History of the excavations

In 1190 Richard Coeur de Lion sailed along the west coast of Italy on his way to a crusade. When he reached the Tiber delta he passed a place that was called by the locals "Le Far de Rume", and saw a very beautiful but solitary tower: it was the lighthouse of Claudius, the Pharos of Rome, built in imitation and as an improvement of the lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the world. Around 1200 AD Portus was depicted on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a copy of a Roman road map from late antiquity.

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Portus on the Tabula Peutingeriana (to the left, below Roma).

In the middle of the 15th century Flavio Biondo briefly mentions marble decoration of the lighthouse, but for us the ruins of the harbours begin to emerge in longer descriptions through a visit by pope Pius II in 1463. He still saw the remains of the lighthouse, rising on an island in the sea: the silt of the Tiber and the canals had not yet reached it. Trajan's basin had changed into a swamp, around which many walls and columns lying on the ground could be seen. The remains of the lighthouse were seen again and for the last time in 1483, this time by pope Sixtus IV. Also in the 15th century a statue of Bacchus was found, but it was thrown in the sea by order of Cardinal Bessarion, who said it was sacrilegious. For a long time building material was taken from the site and marble was burned in lime-kilns. Material was reused in the Villa Giulia of Julius III, Sant'Andrea della Valle, and in fountains on Piazza Colonna and Piazza Navona.

Many ruins were still visible in the 16th century, and from then on plans and reconstruction drawings were made (see the section "Maps, plans, bird's eye views"). The artists of course also used their imagination to complete the city. The oldest useful plan is by Antonio Labacco (published for the first time in 1552, with a long comment), the oldest reconstruction drawing was made by Pirro Ligorio (published for the first time in 1554). Until the 19th century a whole series of reconstructions would follow, especially by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg (1580), Stefano Du Pérac (1581), Jan van der Straet (ca. 1595), Daniel Meisner (1678), and Pierre-Joseph Garrez (1835). Of exceptional importance are two frescos made in 1582 by Ignazio Danti, now in the "Galleria delle carte geografiche" of the Vatican Museums: one shows the remains that could be seen, the other his reconstruction.

In 1796 Portus was sold by the Pope to a local landowner, Panfilo di Pietro, and soon a search for sculpture began, not excavations, but simply the digging of holes. The buildings that were unearthed were immediately filled with earth again. This work was led by Cardinal Pacca, bishop of Portus (near Capo due rami; 1822), Guidi (1836 and 1852-1858), and Giuseppe Melchiorri (1839). Written descriptions and plans were made by Giuseppe Rocco Volpi (1734), Carlo Fea (1824), Antonio Nibby (1819, 1827, 1849), Luigi Canina (1830, 1838, 1856), and Charles Texier (1858). In 1856 Portus became property of Prince Alessandro Torlonia, and a Villa Torlonia was built to the north-east of the harbour. The Torlonia family continued the searching between 1863 and 1869, directed by the architect Carnevali. The work was visited by the famous archaeologists Giovanni Battista de Rossi and Rodolfo Lanciani, but they could do little more than take a few notes, leading to a lengthy article by Lanciani, published in 1868.

The digging by the Torlonia family resulted in a phenomenal collection of sculpture. The statues and reliefs that had been found by the Torlonia family were taken to the Museo Torlonia in Rome (not to be confused with the Villa Torlonia on the Via Nomentana). It was founded in 1859 by Alessandro Torlonia in Trastevere, at Via dei Corsini nr. 5. In the museum 620 pieces of sculpture were on display in 77 rooms. It is the most important private collection of ancient sculpture in the world. Not all objects were from Portus: objects were also bought from other Roman families, and found during searches on various properties of the family in Latium, such as the Villa dei Quintilii. The family allowed visits by aristocrats only. In the 1960's all objects were moved to storage rooms by the family, that installed apartments in the building. In 2016 an agreement was reached between the family and the Italian government, and in 2020 92 works were put on public display for the first time, in the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

In the twentieth century the French archaeologist Jerome Carcopino (known for his book about daily life in ancient Rome) worked in the harbour of Claudius (1907) and Guido Calza in the harbour of Trajan (1925). In 1925 and the 1930's Calza also excavated the Isola Sacra necropolis, on the artificial island between Portus and Ostia. The famous hexagonal basin of Trajan was restored and filled with water again in the years 1919-1924. The water is at a higher level now than it was in antiquity, so that the quays are underwater. It was linked to the Fossa Traiana by a new canal, starting at the south-east corner of the hexagon.

Model of Portus in the Museo della Via Ostiense, Rome. Photo: Wikimedia, Carole Raddato.

Work by Giuseppe Lugli led to a fundamental study (1935), with a new plan by Italo Gismondi. Gismondi also made a model of Portus, now in the Museo della Via Ostiense in Rome. Further excavations took place in the 1950's when the Aeroporti di Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) were built. This work was published by Otello Testaguzza (1970). The railway from the airport to Rome runs between the harbour basins of Claudius and Trajan. Part of the harbour of Claudius is on the grounds of the airport. Seven ships were discovered that were taken to a new Museo delle Navi, opened in 1979. Between 1970 and 1979 the Basilica of Saint Hippolytus on the Isola Sacra was excavated by Pasquale Testini. During a short period, in the 1970's and 1980's, the archaeological area was used as a zoo-safari. Part of the area was acquired by the Italian state between 1981 and 1989, but part is still private property of the Torlonia family, including the hexagonal basin of Trajan. At the end of the 20th century work was restricted to rescue excavations.

A photo of Portus as zoo-safari (1976). Photo: Alfredo Caruso on Roma Sparita.	A photo of Portus as zoo-safari (late 1970's). Photo: Antonia Arnoldus-Huyzendveld.

In the early 21st century an extensive survey of the area was carried out, by the Universities of Southampton, Durham and Cambridge. This "Portus project", led by Simon Keay, included a geophysical survey (magnetometry) and fieldwalking. Many articles were published by the team and in 2005 an important book, that includes a thorough overview of past research by Lidia Paroli. A similar survey of the Isola Sacra was published in 2020. Early in the century Antonia Arnoldus-Huyzendveld found remains of the lighthouse, through drillings, at a great depth. Excavations were also carried out by teams from France and Spain.

Trajan's basin. Photo: Simon Bakker.