Ostia: Aspects of Roman City Life

Alan D. Booth is an associate professor in the Classics Department at
Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

As Hermansen remarks, Ostia, a port of ancient Rome, presents a particularly satisfying field of study for the student of urban, economic, and social history, for one can trace the development of this city from its origins in the fourth century B.C. down to its natural death in the fourth century after Christ. The Introduction (pp. 1-15) sketches the history of Ostia, noting that its glorious epoch of development, from about 80 to 200 A.D., coincided paradoxically with the growth in importance of Portus; this, Rome’s other harbour, was destined to eclipse Ostia. Hermansen consecrates his first chapter, “The Roman Apartment” (pp. 17-53), to the realities of apartment dwelling in antiquity, Ostia being a principal source. The second chapter, “The Guilds of Ostia” (pp. 55-89), surveys professional associations and their seats. In chapter three, “The Roman Building Code in Ostia and the Property of the Guilds” (pp. 91-123), Hermansen presents basic building regulations, especially those issued after the Great Fire at Rome (A.D. 64), and discusses their enforcement at Ostia with a view to determining ownership, by guilds, of complex properties. The fourth chapter, “The Taverns of Ostia” (pp. 125-83), offers a scrutiny, with photographs and scale drawings, of the remains of the numerous taverns. The next chapter, “The Taverns of Ostia and Rome: Community Centres and Trouble Spots” (pp. 185-203), treats the various types of tavern, which range from simple bar to hotel, and the role of the tavern in urban life. In general, taverns were viewed as centres of immorality and low life, but they were recognized too as a potential breeding-ground for political and social unrest, due principally to the fact the guilds would use them as meeting-places. Hermansen reviews attempts by the Roman government to control tavern life and offers some interesting speculation on the effects of such moves on the taverns at Ostia. In chapter six, “Fires and Fire Protection” (pp. 207-25), a description of fire-fighting in nineteenth century Constantinople is used to throw light upon the operation of the Ostian fire-brigade. The author shows how the preserved Ostia seems to have been constructed in accordance with the regulations issued after the Great Fire at Rome. The final chapter, “Grain Horrea: Storage Capacity and Storage Method” (pp. 227-37), deals with the role of Ostia as the granary of Rome and the methods of grain storage in antiquity. An appendix (pp. 239-41) translates the titles of the known guilds of Ostia, and a glossary of Latin and a few Italian terms is provided (pp. 243-51).

Ostia has begged for attention, for the remains are in danger of decay and no major archaeological study has been mounted since what Hermansen terms the “Blitzkrieg” operations of 1938-1942. But while Hermansen does not skimp on detailed description and technical discussion, he offers “a work of interpretation, not an archaeological report” (p. xiv). And he does manage to bring to life certain essential and basic pursuits of the ancient city.