Portus

Portus was the principal maritime port of ancient Rome for most of the imperial period. Construction began during the reign of Claudius by digging out a huge man-made harbour protected by sea walls. It is located on the coast about two kilometres north of Ostia Antica, to the north of the Tiber mouth at Ostia, and near to Rome's main international airport, Fiumicino. The port was finalised during the reign of the emperor Nero and then greatly enlarged by the emperor Trajan. It was at this time that an amphitheatre would have been built within the complex of the 'palazzo imperiale', where most of the port's administrative business would have been done by the port official – known as Procurator Portus Utriusque. The port would have supplied the city of Rome with imports from large cargo ships until the Byzantine period and beyond. Portus was the conduit through which most of the key foodstuffs, marble, glass and metalwork that were consumed in Rome were imported from the Mediterranean provinces. 

According to the Portus Project, “available evidence suggests that from the second century AD onwards, individuals from across the empire, particularly the east and north Africa, passed through the port or had some business involvement there”. An exceptionally rich array of ceramics and marble reflect this – these commodities were imported from across the whole of the Roman Mediterranean and have been found at the site. They provide a great deal of information about the import and transportation of food and other goods to Rome.

Image by the University of Southampton.