Severan Period

Period 4 amphitheatre during excavation
Period 4 amphitheatre during excavation

There was a major period of building at the Palazzo Imperiale, with the construction of a small amphitheatre (Building 4) which must be regarded as an extension to the complex. Its construction may have marked the occasion of an imperial visit to the port. There is also clear evidence that part of the eastern wing of the Palazzo Imperiale was refitted to house a glass workshop. At the same time, some of the bays that made up the Building 5 were sub-divided converted for storage, possibly for grain. Mounting evidence suggests that the Severan period, dating to between the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, was a time of renewed construction of buildings and alterations to existing complexes, as was the case for example at the so-called Grandi Magazzini di Traiano.