The buildings and structures to the north of the Fossa Traiani
Click here to open the plan of Portus in a separate window.
Other plans: Lanciani 1868 | Lugli - Filibeck 1935 | Testaguzza 1970 | Keay 2005, fig. 1.2.
Internal mole [plan nr. 1]
Between the two harbours is a roughly north-south running mole, approximately 300 metres long and 12 metres wide. In the past it has been attributed to the fourth century, and regarded as extra protection for Trajan's harbour. Recent research has shown that it belongs to the early second century, and was restored later. Near the mole marble columns were found, perhaps from a sunken ship, with the inscriptions DNCF, FLST and FLSTLC. The shape of the letters point to a date in late antiquity. FLST has been explained as FL(avi) ST(iliconis), "of Flavius Stilicho", the famous general from the late fourth and early fifth century.
Back to indexThe Claudian porticus [2]
This was a T-shaped porticus, with travertine columns. They have a rough surface (opus rusticum) and can therefore be dated to the reign of Claudius. There is also a Trajanic phase. In the Severan period the porticus was incorporated in horrea (opus latericium). The porticus was excavated in 1933.
The Claudian porticus. Note the columns with their typical, rough surface (opus rusticum).
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
The Claudian porticus, detail of a column.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
The darsena [3]
The darsena (Italian for "inner harbour") is a long, rectangular basin (45 x 24 metres), entered through an opening 9 metres wide. The oldest masonry (opus reticulatum) belongs to the period of Claudius. This was a harbour for auxiliary vessels or smaller ships.
The darsena or inner harbour, now filled with earth.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Ruins along the Darsena.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
The darsena.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
The Porticus Placidiana [4]
This was a colonnade with a length of 200 metres along the right bank of the Fossa Traiana, to the south of the Claudian porticus. Behind the porticus were shops. It was built c. 425 AD in honour of Placidia, the mother of Emperor Valentinianus III. It is the last monumental building of Portus. It was decorated with a statue on a marble base in the years 425-450 AD (Thylander B327), found amongst the ruins in 1822:
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SALVIS D D N NRIS (= dominis nostris) THEODOSIO ET PLACIDO VALENTINIANO P P A A V V G G (= perpetuis Augustis) FL(avius) [al]EXANDER CRESCONIVS V(ir) C(larissimus) PRAEF(ectus) ANN(onae) VRB(is) ROM(ae) AD ORNATVM PORTICVS PLACIDIANAE POSVIT |
 Base of a statue from Portus, set up by Flavius Alexander Cresconius, praefectus annonae, ad ornatum porticus Placidianae. Now in the Piccolo Mercato in Ostia. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker |
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The Trajanic lighthouse [5]
A small lighthouse was erected between the two harbours, to the north of the channel that connected the two basins, at the west end of a short mole. It belongs to the period of Trajan and was restored in late antiquity. It seems to be depicted on the Tabula Peutingeriana.
Back to indexBaths [6]
Behind the small lighthouse ([5]) are baths, perhaps from the Flavian period and restored several times. Further baths were found to the north of the hexagon, the so-called Horrea Baths: Trajanic Horrea, rebuilt to baths in late antiquity.
Back to indexRuins around the Claudian harbour
The Claudian lighthouse
A huge lighthouse was built by Claudius between the two moles of his harbour. Ancient authors (Suetonius, Cassius Dio) tell us that the lighthouse was on top of an island, an isolated mole. They also state that part of the foundation of the lighthouse consisted of a huge ship, that had been used by Caligula to carry an obelisk from Egypt to Rome. Apparently it was used as a caisson. The building process must have been similar to that of the harbour at Centumcellae, not far away, during the reign of Trajan. It is described as follows by Pliny the Younger:
"I was delighted to be summoned by the Emperor [Trajanus] to act as his assessor at Centum Cellae [Civitavecchia], where I am now." [...] "The house is really beautiful: it is surrounded by green fields and faces the sea-shore, where a natural bay is being converted with all speed into a harbour. The left arm has already been reinforced by a solid mole and the right is in process of construction. At the entrance to the harbour an island is rising out of the water to act as a breakwater when the wind blows inland, and so give a safe passage to ships entering from either side. Its construction is well worth seeing. Huge stones are brought by large barges and thrown out one on top of another facing the harbour; their weight keeps them in position and the pile gradually rises in a sort of rampart. A hump of rocks can already be seen sticking up, which breaks the waves beating against it and tosses them high into the air with a resounding crash, so that the sea all round is white with foam. Later on piers will be built on the stone foundation, and as time goes on it will look like a natural island. The harbour will be called after its maker, and is in fact already known by his name; and it will save countless lives by providing a haven on this long stretch of harbourless coast."
The lighthouse was very high, and built after the example of the famous Pharos of Alexandria: altissimam turrem in exemplum Alexandrini Phari (Suetonius, Claudius XX), It could also be called Pharos, as could other lighthouses (see e.g. Herodianus IV,2,8). It is depicted on many mosaics in Ostia, on reliefs, sarcophagi and funerary slabs from Ostia and Rome, on coins of Antoninus Pius, Faustina and Commodus, on lamps and on the Tabula Peutingeriana.
According to Stuhlfauth the lighthouse probably had four storeys. The lower three were square or rectangular, the upper one was cylindrical. But there are many variations in the depictions. A possible explanation for some of these variations is, that different sides of the lighthouse were depicted. Sometimes the lighthouse is depicted with a large arched porch in the lowest storey and with windows in the upper storeys. But sometimes all of the storeys have porches.
From lines on mosaics can be deduced that all storeys of the lighthouse were made of large stone blocks. There seems to have been a statue of an Emperor (Claudius or Nero?) on the penultimate storey. On top burned a fire to guide ships during the night. Pliny the Elder explains that "the danger lies in the uninterrupted burning of the beacon, in case it should be mistaken for a star, the appearance of the fire from a distance being similar" (periculum in continuatione ignium, ne sidus existimeretur, quoniam e longinquo similis flammarum aspectus est; NH XXXVI,xviii,83).
Taking the fuel for the fire to the top must he been a particular challenge. Sloping ramps inside the lighthouse may have been used, as in Alexandria. This takes us to the interior of the lighthouse. The ancient depictions suggest that the lighthouse was quite wide and had many storeys (in contrast to the lighthouse in Alexandria, which had only a few storeys and was relatively slender). Each upper storey seems to have been considerably narrower than the storey below. This is a very unusual shape for a tower, and I do not know any parallels. How was the weight of each upper storey handled? The shape of the lighthouse is as unusual as the shape of the Trajanic hexagonal basin.
The ancient authors do not tell us how high the lighthouse was. Some archeologists believe that the lighthouse in Alexandria was 120 metres high (with a foundation of 30x30 metres), and there is no reason to think that the lighthouse of Portus was lower. If it was 50 metres high it could be seen in Rome - and it surely could. If it was 120 metres high (23 metres higher than Big Ben) it could be seen at a distance of 40 kilometres. Claudius may well have decided to make the lighthouse of Portus slightly higher than that of Alexandria, to underline the supremacy of Rome. Similarly the sinking of the ship that had been used for the transport of an obelisk may not only have been a technical operation, but also a symbolical deed (Boyce 1958, p. 77). The lighthouse seems to have been restored by Antoninus Pius: Phari restitutio (SHA 8, 2-3; the context suggests that the lighthouse of Portus is meant, because it is mentioned in a list of work that took place in Italy only).
In the period 334-345 AD Lucius Crepereius Madalianus is consul(aris) molium phari at(que) purgaturae, i.e. responsible for the maintenance of the moles and the lighthouse, and for dredging in the harbour (Thylander B336; this, by the way, is the first inscription in which Portus is referred to as a city independent of Ostia):
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FID(a)E EXERCITATIONEM BONITATI POLLENTI LVCIO CREPEREIO MADALIANO V(iro) C(larissimo) PRAEF(ecto) ANN(onae) CVM IVRE GLADII COMITI FLAVIALI CORR(ectori) FLAM(iniae) ET PICENI LEG(ato) PRO PRAETORE PROV(inciae) ASIAE LEG(ato) PROV(inciae) AFRICAE CONSVLA(ri) AED(ium) SACRAR(um) CONSVL(ari) MOLIVM PHARI AT(que) PVRGATVRAE QUAEST(ori) CANDID(ato) PRAET(ori) CONSVLI OB MVLTA IN SE EIVS TESTIMONIA ORDO ET POPVLVS (civitatis) FL(aviae) CONSTANTINIANAE PORTVENSES STATVAM PVBLICAE PONENDVM CENSVERVNT |
In late antiquity the lighthouse was used as a symbol of salvation on Christian sarcophagi.
Documents from 1018 and 1049 mention two towers in Portus, presumably the Claudian and Trajanic lighthouses. One is called Cocuzina or Cucuzuba / Cucuzuta, the other Molon or Montone. We also hear of a fundus Bacatus, a name apparently derived from the Claudian lighthouse (Baccha = Specula = Pharus). On August 25, 1190 Richard Coeur de Lion visited Ostia, and we hear this: Et postea intravit Tyberim; ad cuius introitum est turris pulcerrima sed solitaria ("And after that he entered the mouth of the Tiber, at the entrance of which is a very beautiful but solitary tower"). Meiggs suggests that he saw Tor Boacciana, which was perhaps a small lighthouse at the mouth of the Ostian branch of the Tiber. But can that simple tower really be called a very beautiful tower, or was this the lighthouse of Portus? Remains of the lighthouse could still be seen in the 15th century. In the book De Roma instaurata, written 1444-1446, Flavio Biondo wrote: "Di questa torre ne veggiamo, insino ad hoggi una buona parte in pie, se non che ne sono stati tolti i marmi, de quali ella era incrustata" (translation by Lucio Fauno, Venezia 1558, 41). Note that according to Flavio Biondo the tower was decorated with marble. In his Commentaria rerum memorabilium Pius II Piccolomini (died 1464) wrote: "Ancora rimangono vestigia della torre le quali si vedano là nel mare; tutti gli altri monumenti sono periti interamente" (edition Frankfurt 1614, 301). In 1483 Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere) visited Portus "dove si vedono ancora i muri vetustissimi della città di Porto, molto diruti, e la torre del Faro, tanto che ancora oggi essa conserva lo stesso nome" (Iacopo Gherardi, Il Diario di Roma, in Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores Vol. 23, part 3, 3-4). After 1483 there are no further references to the lighthouse. Perhaps the last remains were demolished soon afterwards.
- Ancient depictions of the lighthouse:
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- Mosaic in the House of the Harbour Mosaic (I,XIV,2).
- Mosaic in statio 3 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 22 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 23 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 26 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 35 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 46 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in statio 49 on the Square of the Corporations (II,VII,4).
- Mosaic in the Baths of the Lighthouse (IV,II,1).
- Mosaic in the Isola Sacra necropolis, tomb 43.
- Mosaic in the Imperial Palace, courtyard 73.
- Relief of a ship approaching the lighthouse.
- Relief on a sarcophagus of a ship approaching the lighthouse, from the Isola Sacra necropolis, tomb 90.
- Relief of the lighthouse, on the Torlonia Relief, from Portus. Also a female figure with the lighthouse on her head in the upper left corner.
- Relief of the lighthouse on a travertine block, probably from a tomb to the south of Ostia, now outside the museum in Ostia. Photograph: Giovanni Lattanzi, www.archart.it. Reproduced with permission.
- Graffito from Ostia.
- Graffito from Ostia.
- Graffito from Ostia (next to Trajan's column).
- Painting from the harbour of Claudius: two masks of winds flanking the lighthouse (Scrinari 1984, fig. 6).
- Coin of Antoninus Pius, with depictions of a grain measure, Annona (personification of the grain supply) holding a tessera frumentaria and a rudder, and the lighthouse. Text: ANNONA AVG FELIX SC (Meiggs 1973, Pl. XVIII).
- Coin of Commodus, with depictions of ships (one with Jupiter Serapis), two men sacrificing (one of which is the Emperor), and the lighthouse. Text: VOTIS FELICIBVS (Meiggs 1973, Pl. XVIII).
- Funerary slabs with depictions of the lighthouse (Stuhlfauth 1938, figs. 5, 6, 7).
- Drawing of the lighthouse on the Tabula Peutingeriana.
The Molo sinistro (Left mole)
Parts of the Molo sinistro were excavated on various occassions, most recently in the 1950's. The name is a bit confusing: it is the continuation of the Molo destro (Right mole; see below) on the north side of the basin of Claudius. In other words, it is not the left mole of the harbour at all (as seen from the harbour towards the sea), but part of the right or northern mole. Remains were found over a distance of approximately one kilometre, to the north-west of the Museo delle Navi. The normal width is 3.30 metres. To the east of the Monte Arena is a much wider section. Here the base was made of basalt blocks, the upper part of travertine blocks. It is pierced by square holes, in which wood was found. This part of the mole seems to have been built as prescribed by Vitruvius (De architectura 5,12).
Remains of the left mole. Note the holes in the side. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Large basalt blocks, belonging to the base of the mole. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Monte Arena
Between the Molo sinistro and Molo destro is the Monte Arena, a large deposit of sand. Here an inscription was found from 210 AD, stipulating where the saborrarii (dredgers, possibly also providing ballast for ships) were allowed to take away sand (Keay 2005, A5). Perhaps there was an opening here, leading to a lagoon to the north. The Molo destro (Right mole) is not a mole at all, but part of the quays.
Back to indexThe Capitaneria
The Capitaneria, also known as "Fabbricato sulla testata del molo destro", was excavated in the 1960's. It is situated to the north-east of the basin of Claudius, and to the north-east of the Museo delle Navi. It was built in the second century AD. Restorations and paintings have been dated to the early fourth century (opus vittatum). Part of a painted ceiling was found, with depictions of eagles, horsemen, masks (perhaps of winds) and a lighthouse. It has been suggested that it was a harbour master's office, used by the Customs Service. There is also a slipway for boats. Nearby the boats were found that are now in the Museo delle Navi.
Plan of the Capitaneria.
The ruins of the Capitaneria. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Baths and horrea
Baths, part of a store building and an adjacent cistern were excavated by Lugli in the 1930's and by Scrinari in the 1980's. These structures are a bit to the north of the Horrea Baths ([6]) on a location known as Monte Giulio. The baths and store building were built during the reign of Claudius and repaired after earthquakes. Most of the present structures belong to the early fourth century.
Plan of the baths.
General view of the baths. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
A room near the baths facing the basin of Claudius.
The thin white layer on the lower part of the walls is the result of the action of the seawater.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Cistern
The cistern was built during the reign of Trajan. It measures 27 x 15 metres. The preserved height is 7 metres. The facade was decorated with large floor-niches on all four sides. At least those in the short sides were originally fountains. The interior originally consisted of a hall with three piers and cross-vaults, behind which was a room for distributing the water. Later four rooms were created in the hall. The cistern contained approximately 1.152.000 litres. The excavators discovered several infillings from the third and fourth century that were related to earthquakes. In the cistern the bodies were found of people who died during a terrible earthquake. They carried coins dated to 236 and 239 AD.
Plan of the cistern.
Reconstruction drawing of the cistern.
Two of the four rooms of the cistern. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Floor niches in one of the long sides of the cistern.
Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Small theatre [7]
The small theatre was reported by Lanciani. Recent geophysical research (Keay 2005) could not confirm this feature, but a circular feature was found not far away (external diameter c. 35 m., inner circle c. 28 m.).
Back to indexThe Imperial Palace [8]
This building can be dated to the reign of Claudius: lead waterpipes with the name of Messalina, Claudius’ wife, were found here. It was rebuilt at the end of the reign of Trajan or the beginning of the reign of Hadrian (opus mixtum of excellent quality), and further work took place in the Antonine period. The early investigators (16th century) called it Palazzo delle Cento Colonne; later it was called Palazzo Imperiale. It contained a very long porticus with many columns, a room with niches where fragments of statues were found (of Aesculapius, a Muse, Leda, a philosopher, a slave, an athlete, Septimius Severus), apsidal rooms with mosaic floors (including a Centauromachy), baths, a temple in which fragments were found of a statue of Hercules, and underground vaults and passages. This may indeed have been an Imperial residence, that was normally used by the procurator of Portus, the supervisor of the harbour district.
Back to indexThe city wall [9]
A city wall enclosed a number of buildings around Trajan's basin. To the east it reached as far as the Temple of Portumnus ([14]), where there was also a main gate. There were square protruding towers, every 30 metres. Existing buildings were incorporated in the wall. The wall has in the past often been attributed to the reign of Constantine, but recent research shows that it was erected c. 400 AD, just before the invasion of the Goths in 408 AD, or even later. It was restored extensively.
Back to indexColossal statue of Trajan [10]
In 1794 the remains were found of a colossal statue of Trajan in military dress, in front of the Round Temple [11]. It stood on a large base (4.46 x 4.46 m.) found by Lanciani.
Back to indexThe Round Temple [11]
This temple, not later than the reign of Commodus, was dedicated to Liber Pater (Bacchus), as is shown by inscriptions (an altar was found dedicated to Liber Pater Commodianus). In the 15th century the statue of Bacchus was found, but thrown in the river Tiber by order of Cardinal Bessarion, who said it was sacrilegious. The temple was restored in the fourth century. It is in a prominent position, opposite the entrance to Trajan’s harbour. The cult of Liber Pater seems to have been particularly important in Portus. It was associated with the cult of Bona Dea. Recent geophysical research (Keay 2005) could not confirm a round feature, but on this spot a square temple in a courtyard surrounded by a porticus (c 40 x 55 m.) seemed visible.
Back to indexVilla Torlonia [12]
The modern Villa Torlonia was built in the late 19th century.
Back to indexVia Portuensis and aqueduct [13]
The road connecting Portus and Rome was called Via Portuensis. It began at the east side of the hexagon. A first aqueduct was built in the first century AD (a related inscription mentions Nero). It followed the Tiber from north to south and branched off to the west, to Portus. The later Trajanic canal that connected the Tiber and the Fossa Traiana crossed its path and necessitated a rebuilding: the new southern stretch of the aqueduct is to the north of the Via Portuensis, that follows the northern towpath along the canal. The aqueduct was carried on arches.
Back to indexThe Temple of Portumnus [14]
This is a round building, near a main gate in the city wall. A high stump of masonry with niches has been preserved (diam. c. 19 m.). It is made of opus latericium that was decorated with marble, later replaced by paintings imitating marble. The exterior was decorated with 24 marble columns. The structure has been dated to the early third century. The function of the building is not clear, perhaps it was a mausoleum.
The remains of the Temple of Portumnus. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Detail of the Temple of Portumnus. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
The internal city wall [15]
To the south-east of Trajan's basin is an internal wall (opus latericium) with three square towers, connecting the basin and the city wall. Near the basin is a ancient gate, that was called Arco di Santa Maria in the Middle Ages. Through this wall a fortress was created within the city wall ([9]), namely the area to the south of the hexagon.
Back to indexHorrea [16]
Around the basin horrea were erected. The preserved store buildings were built during the reigns of Trajan, Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus. They consist of rows of deep rooms, back to back. The rooms are not arranged around a courtyard, as is often the case in Ostia. They had at least one upper floor. Objects were also stored on the first floor, witness sloping ramps, that facilitated the carrying of goods. One complex has raised floors (suspensurae), pointing to the storage of grain. Between the horrea and the basin was a wall with openings that were only 1.80 metres wide. This is too narrow for wagons, so obviously slaves carried goods from the ships to the store buildings. The wall offered an opportunity for control, related to the levying of import duties (the portorium).
See also [23] and [24].
Back to indexBarracks of the vigiles [17]
Portus was protected by fire-fighters, like Ostia. The place of discovery of inscriptions suggests that their barracks in Portus were to the east of the Episcopium. From the later second and early third century AD come three dedications to Fortuna Domestica Sancta and Hercules (Thylander B288, 289, 292), two of these for the health of the Emperor.
Back to indexThe Episcopium [18-19]
The seat of the bishop has a late-antique tower (opus vittatum) [19]. It was fortified in the Middle Ages, probably in relation to the invasions of the ninth century. There are many indications that the south part of Portus, to the west of the "internal wall", was the last line of defence.
An outer wall of the Episcopium. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
A gate of the Episcopium. Photograph: Jan Theo Bakker.
Unidentified temple [20]
In various ways the presence of temples can be established, that have not yet been found or identified: of the Bona Dea, Hercules, Magna Mater, Serapis, and the Syrian deity Marnas. This "Unidentified temple" in the south part of Portus must have been dedicated to one of these gods.
Back to indexChristian Basilica [21]
This is a basilica with three naves, built c. 350 AD. In front is a square with a quadriporticus and a fountain. The basilica may have been dedicated to Peter and Paul. It received donations from bishop Stephanus c. 800 AD. In the past it has been identified with the Xenodochium of Pammachius, a guest-house for pilgrims, donated by the senator Pammachius in 398 AD. The church was enlarged and embellished in later centuries, but abandoned in the thirteenth century. In the center of the atrium was a square basin with an inscription on all four sides. Three sides have been preserved:
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ATRIVM CVM QVADRIPORTICVM SED [et] COLVMNAS CVM [cisterna?] [qu]ISQ(ue) SITIT VENIAT CVPIENS (h)AVRIRE FLVE[nta] |
The last line is found in Epigram 1 of Damasus (pope from 366 to 384 AD).
Back to indexForo Olitorio [22]
To the south of the Darsena Lanciani identified a square surrounded by shops (c. 170 x 60 m.). He called it "Foro Olitorio" (vegetable market). Between the inner harbour and the square is a colonnaded street, that is at a 90 degree angle to the Claudian portico to the west.
Back to indexGrandi Magazzini di Traiano [23]
To the north of the Darsena is a large warehouse, known as the Grandi Magazzini di Traiano.
Back to indexGrandi Magazzini di Settimio Severo [24]
To the north of the channel leading to the hexagon is a large warehouse, known as the Grandi Magazzini di Settimio Severo. They were in fact made during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The cellae are arranged around three sides of a courtyard (there are no rooms to the south) and are behind a porticus. The longest side measures c. 186 metres. The rooms were covered by cross-vaults. The building had at least one upper floor.
Back to indexTriumphal arches and columns
The Torlonia-relief and a sarcophagus show, that there were two triumphal arches in Portus, carrying a statuary group of the Emperor in a chariot, drawn by elephants. These may have been erected during the reign of Domitian.
Also on the Torlonia-relief a few columns can be seen. One of these was restored by Septimius Severus in 196 AD (CIL XIV, 113):
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COLVMNAM VII TEMPEST[atis] CONFRACTAM RESTITV[it] |
"... he restored a column broken by the force of a storm". This inscription was found in 1794 on a quay on the south side of the hexagonal basin and seems to have belonged to the base of the column that had been restored.
Back to indexThe area to the north and east of the city
Recent geophysical research and aerial photographs (Keay 2005) provided much information about the area to the east of Portus. It was for the most part used as a necropolis, witness the find of many human bones and fragments of sarcophagi. Tombs and mausolea were also built near the Tiber. The area is traversed by a very wide road (15-30 m.) to the north of the Via Portuensis. Also near the Tiber, to the east of the aqueduct, a few warehouses and temples have been identified.
Back to indexBasilica of Eutropius, Bonosa and Zosima
This is a basilica built at the site of the tombs of three martyrs. Two inscriptions and an ancient text indicate that it was to the east of Portus, at a distance of c. 1.5 kilometres, near the junction of the Fossa Traiani and the Tiber. It was built at the end of the fourth century by a bishop named Donatus. The inscriptions (Thylander B234 and B235) have the text:
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SANCTIS MARTYRIBVS ET BEATI[ssimis] EVTROPIO BONOSAE ET ZOSIM[e] DONATVS EPISC(opus) TVMVLVM ADO[rnavit] SED ET BASILICAM CONI[un]CTAM [TVMVLO] A FVNDAMENTIS SANCTAE [ple]BI D[ei construxit] |
"Bishop Donatus decorated the tomb for the holy and most blessed martyrs Eutropius, Bonosa and Zosime, and he also built a basilica for the holy people of God, next to the tomb, from the foundations".
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ACCIPE ME DIXIT DOMIN[e in tua limina, Christe] EXAVDITA CITO FRVITV[r modo lumine caeli] ZOSIME SANCTA SOROR M[agno defuncta periclo] IAM VIDET ET SOCIOS SANC[ti certaminis omnes] LAETATVRQVE VIDENS MIRA[ntes sistere circum] MIRANTVRQVE PATRES TAN[ta virtute puellam] QVAM SVO DE NVMERO CVPIE[ntes esse vicissim] CERTATIMQVE TENENT ATQV[e amplectuntur ovantes] IAM VIDET ET SENTIT MAGNI [spectacula regni] ET BENE PRO MERITIS GAVDET SIBI PRAEMIA REDDI TECVM PAVLE TENENS CALCATA MORTE CORONAM NAM FIDE SERVATA CVRSVM CVM PACE PEREGIT |
"Welcome me, she said, in your house, my Lord Christ. Listened to immediately, she already enjoyed the light of heaven, Zosime, the holy sister, after having triumphed from a great danger. Already she sees all the comrades in the holy struggle and she is happy, seeing that they are standing around her, admiring. And the fathers admire this girl, who is so virtuous. They desire that now she belongs to them, and eagerly they hold and embrace her, triumphantly. Already she sees and is experiencing the spectacles of the great kingdom, and happily she receives the well-deserved rewards. With you, Paul, she holds the crown, having conquered death. Because she kept her faith and completed her journey in peace".
Two further martyrs, probably from Portus, are mentioned in an inscription on a marble sarcophagus, that is now in the monastery of S. Paolo fuori le Mura (Thylander B249, fourth century or first half of the fifth century):
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DEO PATRI OMNIPOTEN TI ET XRO EIUS E[t] SANCTIS MARTYRIBVS [t]AVRINO ET HERCVLAN[o o]MNI ORA GRATIA[s agi]MVS NEVIVS ZAR[istus et] CONSTANI[a marty] RIA SIBI FE[cerunt] |
"Every hour we thank God, our omnipotent father, and his Christ, and the holy martyrs Taurinus and Herculanus. Nevius Zaristus and Constantia (?) made the martyrium for them".
Christian churches that were probably built in the fourth and fifth century, but have not yet been found are S. Maria, S. Lorenzo, S. Pietro, and S. Ninfa. Churches of S. Gregorio, S. Teodoro, and S. Vito were built in the sixth and seventh century.
Back to indexThe Campus salinarum Romanarum
Important salt pans were located to the east of Ostia and to the north-east of Portus. In antiquity the latter area was called Campus salinarum Romanarum ("Field of the Roman salt pans"). It is mentioned in this inscription from the years 214-217 AD, found in Portus (CIL XIV, 4285):
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PRO SALVTE IMPP(eratorum) SEVERI ET ANTONINI AVGG(ustorum) ET [[Ge]]TAE NOBILISSIMI CAESARIS ET IVLIAE AVG(ustae) M(atris) AVGG(ustorum) ET CASTR(orum) GENIO SACCARIORVM SALARIOR(um) TOTIVS VRBIS CAMP(i) SAL(inarum) ROM(anarum) RESTITVTIANVS CORNE LIANVS DE XVI A«b» AERARIO ET ARK(arius) SAL(inarum) ROM«anarum» CVM INGENVA FILIA DONVM DEDIT DEDICANTIBVS SALLVSTIO SATVRNINO ET ORFITO PROCC(uratoribus) AVGG(ustorum) NN(ostrorum) |
It is a dedication by Restitutianus Cornelianus for the well-being of Septimius Severus, his wife Iulia Domna and their children Caracalla and Geta, also dedicated to the Genius (the protective deity) of the salt-sack men (sack carriers) of the whole city, of the field of the salt pans. Another (unpublished) inscription from 135 AD mentions conductores campi salinarum romanarum, i.e. contractors.
Map of Portus (G.B. Cingolani, "Topografia geometrica dell'Agro Romano", 1774).
Salt pans are indicated to the north-east of Portus and to the east of mediaeval Ostia,
near two swamps, the Stagno di Ponente and Stagno di Levante (north is to the left).
[jthb - 30-Mar-2008]