ANCIENT OSTIA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20316, 26 January 1928, Page 5

ANCIENT OSTIA.

RESULT OF EXCAVATIONS. HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED. Excavations at Ostia, the ancient port of Romo, continue to enrich our picture of antique living conditions. o=tia, it is believed, did not greatly differ from tho of course, in size and magnificence Building construction and house planning appear to have been much the same as in Rome. In its prime this port town numbered about 100.000 citizens. Ethel Hampson Brewster, a professor of Latin and the Dean of Women in Swarthmore College, has just returned from a year spent abroad, mostly in Rome. She was much intrested in the work that is being done at Ostia, and says that ruins now being unearthed there indicate that houses four and five stories high were by no means uncommon “Origin of the block type of structures has been popularly attributed to the Renaissance, ’ said Professor Brewster, recently, “ but as removal of the debris of centuries at Ostia proceeds, it becomes more and more clear that the Romans knew all about vertical construction and made a regular practice of putting up houses several stories high, which presumably were divided into apartments not unlike those found in American cities to-day. “ Imagination is always fired by the wealth of material available for study in Pampeii, so large a part of which has been excavated. But tho fact is often overlooked that Pompeii was originally a Greek colony and that the prevailing type of architecture there is Greco-Roman. In Romo itself the excavations have prarctically been confined to public buildings. There is the house of Livia; but Livia’s connection with the Imperial Family would indicate that her home was not a common variety of dwelling. Then there are some fragments of old houses underneath some of the early Christian churches in Rome. But for the most part the modern city securely covers any vestiges there may be of the ancient homes of tho masses ox the people. As a result, few real old Roman homes have been brought to light. “ There have also, of course, been excavations along the shores of_ the Mediterranean; but these were provincial towns where life was influenced by its special environment, , , , “Ostia, on the other hand, was as Roman as Rome itself. Its hie was not provincial but metropolitan, and when the Present mass of <lata and inscriptions gathered bv Guido C'alza, the archaeologist in charge, has been studied and digested, it may prove that many of our conceptons of Raman life will have to be modified. “ A very rich merchant could afford to have his own home, perhaps three stories high. In the five-storey apartment house lived people less wealthy. In apartments the number of rooms seems to have varied, according to the size or prosperity of the family. These structures were built with a central court for light. “Winters of the period objected to hisrh buildings, the ancient zoning law limiting them to 50ft o r 60ft. In the Roman structures with which we are most familiar the brick foundations were hidden underneath a coat of stucco In Ostia the dwellings and the grarnaries and warehouses are faced with brick. It is obvious that a stucco covering was not used, since theremains show designs in yellow, red, and brovn. Doorways were often painted vermilion, for decorative contrast. , “ The first floor was usually constructed with a portico, and balconies seem often to have extended out at the floor leve of the upper storeys so that the occupants could sit at ease and watch the busy life of town and harbour. “In Rome the streets were narrow and cartage was permitted only at night. Just as the pressure of population probably forced the houses into storeys, so increasing traffic compelled Ostia to widen its streets again and again in order that the two and four-wheeled carts laden with grains, fruits, and oils could unload cargoes brought by ships into the stolehouses of the town.” . Thus far only about a fifth of ancient Ostia has been uncovered. Guido Calza, working outward from the Forum, has not yet reached the ancient wharves; but large public and private warehouses have been found, and the House of the Guilds has long attracted attention. This is probably the most interesting find as yet This structure housed the trade asso- ■ ciation and the chamber of commerce of the time. There were 70 rooms, occupied not only by the representatives of the separate business interests, such as shipping, corn, oil, but also by the trade commissioners of the various countries with which Rome regularly traded. “ In front of each door.” comments Professor Brewster, “is a beautiful mosaic showing the seal or insignia of the trade. Here one sees a porter carrying an amphora into the hold of a ship, there a corn measurer, or fisherman, or a measurer of grain. Incidentally, there was a remarkable development of mosaic work in Ostia which seems to be local to the town. Besides the business associations located in the House of the Guilds, there wore trade associations —forerunners, in a way, of our labour unions. They were organised principally for special purposes. “ Behind the House of the Guilds is the theatre, which has been restored. It seated from 4000 to 5000 people. Performances of Greek tragedies were given here last spring. “What we might cal! a quick lunch room is now open to view on the Via di Diana. This was a thermopolium, or ancient drinking shop, where light food was served. The front is open. A right-angle 'counter of mai’ble occupies half of the doorway. Short wall seats are just off the street, and behind the counter was a room containing benches. “ The rich had their water piped into the house,” said Professor Brewster. “ The middle class had it piped to the court of the apartment house, where it was drawn by slaves. The very poor used the fountains in tho streets. “ The Romans did not evolve any very efficacious heating plants—not, at any rate, according to modern standards. The wealthy had furnaces, which heated water in their baths. Public baths were provided with a hypocaust, a sort of hollowtile arrangement;,” *