Ostia Antica

For today's class, we were able to venture outside the city of Rome and visit the ruins at Ostia Antica. Founded in the 7th century BC, Ostia was a port city located just north of the city of Rome. Because the land became like a swamp and full of mosquitoes, the city and its buildings were abandoned instead of reconstructed like they were in the city of Rome. Because of this, we were able to see the remnants of what Ostia was like during the time of the Roman Empire, especially after excavations of the site were conducted in the 19th and 20th centuries. Here is a picture of one of the first grouping of buildings we saw during our visit:

Ruins of market in Ostia Antica

This is what remains of the market in Ostia. There were countless buildings in this area, which shows that the market was very important to the economy of the city. Because the ruins are so well-preserved, it was easy to imagine what the marketplace would have looked like two-thousand years ago. 

After leaving the market area, we moved into the residential section of the city and looked at the remains of an apartment building. While there, Aaron explained that these apartments were about 2,000 square-feet each, which is much larger than I had imagined that the Romans had constructed for themselves. Here's a picture of the wall of an apartment complex:

Apartment complex at Ostia

The next major item on our agenda was lunch, which provided a much-needed break from walking in the heat. Once we had finished up, we made our way into the small museum attached to the site. In there we were able to look at many different sculptures. I was really excited to see one of my favorite Greek myths represented in the statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa. Here's a picture of the sculpture:

Statue of Perseus and Medusa in the museum at Ostia

Even though the weather was pretty hot, Ostia is my favorite site we have visited so far. Unlike Rome, where many ancient buildings have been destroyed or rebuilt, Ostia has remained mostly untouched throughout the years. This gave me the opportunity to really visualize what the city would have been like when it was still inhabited. Seeing this site made me even more excited to visit Pompeii in the morning, which I'm sure I'll make a post about soon!