fourteen miles from Rome. The ancient remains are beyond. Founded by
Ancus Martius, it was the great port and arsenal of ancient Rome, with
which it rose and fell. _Ascending_ the tower of the castle in the
village, an extensive view of the Latin coast and the surrounding
ancient forests may be had. Several rooms in the castle have been
turned into a museum of fragments found in the excavations. The castle
was built by Julius II., 1503-13; and besides this there is nothing of
interest in the miserable village. The Street of Tombs leads to the
ancient city. The principal objects of interest are the Porta Romana
and Guardhouse, houses in the city, tombs and columbaria, Temple of
Cybele, the Temple of Vulcan, street with portico and warehouses, the
Horrea with the Dolia, the Imperial Palace, baths containing many
beautiful specimens of mosaic pavement, Temple of Mithras, in which
the altar is still standing, the Arsenal, &c.
[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF THE EXCAVATIONS AT OSTIA]
The recent excavations were commenced at Ostia at the close of 1870
upon a system more in accordance with the requirements of
archæological science and the tendencies of topographical discoveries
than had up to that time been practised. All idea of speculating--as
had been until then the chief aim of the popes--in the statues and
precious objects that might be found, was renounced, and instead it
was proposed to uncover, by steady and continued effort, the ruins of
the buried edifices; especial attention was bestowed upon those along
the banks of the Tiber, as they had played an important part in the
career of the city. The earth was first removed round the large
edifice known as the "Imperial Palace," bordering on the Tiber; its
principal entry, upon the bank of the river, although decorated with a
more elegant front, constituted only a common doorway. Three spots,
which bore the aspect of stairs leading down to the river, have been
excavated: firstly, upon the line from the Temple of Vulcan to the
river; secondly, at a basin to the right side of this line; thirdly,
at the other extremity of the basin, adjoining the Imperial Palace. At
the first point was found the street which terminated at the banks of
the river with a flight of steps. Upon removing the soil, a street was
discovered paved with immense flagstones, fifteen yards wide,
including the porticoes that flanked it on both sides. The porticoes
are six yards wide, and are built with pillars of arched brick,
decorated at the lower extremity with bas-reliefs, and at the upper
with cornices of terra-cotta, lace design. In their interior are large
compartments for warehouses, with a depth of six yards below the level
of the pavement. This street leading from the river to the Temple of
Vulcan is one hundred and fifty yards long. The lateral walls subsist
up to the height of seven yards, and the rooms of the porticoes still
preserve their ceilings, the pavement of the first floor being mosaic.
Another street, parallel to the above, was struck at the second
point, also running from the river, and paved with large flagstones;
it has a width of five yards, and on each side large warehouses. On
the left side are a series of pillars adorned with cornices, having a
height of seven yards, and a lateral width of two yards. As the street
advances into the city, along the entire course are shops and
warehouses, conveying the grandest idea of the life, activity, and
commercial traffic that must have prevailed in the city. At the third
spot were found the traces of a large stairway, leading to a terrace
reared above the level of the river. To this stairway two streets
lead, the first six yards wide, and proceeding from the interior of
the city; the second, ten yards, running parallel to the Tiber, each
side being occupied with warehouses. These are the three main streets
lately thoroughly uncovered and examined, and which, while affording
an accurate plan to modern eyes of the time-honoured city, unite, with
its other ruins, tombs, and mosaic pavements, to make Ostia one of the
wonders of the day.