THE VIA SEVERIANA

In the 1950's a milestone with the number VI was found to the south of Ostia, halfway the Pianabella and near the ancient coastline (see the map of Heinzelmann above, nr. 48). It was erected in the Severan period (197 AD). Mile VI of which road? What was its name and where did it run?

	VI IMP(erator) CAES(ar) L(ucius) SEPTIMIVS SEVERVS PIVS PERTINAX ET IMP(erator) CAES(ar) M(arcus) AVRELIVS ANTONINVS AVGG(usti duo) FORTISSIMI AC SVPER OMNES FELICISSIMI PRINCIPES FECERVNT
	The sixth milestone. Now in front of the museum. H. 1.50, diam. 0.65. EDR191435. Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

Scholars have linked another inscription to it. This one was found in the 15th century in Ardea, between Pratica di Mare and Anzio. It documents a repair of a stretch of the coast damaged by the sea, by Maximinus Augustus and Maximus Caesar in 238 AD. The name of a nearby road is recorded: litus vicinum Viae Severianae, "the shore near the Via Severiana". The repair, by the way, might be related to an earthquake and tsunami. On a mole of the harbour of Claudius, in layers belonging to the third century, hasty burials were found, but also corpses buried below collapsed masonry. On the corpses coins were found from 236 and 238 AD. Deposits pointed to a tsunami (Scrinari 1984, 218; 1987, 182).

IMP(erator) CAES(ar) [[C(aius) Iulius]] [[Verus Maximinus]] PIVS FELIX AVG(ustus) PONTIF(ex) MAX(imus) GERM(anicus) MAX(imus) DACICVS MAX(imus) SARM(aticus) MAX(imus) TRIB(unicia) POTEST(ate) IIII IMP(erator) V CO(n)S(ul) PROCO(n)S(ul) P(ater) P(atriae) ET [[C(aius) Iulius Verus Ma]]/[[ximus nob(ilissimus) Caesar]] GERM(anicus) MAX(imus) DACICVS MAX(imus) SARMATICVS MAX(imus) PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS LITVS VICINVM VIAE SEVERIANAE ADSIDVIS MARIS ADLVENTIBVS FLVCTIBVS AD LABEM RVINAE LABEFACTATVM AGGERIBVS MARINI OPERIS A FVNDAMENTIS VT PERICVLVM COMMEANTIBVS ABESSET EXTRVI CVRARVNT

The inscription from Ardea, from 238 AD (CIL X, 6811).

From this inscription has been deduced that there was a coastal road called Via Severiana connecting Ostia and Ardea, and more likely even longer, continuing to Terracina. The milestone would belong to this road. However, as Paola Brandizzi Vittucci and others have pointed out, the number VI is problematic: the distance is too short to be related to Ostia, or even Portus. Was the milestone not found on its original spot then? But why would people carry a milestone over a great distance, to dump it in a field? A more attractive solution is that only part of the coastal road was called Via Severiana, beginning at an Imperial villa at Tor Paterno, in the Castel Porziano area, and then going to Ostia. The distance between those ruins and the place of discovery of the milestone is precisely 6 miles.

An obvious objection is, that the inscription from Ardea makes explicit mention of the Via Severiana, suggesting that more than a stretch of the coastal road to the north-west of Tor Paterno had this name, also the part from this suggested starting point to the south-east. Was the inscription then taken to Ardea from another location? The oldest account of the discovery however says that it was found in arcis Ardeae ruinis, in the ruins of Ardea. An easier solution is, that the name of the road was later applied to an extra stretch of road, to the south-east.