (similar remains were found on two columns on the east side of the square, as documented in 1963). The bases were protruding from the travertine plinths, which were widened with stucco, so the Ionic order must have replaced the Tuscan order.
Secondly, a small part of a layer of rammed earth ("battuto") was found in statio 54, 0.10 higher than the level of the travertine plinths, and covering the lower part of the column with the Attic base. It postdates the changing of the column in this room and is virtually at the same level as the mosaic in statio 53 at the low level. A same layer is also virtually at the same level as the mosaic in statio 58, there 0.15 higher than the travertine plinth. No remains of other early mosaics are reported by Pohl in the west portico.
Comments
Battistelli remarks that (part of) this phase might be Domitianic, when the temple was built, and when the back wall of the east porticus was rebuilt, together with rooms to the east. She also suggests that the Ionic decoration did not replace Tuscan decoration, but that it was on the central columns, with the Tuscan decoration on columns along the square. However, she does not provide an explanation for Pohl's observation that the Ionic decoration which is on the central columns is too wide for the plinths, which therefore had to be widened.Phase 4 - Hadrian (layer II)
There was a further raising of 0.40 metres. A row of brick columns was installed on the inner edge of the Claudian platform. They have a smaller diameter than the central, Claudian columns (0.45) and rest on fake brick plinths (floating, so to speak, above the travertine plinths). Two steps of opus latericium led downwards to the square itself. The layer can be dated on the basis of ceramics and coins. The ceramics are from the first century and from the Trajanic-Hadrianic period. The latest coin was struck in 119 AD. There is no later material and this phase is Hadrianic. No remains of the floors of this phase were found. The older plaster and stucco decoration were removed in this phase and used in the raising. The columns and back wall were again probably decorated with plaster, but details are not known. The only columns with stucco at a high level are those flanking the entrance of the back room of statio 60, and this decoration may be much later.Comments
Battistelli remarks that the steps leading to the square were of travertine.[4] She also remarks that the blocking of the monumental entrance of the north portico (opus latericium) might be from the period of Domitian, Hadrian, or Commodus - Septimius Severus / Caracalla. Remains of plaster can be seen on several of the inner brick columns.Phase 5 - Commodus-Septimus Severus (layer I)
This is the last layer that was encountered, but it is not the complete ancient top layer, which had already been removed by modern restorers lifting mosaics and replacing them on a new surface. Ancient restorers may also have removed some of this layer. In this phase the mosaics were added to which the square owes its fame. They are not contemporaneous with the raising of phase 4. The back wall of opus latericium of stationes 46-51 also belongs to this phase.Later changes
Many side walls of opus vittatum were added in the back rooms, often resting on a mosaic, without a foundation. These must belong to the third or fourth century.Comments
There are indications of fluctuations in the level of the south part of the west porticus. In the back rooms of stationes 46-50 layer III was absent, layer II present (trench d), and in statio 54 layer II was absent (trench f). In stationes 56 (trench g) "the area had already been excavated", and in stationes 60-61 (trench h) layer II "had already been excavated", which may also indicate that the level was never there. In statio 60 (trench i) there may never have been a raising to the final level on top of layer III.Additional information
A brick stamp from the period of Marcus Aurelius was found in the west wall.[5] Below the mosaic in statio 9 a coin from 171 AD was found.[6] The coin may have been found below the original design of the mosaic or below a restoration. The plan in Scavi di Ostia I assigns the rooms to the south of stationes 1 and 61 to the reign of Commodus.
(1) 18-12 BC. Cooley 1999: "This article re-examines the foundation date of the theatre at Ostia, and argues that it contributes to a pattern of theatre-building in the empire as a whole during a particular period of Augustus's reign. It is generally agreed that Ostia's theatre was built under Augustus, at the instigation of his right-hand man, Marcus Agrippa, but it is sometimes associated with the earlier part of his reign. The first part of this discussion draws attention to the significance of an epigraphic fragment, which should be added to the two fragments published as CIL XIV 82. The fragment's two letters lead to the hypothesis that the theatre's foundation belongs to the period 18-12 bc, and perhaps to 18/17 bc. Ostia's theatre thus belongs to a group of theatres built between c. 25-15 bc which were associated with influential individuals who shared personal ties with Augustus."
(2) Calza 1915, 180.
(3) Cf. Coarelli 1997, 223-225, comparing the crypta Balbi with the situation in Ostia: "... la struttura [in Rome] che si intravvede - che associa sede dei vigiles con un culto di Vulcano, collegato a sua volta a un teatro e alla porticus post scaenam di questo, ed è prossima topograficamente alla sede delle frumentationes - si ritrova con caratteristiche molto simili ... ad Ostia." See also Terpstra 2014.
(4) See also Vaglieri 1912, 346, 436.
(5) Vaglieri 1913, 50; not in the east wall, as stated by Bloch, SO I, 221.
(6) Vaglieri 1912, 243.
Appendix. Highlights of the trenches.
Trench a - stationes 40-43 (Pohl figure 5)
Trench a was opened in the front rooms of stationes 40-43. The mosaics of layer I were supported by a layer of lime, followed by a layer of grey-yellow clay. The top of layer III also consisted of lime for the support of a floor. The central column between stationes 42 and 43 has a characteristic foundation, seen with all other columns: it tapers towards the top with an irregular surface, as if it was worked after pouring, or was poured secondarily.
Trench b - statio 42
Trench b was dug in the south part of statio 42. The dividing wall in the back rooms of stationes 42 and 43, made of stone blocks and chips, turned out to rest on the scant remains of a mosaic, resting on layer I. Layer II was full of fragments of the stucco decoration of columns (Tuscan and Ionic orders), and contained a coin of Vespasian. The south-east central column has a Claudian, travertine base, and a Hadrianic, fake brick plinth above it, resting on a stone block.
Trench c - statio 44 (Pohl figures 6-7)
Trench c was opened in the south part of statio 44. The back room is divided into two rooms by a west-east wall of small tufa blocks, at 1.90 from the back wall in opus reticulatum. This dividing wall was much restored in modern times. It has a foundation that is only 16 cm. high and does not rest on a mosaic. Between stationes 44 and 45 is a wall of opus vittatum, resting on a mosaic. Inside the secondary room in the back room, part of a mosaic was found made of large white tesserae, 20 cm. higher than the mosaic in the front room. When the mosaic was laid, the mosaic of which a small part was preserved below the vittatum wall was removed.
Trench d - stationes 46-50 (Pohl figures 8-10)
Trench d was dug in the back rooms of stationes 46-50. The back wall of these rooms, from the south part of statio 46 to statio 51, is of opus latericium. The dividing wall between stationes 46 and 47 is of opus vittatum. It has no foundation and is now only 5 to 6 layers high. The wall between stationes 50 and 51 is of small tufa blocks and has a shallow foundation. A tiny fragment of mosaic was found in the south-west corner of statio 50. In this trench layer III was missing, with layer II lying on top of layer IV. In layer II coins (Pohl fig. 148) were found of Germanicus, Claudius, and Hadrian, the latter from 119 AD and the latest coin from layer II. Between stationes 49 and 50 the shallow foundation of a dividing wall was found, the upper part of which has disappeared. From the irregular joint at the north end of the latericium stretch Pohl deduces that the latericium does not fill a wide entrance, but is a restoration, carried out when the porticus had been brought to the final level. In statio 50 the remains were found of two further dividing walls in the back room: one running north-south and set against the south wall at 1.70 from the back wall, one running west-east and set against the back wall, between stationes 50 and 49. The upper part of these walls has disappeared. The foundations are resting on layer III. Fragments of large brick tiles were found near the southern foundation.
Trench e - statio 49 (Pohl figure 11 and figure 12)
Trench e was opened in the east part of the back room of statio 49.
Trench f - statio 54 (Pohl figures 13-14 and figure 15)
Trench f was dug in the north part of statio 54. In the north part of the front room a layer of white-grey lime, 20 cm. high, replaced layer II, to which Pohl assigns a thin strip of earth below the lime. The brick plinth of the central brick column had not been preserved. However, a lump of lime was found that was meant to support it, similar to other blocks below the fake plinths. A layer was encountered (10 cm. high) that Pohl calls IIb, and that was found only here. It was restricted to a small part of the porticus. It enveloped the lower part of the central brick column.
Trench g - statio 56
Trench g was opened in the south part of the back room of statio 56. It turned out that this area "had been excavated before" (no further details are provided).
Trenches h-i - stationes 60-61
Trench h was dug between the back rooms of stationes 60 and 61. It turned out that layer II "had been excavated before" (in other words: layer II was not encountered). The foundation of a dividing wall between the back rooms of stationes 60 and 61 was found. Trench i was opened between the front room and back room of statio 60. Here the entire stratigraphy was confused as a result of the digging of a hole in antiquity. The top of the filling corresponded with the top of layer III. In the filling an oil lamp of the fourth or fifth century AD was found. The smooth top of the filling suggests that there was no late raising to the final level. The north-east central column of statio 60 is preserved to a height of 2.65. Both central columns of statio 60 have remains of smooth stucco, from the travertine plinth to the top.
The painted and stucco decoration of the back wall and ceiling
In layer II many small fragments were found of wall and ceiling decoration. Together they constitute only a tiny proportion of the original surface. The decoration belongs to the Second or Third Style, and should be dated to the first half of the first century AD.
Main frieze with a red background
On the main frieze (Pohl fig. 62) are garlands with leaves, and ribbons with bows, between columns. Below the garlands are human figures.Large frieze with a black background and white stucco relief
The black plaster is divided in an upper and a lower part by a stucco cornice. White stucco decoration has been preserved of frames of panels. Inside the panels are vegetative motifs and symbols. The frieze was on the upper part of the wall. A stucco moulding coincides with the transition between the wall and the ceiling.Niches or architectural vistas between red fields
This frieze was probably positioned above the main frieze.Architectural element next to a white zone
Small panels and figurative scenes
On the panels are fishing scenes, perhaps in a harbour. A man is pulling on a net. The bow or stern of a ship seems visible. Not on a panel is a depiction of an old man playing the lyre.