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The use of travertine

An inventory of all travertine objects in Ostia was made in 1999 by L.B. van der Meer (University of Leiden) with a team of students. This led to two publications, plus one article as spin-off:

  • Van Der Meer, L.B. - Stevens N.L.C. 2000, "Tiburtinus lapis. The use of travertine in Ostia", BABesch 75, 169-195 (with an appendix about travertine doorframes in the Isola Sacra and Porta Laurentina cemeteries).
  • Van Der Meer, L.B. 2002, "Travertine Cornerstones in Ostia Antica: Odd Blocks", AJA 106, 575-580.
  • Stoeger H. 2007, "Monumental Entrances of Roman Ostia. Architecture with Public Associations and Spatial Meaning", BABesch 82, 347-363 (based on the MA Thesis "Monumental Entrances of Roman Ostia", Leiden University 2002).
  • I became interested in a subset of the material, namely the small travertine cornerstones and centralized stones that are found in many jambs of doors and porticos. Dr. L.B. van der Meer gave me access to the original descriptions of the travertine objects, made in 1999, and to the database in which the results were stored. For that I am most grateful. It became clear that a second, short campaign was necessary to verify the precise position of many stones, for further study of details (such as holes with metal that are present in many stones) and for observations of the context. In September 2009 I spent a few days in Ostia with my son Simon Bakker. We improved the descriptions from 1999 and took photos of all stones.

    In this section of the Ostia website I will discuss the previous research, describe the small cornerstones and centralized stones, and develop new hypotheses about their function.

    Jan Theo Bakker


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    Summary of previous research - overview
    Summary of previous research - large cornerstones
    Summary of previous research - doorframes and monumental entrances
    The cornerstones and centralized stones revisited

    Caseggiato I,I,2
    Caseggiato del Pantomimo Apolausto and Caseggiato del Balcone Ligneo (I,II,2.6)
    Caseggiato del Termopolio (I,II,5)
    Caseggiato dei Doli (I,IV,5)
    Portico est di Pio IX e loggia (I,V,2)
    Portico ovest di Pio IX e loggia (I,VI,1)
    Caseggiato dei Misuratori del Grano (I,VII,1-2)
    Piccolo Mercato (I,VIII,1)
    Horrea Epagathiana et Epaphroditiana (I,VIII,3)
    Caseggiato I,VIII,5
    Caseggiato del Larario (I,IX,3)
    Caseggiato I,XII,5
    Caseggiato I,XII,7
    Caseggiato I,XII,9
    Caseggiato I,XII,10
    Caseggiato I,XIII,5
    Caseggiato del Mosaico del Porto (I,XIV,2)
    Terme del Bagnino Buticosus (I,XIV,8)
    Horrea dei Mensores (I,XIX,4)
    Horrea I,XX,1
    Portico di Nettuno (II,IV,1) plus notes on the Caserma dei Vigili and Insula II,VI
    Basilica Cristiana (III,I,4)
    Tempio dei Fabri Navales (III,II,1-2)
    Domus sul Decumano (III,II,3)
    Horrea III,II,6
    Domus Fulminata (III,VII,3-4) and Casa della Domus Fulminata (III,VII,5)
    Case a Giardino (III,IX)
    Caseggiato degli Aurighi (III,X,1)
    Caseggiato III,XVI,6
    Caseggiato di Bacco e Arianna (III,XVII,5)
    Portico e Caseggiato dell'Ercole (IV,II,2-3)
    Schola del Traiano (IV,V,10)
    Caseggiato delle Taberne Finestrate (IV,V,18)
    Loggia di Cartilio Poplicola (IV,IX,1)
    Terme del Filosofo (V,II,6)
    Caseggiato V,II,10
    Caseggiato V,II,11
    Caseggiato V,II,12
    Caseggiato del Pozzo (V,II,13)
    Domus del Pozzo (V,III,3)
    Caseggiato V,III,5
    Edificio V,XI,3
    Portico degli Archi Trionfali (V,XI,7)
    Necropoli della Porta Romana, A6
    Portus, Porticus of Claudius
    Portus, Grandi Magazzini di Settimio Severo
    Preliminary interpretation