Blog - Portus Project

The University of Southampton is to publish a volume in memory of Simon Keay

The University of Southampton is to publish a volume in memory of Simon Keay: A. Collar, P. Johnson & K.D. Strutt (eds), Archaeologies of the Roman Mediterranean: Papers Presented in Honour of Prof. Simon Keay (Oxford, Archaeopress) Several project members have contributed papers related to our work at Portus. Continue reading →

Remembering Simon

Yesterday much of Simon’s Portus family and his son Leo gathered at the site to celebrate Simon on what would have been his birthday and plant an olive tree in his memory. A short video taken at the event can be viewed here: https://www.youtube. Continue reading →

Professor Simon Keay passed away

It is with great sadness that we announce Professor Simon Keay’s passing. Simon died yesterday, surrounded by his family, after battling with motor neurone disease.The Portus team has lost a director, colleague, and friend. Simon was still working on Portus publications the week before he died. A book of remembrance has been set up for all those who wish to record their thoughts and memories of Simon: https://rememberancebook. Continue reading →

Towards a New Understanding of the Port of Claudius

Simon Keay, Steve Kay and Elena Pomar The new programme of research in the Claudian harbour is focused on the central and eastern parts of the northern mole, estimated at least 1.7km in length. The previous campaigns between 2017-2019 to the west of Viale Coccia di Morto were successful in using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and 3 targeted cores to provide additional detail to the data collected by the Soprintendenza in 2007-8. Continue reading →

Portus at the VI Seminario Ostiense

Preliminary results of the Portus Field School 2018 campaign have been presented at the VI Seminario Ostiense which took place at dell'Ecole Française de Rome in April this year. The extended version of the abstract can be found here, while the full report will be published in the conference proceedings. Continue reading →

See you at Ostia Antica

As part of a series of monthly meetings "Vediamoci a Ostia Antica" (See you at Ostia Antica) organised by the Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica, on the 11 September 2018 at 5pm Simon Keay, Cinzia Morelli and Renato Sebastiani will be speaking about "The Imperial port". Continue reading →

Photogrammetric modelling of the Grandi Magazzini di Settimio Severo

The large brick building known as the ‘Grandi Magazzini di Settimio Severo’ lies at the heart of the port complex at Portus, at the head of the canal that opened into the Trajanic hexagonal harbour. Traditionally identified as a warehouse of the later second-century AD, its central position within the port, as well as its size (190m x 130m x 25m) suggests that it may have had several functions. Continue reading →

New investigations of the northern mole of the Claudian harbour

Excavations of the northern mole of the Claudian harbour began in 1957 with the construction of the international airport of Leonardo da Vinci at Fiumicino (for a news report of 1959 see Archivio Storico Luce). Continue reading →

Portus now forms part of the Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica

Administratively, Portus now forms part of the Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica, as a consequence if the recent cultural heritage re-organization by the Franceschini reforms by the Italian State. Continue reading →

Portus Field School 2018

The Portus Field School will run again this summer, between June 18th and 29th. In the two weeks we plan to reveal a section of the norther facade of the Palazzo Imperiale opening towards the port of Claudius, as well as finish the photogrammetry of the Severan warehouses. All those interested should get in touch with me- please see the Application Process tab for details of how to apply. Continue reading →