Overview of geophysics at Portus

The geophysical and topographical survey of Portus done between 1998 – 2004 covered c.180 hectares of the port and its hinterland, including both harbour basins. However, it was limited to the north side of the Fossa Traiana canal, and excluded the Isola Sacra, the island that lay between Portus and Ostia to the south. This left a major gap in our knowledge. For example, the Isola Sacra may have been where an important proportion of the population of Portus lived. In addition, its northern eastern edge was the site of the marble yards where imported material was temporarily stored prior to shipping upriver to Rome. Finally, it is possible that the whole of the west bank of the Tiber from the Capo Due Rami as far south of Ostia was lined with mausolea. As part of the 2007-2009 fieldwork programme the survey has been extended to cover (i) the settlement and burial area in the northern Isola Sacra, and (ii) along the Tiber façade between Capo Due Rami and Ostia. This will allow us to shed light on the following research questions:

What was the character of the settlement and adjacent cemetery on the north side of the Isola Sacra ?

How significant was the settlement and how did it relate to Portus and Ostia ?

How far were Portus, Ostia and Rome part of a conceptually unified “Façade Maritime” linked by the Tiber fronted by high-status tombs ?

Geophysical survey has also continued around the basins, with resistance tomography, magnetometry, and ground penetrating radar being used in combination to clarify the extent and nature of buried structures such as buildings and docks, and to highlight areas for excavation.