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Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy: Tomba Degli Archetti (Tomb of the Small Arches), built at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The architrave has the letters MHN engraved on it. When adding the letters H and S, left and right respectively, it forms the abbreviated sentence: “Hoc Monumentum Haedes Non Sequetur”, which translates as “the heirs will not have this monument”. The tomb’s present frontage, on the Via dei Sepolcri (Street of the Tombs), was not the location of the original frontage - that was on the opposite side of the tomb. Ostia (from Ostium, Latin for mouth) lies about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Rome. It was founded in the 7th century BC on the estuary or mouth of the Tiber as a seaport to serve Rome, but silting made the river change course and the site is now about 2.5 miles inland. The oldest surviving remains are city walls built around 325 BC, as Rome expanded its domain within Italy. In the Republican era, Ostia grew into a thriving port, sending ships to Spain to supply Roman troops fighting Carthage. Ostia thrived in the Imperial era, with emperors Augustus, Domitian and Trajan building palaces, monuments and public buildings. Although the harbour began to silt up under Claudius (41-54 AD), with large vessels forced to moor at sea, Ostia continued to supply Rome with provisions and treasures shipped from around the Empire. It reached peak prosperity in the 2nd century AD, growing to house about 50,000 people at a time when Rome’s population was about 1 million. Further silting cost Ostia its prime role. It was eventually sacked by Visigoths and Vandals and was finally abandoned in the 9th century. D0532.A6359
Tomba Degli Archetti, Tomb of the Small Arches, Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy
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