112 W. Center St., Suite 700
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Phone (479) 575-4945
Fax (479) 575-7429
112 W. Center St., Suite 700
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Phone (479) 575-4945
Fax (479) 575-7429
9/15/2007 2:14 PM
Throughout the morning, we headed down the Decumanus Maximus which was the main central street of Ostia. We first headed through the ancient Acropolis where we discussed the several stages of technological development of building strategies and materials. We also found some amazing examples of intricate and complex brickwork in several areas of the Acropolis. It was nice to be able to compare the more sophisticated brickwork of the Roman Imperial Age with nearby works carried in the earlier Archaic constriction and later medieval repairs and additions.
After walking through the Porta Romana or Roman Portal, located at the edge of the city proper on the main axial street of the city which inevitably lead to Rome, we were confronted with a piazza dedicated to the victories and glorification of the city. This piazza was also urbanistically important in that it offered a large space in which the traffic entering or leaving the city could spread out and become less congested. In this same area we explored the ruins of a warehouse complex that was also fitted with a bath house for its workers and patrons. These were the first intricate maritime mosaics we saw within the city, but they would definitely not be the last. Next, we headed through an area lined with the ruined bases of massive porticoes that fronted a long series of important shops. Slowly, throughout the morning we discovered through Davide that the city of Ostia was in fact a bustling maritime city, full of people and goods. We also saw a Mithraic worship site with its prototypical long central space lined with benches for the faithful, several baths with intricate mosaic floors that had survived the centuries as well as a heavily reconstructed but still wonderfully impressive roman theatre with its adjoining ambulatorium or colonnaded open space for walking and resting during performances.
Our final stop of the morning was the main central forum of Ostia. Located near the main central forum of Ostia. Located near the very center of the ancient city, the forum contained the Capital building which was probably a temple dedicated to the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva as well as the remains of a central round temple or nymphaeum and also an axially placed temple dedicated to the goddess Roma and the diefied Emperor Augustus. After sketching a bit, we headed to a small cafeteria for lunch and ice cream, which was perfect on such a sunny day. After a great lunch break, we continued to tour the remainder of Ostia. The final hours of the afternoon were mostly filled with an amazingly informative tour of a roman apartment complex that was pretty well preserved. It was amazing to see just how close ancient ideas of spacial planning and apartment living or to our own ideas of modern space. In some respects, the Romans had amenities that even we don't provide, such as a public bath built into an apartment block. After a thorough look into the roman apartments, we went and viewed the site Dr. Fredrick had previously studied. This site is known as the block of the type house. The type houses consisted of a row of individual houses with an entry space defined by the doorway and an inner wall. The rest of the space consisted of a series of rooms including a bathroom and rooms for sleeping, dinning and cooking. Viewed in total, the street of row houses more closely resembles a Modern housing plan than any type of Roman house. It just goes to show just how important the study of ancient typologies can be and just how relevant historical study can be to the modern world.
