Kent-Berlin Ostia Excavations

Ara Pacis

It was hot, really hot, and the day was only starting. We rounded the corner and there stood a short, white building which looked more like an office building than a museum dedicated to a great piece of Roman history. But I knew what lay inside.

The air conditioning hit me with a pleasant breeze as I passed through the heavy glass doors, In the middle of the room, gleaming white in the morning sun, was the Ara Pacis. I smiled and took it all in. The room was white and the sun shinning through the windows was so bright I had to put my sunglasses back on in order to see.


 
I was really excited to see the monument, since we had spent so much time discussing Augustus in my Roman history class. I really enjoy actually seeing the things we learn about in class in person since sometimes it feels like ancient history is more myth than reality. It could all be a story; one that could not have possibly happened, except in the figment of a poet’s imagination. But when you can see it, touch it (which I didn’t) and smell the cool stone, you know that it is real.

There were other sites on the list, but for me, the most special was the ruins of the temple to Apollo Medico which lay next to the house of Octavia. Apollo is one of my favorite gods from the ancient world. Even though all that was left were two columns and a pile of rubble, I could still imagine libations being poured and sacrifices being made. While this was only a minor stop on our tour of ancient Rome, it was still very memorable.

Ashley L.    27/08/2009

 

First impressions of Ostia

I’m one of the last people to arrive at site on our first trip to Ostia, partly because the newly acquired mini bus only holds nine people (our team is just under 30 strong) and partly because my feet were having to be bandaged up for blisters obtained pacing the streets of Rome (Note to self: Birkenstocks are not appropriate footwear to have when sightseeing in the hottest month of the year). The new bus has air con…it’s a good start. We miss the traffic and zip up to site thanks to Bill our lovely logistics guy – he looks rather pleased with the new bus.

The day is hot and everyone is excited, and with good reason. This will practically be our home for the next four weeks…and what a home!  With the forum, the bars, and the preserved paintings on the wall: I think it is fair to say that Ostia is most archaeologists’ dream! We are in the more than capable hands of Luke and Axel as they guide us round teaching and explaining various points of the city. My feet are slowly withering within my steel toe capped boots but I don’t notice. I am just awestruck. We walk to the forum, a bath house, and apartment style buildings. You can feel the history, almost see the ancient inhabitants.

Walking through a bar we are shown a painting of what looks like an ancient bar menu. It sold olives and wine. It’s a simple painting but it suddenly made this ancient civilisation so much more real. It was like a snapshot to the past, and goshdarnit didn’t I wish I had a time machine… 

Tina Manahai-Mahai     23/08/09

  

Churches and catacombs- A series of domes and labyrinths 

Through an impromptu cluster of street vendors, peddling everything from plastic baubles to pocket knives, we walked, baked by sun, anticipating grandeur. The day was to include a discovery of the churches of ancient Rome, spanning in their creation from second to fifth century in design. It was the largest and loftiest, the Basilica of Saint Paul, that we entered through a large portico lined plaza of gleaming white marble and well manicured grass. Sombre statues commemorating the saints’ contribution to the church and the dissemination of Christ’s resurrection, the miracles inherent, loomed down at us. Somehow the sun seems to flatten everything, taking out the shadow to render the object, usually a sculpture more human as affected by the heat, as we have been these days in Rome.

We left St. Pauls all a bit cloudy eyed, a result of the intensity of being in a space so large and so quiet. The rush of buses on the street and the blazing sun came as a shock. Yet for the next hours, we would find solace, and at moments a bit of additional awe, in viewing the churches, which must have acted as escape for the summer drain, in ancient  Rome as they did for us. Onto bus 118 we hopped excitedly, and made our way down Via Appia, the first public paved road to stretch through the centre of Rome, and outside the gates. The bus ride was pleasing, as the road was bordered by rustic residential complexes, shrouded in ivy, and covered in a thin layer of dust. It felt traditional when we escaped the commercial din of Rome centre, and finally alighted on foot at the entrance to the Villa di Massenzio, an archaeological complex dating from the Republican period in the 2^nd century B.C. to the 2^nd century A.D. We walked into a sprawling field filled with cheeky little flowers, mostly Queen Anne’s lace. The flora was so delicate and innocent in contrast to the density of the ruins present.

Although there was little shade, we went adventuring from one side of the field towards a large arch which marked the end of the course. It was grand to imagine the games occurring, the public spectacle, and the controversy of it being outside of the city, a substantial shift in the way that the upper classes presented themselves in imperial Rome.

Next we explored the catacombs of Saint Sebastian, a winding subterranean burial space that emerged into a small church which looked overly opulent compared to the darkness and eeriness of beneath. We made our slow and merry way back to camp. In retrospect, the day was one of the most visually rich and spiritually touching to date.  

To be continued….

Josseline Black  25 Aug 2009

 

Ciao Roma! La Città Eterna! 

This is the first time I have ever really travelled outside of the United States, much less been to a huge, monumental city, soaked to its bones in history.  Truly la Città Eterna, Roma has enough to keep one busy for years, if not lifetimes.  Today’s trip, guided by Dr. Michael  Mulryan, was meant to largely give us an overview of the city, and as such we walked all throughout Roma’s heart.  We were introduced to many of the places we would be exploring in detail later in the week, leaving me feeling impatient for the opportunity to really get up close and personal with the wonders I saw.

We entered Roma by way of the metro line which is located conveniently close to our campsite at Castel Fusano in Lido di Ostia.  Disembarking at Piramide, we immediately found ourselves looking at the Pyramid of Cestius and the Aurelian Walls.  I had never been so close to the places of those whom I have read so much about and I found this very exciting, but more was to come!  We made our way up through the lovely Roman avenues to the Circus Maximus. 

We made a quick stop for some cold, fresh fruit from the vendor there, only to notice that as we stood in place out shoes were becoming one with the area… literally.  The hot Italian sun had melted the tar-coated sidewalk! 

After extracting ourselves from that situation, we skirted the Palatine Hill, ogling the ruins we could see, until we were stopped in our tracks by the looming and truly colossus Colosseum and magnificent Arch of Constantine!  This incredible tableau made a very strong impact on me and I do not think I will ever be able to forget how I felt at that moment.  I can only imagine how someone visiting Roma for the first time during the peak of the Imperial period must have felt – one’s breath was surely taken away.

 We then carried on down little narrow Italian streets and ended up at the Trevi Fountain.  The sunlight playing on the marble and water was lovely, and gave us a good idea of how aesthetically pleasing the fountains of ancient Rome must have been.  Before too long, we found ourselves outside of the Pantheon and we stopped for my first gelato (although some in our group were already on their third or fourth for the day!).  Traipsing across the Tiber River over to Trastevere and back again, we ended up in the old Jewish Ghetto for dinner.  Whilst waiting to get into the restaurant, I had my first conversation entirely in Italian with a very nice bus driver who was on a break.  That year of studying Italian really paid off!

As we made our way back to the campsite on the metro, I was tired, a bit overwhelmed at the amazingness of everything I had seen, and very very excited for what the next days would bring!

Dana Kubilus  24 Aug 2009 

 

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Day off 3 – My first trip to Rome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Early Christian Rome – 14/09/2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imperial Rome – 07/09/2008

 

 

After a week of hard work, Saturday night was all about relaxing and getting to know our camp mates. Veronica cooked an amazing meal and there was plenty of wine to go around. We had three options as to what to do on our night off: venture to the bars and clubs of Trastevere in downtown Rome, stay at the campsite, or expolore Ostia Lido, the adjacent coastal holiday resort. The brave few chose the Lido, and with Axel as our guide we made our way into the night. When we got to the beach there were many bars and clubs open situated on the sand, so even though it was late we could sit out in a café listening to the sound of the crashing waves. After a glut of eighties music we decided to go for a moonlight swim. The sea was WARM – a very novel experience for an English girl I must say. When we got out of the sea around three o’ clock there were still clubbers intent on dancing ‘til dawn but we decided to make our way back home, arriving around 5.30 am.

Sunday morning was a time for taking it easy, as well as swapping stories and photos from the night before. At two in the afternoon we went into Rome. It is a beautiful city but so intense: the silence and sleepiness of Ostia Antica and the Borgo were suddenly replaced by the frenetic buzz and eclectic atmosphere of shops and restaurants which never close, in ancient and modern surroundings. If you turn a corner you may come across a medieval church, Trajan’s forum, or the Mausoleum of Hadrian. You are also likely to stumble into one of the gift shops with calendars depicting priests or ashtrays shaped like ancient monuments. Luke gave us a talk about the area surrounding the Colloseum, alighting particularly on my favourite monument, the Arch of Constantine, erected to commemorate the Emperor’s victory in 312 A.D. over his rival Maxentius. A few ice creams later our group were up on the Palatine Hill, and finished the day with dinner in the Piazza Navona, followed by an evening stroll past the Pantheon.

Angela Gillen 8/09/2008

 

Our guide explained that the catacombs had been used by the christians to bury their dead outside of the city walls and that the tombs had been carved into the walls , sometimes four to five burials high. The tombs lined passages which spread for many kilometres under the ground and the air chilled significantly as we made our way into the entrance and down the first stairs. Many burials were those of children, due to the high mortality rate of the day. From an archaeological point of view, it must have been a daunting task to excavate such deep subterranean chambers in the nineteenth century. Many skeletal remains had been recovered from behind the sealed chambers and taken to the city for reburial, including the remains of nine early popes. It was great to see the remains of roman oil lamps, used by visiting relatives, as we had recently found fragments of handles and decorated tops on our forum site.

On our return to the centre of Rome, we saw the church of Dominus Quo Vadis, the site where St Paul is thought to have seen a vision as he was fleeing the city, in which God asked him where he was going, hence the name. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Kirk Douglas and Sophia, for those of us of a ‘certain age’, who can remember the film.

Taking the 118 bus back into town was the best decision ever. We drove through the city gates passed the huge third century Baths of Caracalla, which make the baths of Sulis Minerva in Bath, England pale into insignificance! Opposite the baths, we were able to add two more churches to our list, including SS Nereo ed Achilleu, a ninth century rebuilding of a fourth century church constructed on the site where St Peter’s bandages fell from his wounds as he fled the city and S. Sisto Vecchio, built in 399 AD.

The final sights of the day were the Circus Maximus, the Pyramid Tomb and the church of S. Caecilia in Trastevere, whose statue we had seen earlier in the Catacombs.

The photos are of Rome by night as we returned to the Metro station having enjoyed a super meal in a restaurant with a real wood burning pizza oven- Pizza Hut eat your heart out!!

Thanks once again to Michael for a really enjoyable, if somewhat gruelling day!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my first trip to the city of Rome, I was greeted by the breathtaking sight of the Colosseum, upon exiting the metro station, where the first of many photos were taken. We then walked to the Pantheon, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the city. The inside of the Pantheon was even more impressive when viewed in person.

After taking many photos of the inside of the Pantheon, the next stop was lunch, down a side street next to the Pantheon with Andy and Helen I decided to treat myself to Fettuccini in a creamy mushroom sauce followed by Pizza. We shared a bottle of wine, and decided whilst waiting for the bill to head for ice-cream. The ice cream range was huge and I found it very difficult to narrow my choices down to just 3 (crème caramel, strawberry and mango). However, Helen and Andy gave in and had 4 scoops each! I was very impressed to see a good selection of soya ice creams, so there is something for everyone to enjoy.

We then walked with ice creams in hand back towards the metro station soaking up the afternoon sunshine and window shopping. After finishing the ice creams, we decided to take a detour to visit the Capitoline Museum, before heading back. We all enjoyed looking around the museum; I found it very good to see the pieces for real that I had read about. It gave me more of a feel for the size and detail involved, than when viewing a photograph. I took so many I had to change the film in the camera before reaching the gift shop.

We finally left the museum and begun walking back to the metro station again, me stopping every now and again to take photographs. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was another good shot calling out to me. Finally we stopped near the Colosseum, so I could have my photo taken with it. We ran out of time to go inside, but that will be on the list for next time. Final photos were taken of the Colosseum, as it was getting dusk, before taking the long train/bus ride back to the campsite.

Diana Everett 24/09/2008