Ostia Antica

We have always wanted to head down to Ostia Antica to visit the ancient Roman port that has been excavated there. This year we finally made it.

It is an easy half hour train ride (well, maybe 45 minutes) and a short walk over to the site.

As with most archaeological sites, there are a lot of small walls:

 

and, of course, sarcophagi:

 and other burial sites:

because you have to take care of your dead:

Lots of details:

and lintels.

The original of this statue, of a winged Athena. She usually doesn't have wings:

You can still see the ruts from chariot wheels. Isn't that cool?

Columns!

 Mosaics!

Lots of old rooms that have been excavated. Some are shops, some are warehouses. This was a port, after all.

a Lion/Sea Monster (Not a Ictheocentaur, but not far!)

I think this was the stable.

Work going on!

 Be careful, don't trip!

 Doreen for scale!

Some of the paint was still on the walls.

Detail of the mosaic tiles. I think that some of these were put in place by Mussolini. He pushed really hard to excavate this site in the 1930s

 a stairway

Doreen, for scale, by a wall.

SP by the theater.

Mosaic of elephant

My shadow

 Theater heads!

 The Theater. I am down there on stage:

Here I am climbing back:

The Galleries around the theater:

And the backside:

Big Urns

The Three Muses. Also known as the attack of the callipygian women.

Detail on a sarcophagus

 sarcophagus

Lots and lots and lots of archaeological detritus:

A big jumble of numbered bits:

and they try to put them back together:

It was so urgent that nobody was there:

It was a good day. We took the train back and got off early and walked back to the apartment. We walked, and walked, and walked.