Ostia Antica
Ostia antica
Italy · Lazio
In brief
Ostia, at the mouth of the Tiber, was Rome's port city. Excavations allow commercial buildings, houses and later Christian buildings to be studied together.
What was found?
- 1Republican-period castrum walls
These are the remains of a fortified settlement enclosed by tuff blocks, with four gates. Dated by the archaeological park to the 4th century BC, this nucleus is the oldest archaeologically documented part of Ostia.
- 2Baths of Neptune
They include mosaics, cold and hot bathing spaces, and a sports area surrounded by columns. The complex was arranged for sport and social life as well as bathing.
- 3Constantinian-period episcopal basilica
The three-aisled church forms a complex associated with a forecourt and circular baptistery. Identified through aerial photographs and geophysical surveys, the building was confirmed by excavations.
What does it point to?
Ostia's sequence of buildings shows the transformation from a fortified nucleus into a city with an increasingly commercial character. The baths reveal communal life, while the basilica makes visible the place of Christian institutions in the city during Late Antiquity.
What did it teach us?
- As the settlement grew, the old castrum walls lost their defensive function.
- The bath complex combined bathing, sport, and residences on the upper floors.
- The basilica excavations confirmed the existence of the building known from ancient written sources.
- The basilica complex remained in use until at least the 7th–8th century AD.
Images
Record
- Culture
- Roman
- Team / historical
- Sapienza University of Rome; Basilica of Constantine research project
- Coordinates
- 41.7558°, 12.2917°
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- dipantichita.web.uniroma1.it
- Ostia Antica Arkeoloji Parkı — Cumhuriyet dönemi castrumu
- Ostia Antica Arkeoloji Parkı — Neptün Hamamları
Nearby excavations
- Roman Forum 22 km
- Banditaccia Necropolis, Cerveteri 31 km
- La Marmotta Lakeshore Settlement 38 km
- Hadrian's Villa 45 km
- Bagno Grande Sanctuary, San Casciano dei Bagni 129 km
- Herculaneum 202 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
From beneath the soil: latest discoveries
- Rare Messapic inscriptions found in a 2,300-year-old tomb in Italy
Two Messapic inscriptions were found on the cover slabs of a rock-cut tomb in Manduria. According to researchers, the texts may indicate that the woman associated with the tomb held a religious role; a connection to priesthood and the cult of Demeter has not yet been confirmed.
Heritage Daily ↗ - Main sewer line and inscriptions describing Roman rituals found at Aquinum
Investigations at Aquinum uncovered the main sewer line, a group of 120 coins and religious inscriptions. The finds help researchers understand water management in the Roman city and practices such as consecrating places struck by lightning.
Heritage Daily ↗ - Analysis of Inca mummies detects traces of coca, alcohol and harmine
Hair and nail analyses of eight Inca mummies from Peru and Argentina identified evidence of coca consumption, alcohol in four individuals and traces of harmine in the Ampato mummy. According to researchers, the use of different substances shows that sacrificial ceremonies varied according to local traditions.
Arkeofili ↗ - Object from a 5,300-year-old grave in Russia identified as a kidney stone
Analyses of an object measuring approximately 2.1 centimeters, found in a Bronze Age grave in the Stavropol Upland, revealed a mineral composition consistent with a kidney stone. According to researchers, the find indicates that the man buried in the grave had a chronic infection, providing direct evidence of diseases of the period.
Arkeofili ↗ - 3,000-year-old bronze objects found during battlefield survey in Hungary
A survey of the Mezőkeresztes battlefield uncovered a large bronze vessel and two decorated spiral arm ornaments. The objects, dated to the 13th–11th centuries BC, were recovered with their original positions preserved, allowing researchers to study Bronze Age practices of burying valuable objects.
Heritage Daily ↗ - 2,600-year-old mudbrick structure identified beneath the city of Buto in Egypt
The walls of a large mudbrick structure identified through satellite and geophysical surveys were confirmed by a trial excavation. According to the researchers, a layer of sand placed beneath the foundations may have helped protect the structure in the waterlogged ground of the Nile Delta.
Heritage Daily ↗ · Excavation notebook - Celtic woman's grave containing jewelry and animal remains found in Germany
A woman's skeleton, heavy bronze anklets, a sapropelite arm ring, and the remains of a lamb or kid were found in the grave in Bavaria. According to the researchers, placing the animal in the grave as a food offering represents an unusual example of Celtic funerary practices in the region.
Arkeofili ↗ - Cupboard containing personal belongings, childhood amulets and coins found in Pompeii
Grooming items, 38 bronze coins and a necklace made up of at least 24 amulets were found in a cupboard in a house in Pompeii that had remained closed since the eruption in AD 79. The preservation of these objects together provides detailed information about everyday life and personal mementos in Roman times.
Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook
All excavation sites (395)
Türkiye
- Acemhöyük
- Aizanoi
- Alabanda
- Alacahöyük
- Amos
- Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Arslantepe Mound
- Aspendos
- Assos
- Ayanis Fortress
- Aşıklı Höyük
- Barcın Höyük
- Blaundus
- Boncuklu Höyük
- Can Hasan I
- Carchemish
- Claros Sanctuary
- Clazomenae
- Domuztepe
- Ephesus
- Euromus
- Gordion
- Göbekli Tepe
- Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia
- Hattusha
- Hierapolis
- Iasos
- Kaman-Kalehöyük
- Karahantepe
- Karatepe-Aslantaş
- Kaunos
- Kibyra
- Knidos
- Kültepe-Kanesh
- Laodicea on the Lycus
- Letoon Sanctuary
- Limyra
- Magnesia on the Maeander
- Medieval City of Beçin
- Metropolis in Ionia
- Miletus
- Myra
- Nemrut Dağ
- Nysa on the Maeander
- Olympus in Lycia
- Oymaağaç Höyük — Nerik
- Patara
- Pergamon
- Perge
- Phaselis
- Priene
- Sagalassos
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma
- Sanctuary of Labraunda
- Sapinuwa
- Sardis
- Sayburç
- Side
- Stratonikeia
- Tell Atchana – Alalakh
- Teos
- Tripolis on the Meander
- Troy
- Uluburun Shipwreck
- Xanthos
- Yenikapı – Theodosian Harbour Excavations
- Yeşilova Höyük
- Yumuktepe
- Zerzevan Castle
- Zeugma
- Zincirli Höyük — Sam'al
- Çatalhöyük
- Çavuştepe Fortress
- Çayönü
- Çukuriçi Höyük
