Ostia - The early Imperial period

Marcus Agrippa, right-hand man of Octavianus-Augustus, built a theatre in Ostia for approximately 3000 spectators, in the period 18-12 BC. The growing importance of Ostia is here reflected by the use of marble, still exceptional in this period. Marble was also used for the decoration of the monumental tomb of Agrippa's collaborator Poplicola. It is not clear when the Forum, the central square, was laid out, but during the reign of Augustus, at the end of the first century BC, two temples were built at its north side, possibly a Capitolium and a Temple of Jupiter. In the early first century AD a Temple of Roma and Augustus was added at the south side of the Forum by Tiberius (14-37 AD). Claudius (41-54 AD) sent urban cohorts to Ostia to fight fires. An aqueduct was built, and during the reign of Vespasian (69-79 AD) the city wall was converted to an aqueduct, taking water to the southern part of the city. Under Domitian (81-96 AD) the level of Ostia was raised approximately one meter whenever new buildings were erected, probably to protect them from Tiber flooding. During his reign or a little later the present meeting hall of the town council and the main basilica were built to the west of the Forum. The Jewish community in Ostia built a synagogue near the beach in the middle of the first century.

The ruins of the synagogue. Photo: Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica.

In this period Ostia was ruled by a small number of "aristocratic" merchant families of free descent. They lived in atrium-houses near the centre of town. Officials from Rome ensured the food supply of the Urbs. In 23 BC Tiberius was quaestor Ostiensis, the first step in his career. In 44 AD Claudius withdrew the quaestor from Ostia and created a new office, that of procurator annonae Ostiensis ("procurator of the food supply"), who worked for the praefectus annonae ("prefect of the grain-supply") in Rome, who had been introduced by Augustus in the period 8-14 AD. These procurators were not senators, but belonged to the equestrian order. They were supported by clerks called for example tabularii, "keepers of archives", and dispensatores, "treasurers". Many officials, such as the governors of provinces, now departed from and arrived in Ostia. In 2 AD Lucius Caesar, grandson of Augustus, died in Massilia (Marseille). His corpse was taken to Rome, and the local calendar says that "his body was carried through Ostia by magistrates clothed in black, followed by a crowd carrying burning tallow-candles, while the buildings were decorated fittingly".

Ostia was essential for the supplying of Rome, and therefore for the Emperor. Imperial slaves and freedmen worked in the harbour. Eventually Ostia would became the main harbour of Rome, taking the place of Puteoli in the Bay of Naples, but this took some time. The reason for this was that the shoreline near Ostia did not offer natural protection to ships. Small boats could sail up the Tiber to Rome. Large ships unloaded at the Tiber quays of Ostia, very large ships out at sea. For these large ships Ostia was a dangerous place.

In 42 AD Claudius - a frequent visitor of Ostia - started the construction of an artificial harbour, a few kilometres to the north of Ostia. A huge basin was dug out, protected by two curved moles and with a very tall lighthouse, a copy and improvement of the famous Pharos of Alexandria. Channels connected the basin with the Tiber and created an artificial island between Ostia and Portus, called Isola Sacra ("Sacred Island"). The completion of the work was celebrated in 64 AD, during the reign of Nero. But already in 62 AD the harbour was in use: in that year 200 ships in the basin perished during a storm, perhaps a tsunami (in the same year Pompeii was struck by an earthquake). From now on Ostia was the main harbour of Rome for goods from the western half of the Empire. Puteoli remained important, perhaps as Rome's harbour for the eastern, Greek-speaking half of the Empire.

Trajan's hexagonal harbour basin. Photo: G. Verhoeven - Portus Project.

Trajan built a second, hexagonal basin behind the basin of Claudius. The work was carried out in the years 106-113 AD and included improvements of the Claudian harbour. In the course of the second century the grain fleet from Alexandria in Egypt sailed to Ostia instead of Puteoli. The harbour district was controlled by an Imperial official, the procurator Portus Ostiensis, called procurator Portus Utriusque ("of both harbours") after the construction of the second harbour basin. The buildings surrounding the harbour basins still lie largely unexcavated next to and below the airport. The area is very promising and exceptional discoveries have been made. It was and partly still is private property of the Torlonia family.