Ostia Antica - One of the best preserved Roman cities in the world.

ostia antica 30 kilometers southwest of Rome was ancient Rome's major seaport the clearly discernible ruins of restaurants bakeries shops houses and public meeting places gives a good impression of what life must once have look like in the 50,000 strong town ancient Romans buried their dead outside the city walls founded in the 4th century BC Ostia thrived until the 5th century AD when the threat of barbarian invasions led to its abandonment the barbarians never actually entered Ostia and the Tiber River slowly filled the city with silt until it was almost completely buried once inside the roman gate we visited the Baths of Neptune here is a beautifully preserved mosaic of the sea god Neptune riding a chariot drawn by four horses it wasn't until the 1800s that Ostia was rediscovered then under Mussolini massive excavations were undertaken from 1938 to 1942 one important facility shared by all was the communal latrine each building had at least one for its tenants Austria's amphitheater was built in 12 BC and held 3,500 spectators the tiny stage is still intact and there was permanent scenery that rose three stories behind the stage behind the theater is the form of the corporations the offices of 64 maritime companies in front of each shop were mosaics of the goods that each merchant traded once you completed your business at the forum you would then offer a sacrifice on the altar at the temple of Ceres Ostia is the best preserved ancient Roman city in the world even better preserved in Pompeii because Ostia was abandoned so quickly there was no time to even remove the millstones from the bakery the millstones functioned by first pouring grain into the top of the grinder poles were then inserted and the grinding head was slowly rotated until flour poured out the bottom we stopped for a bite to eat in the cafeteria here are some of the storage vessels for the grains that were used to provide bread for all of Rome at Ostia current day archaeologists are protecting and preserving under modern tin roofs marble plaques which once identified important buildings throughout the city through the trees you can catch a glimpse of the Tiber River which had buried the city for more than a millennium unknown to many modern people Ostia and other Roman cities had complex systems of hot and cold running water through this iron door you can see a collection of lead piping that was used to transport water to the kitchens and baths of Ostia this is the grand temple also called the capitolium named after the original atop Capitol Hill in Rome it was dedicated to the pagan Trinity of Jupiter Juno and Minerva during the Middle Ages this building was all that was visible in Ostia the marble veneer was scavenged in the Middle Ages leaving only the core brickwork here we discovered the remnants of the first Christian Church in Ostia right next door was a shop where marble columns were made its owners appear to have abandoned these columns when the city was evacuated not far from the harbor we found this magnificent three-story building with long corridors extending in all directions when we went upstairs we discovered we were in a vast neighborhood of apartments in ancient condos on the wall in one of these corridors we found two beautiful paintings you many of the dwellings opened on two fancy open-air courtyards you you here we discovered a small neighborhood public bath this building was used as a grocery store complete with marble counters and tiled floors in front of this sculpture I noticed something white poking out of the ground what I picked up was a seashell from approximately 500 AD no doubt deposited there when the Tiber River had buried the city the last picture we took was this close-up of a marble facade note the graffiti dating back to 1952 and another dated 1851

Channel: 81STAINLESS

Views: 1,027,566

Keywords: ostia antica, rome, italy, pompeii, ancient city, roman ruins, antiquity, rome's sea port

Id: QILcwMjilgc

Length: 15min 49sec (949 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 26 2014