Even the dead wanted to be noticed, and the living wanted to set up honorific columns to themselves, or to the Emperor or both…. and so they would put these things along the major roads, or in a town the major streets such as the Decumanus Maximus….
This interesting inscription is from a much later period, honoring a Christian who was martyred here in Ostia, one deacon named Archelaus, who achieved the crown of martyrdom.
By contrast to the Christian inscription above, here we appear to have ‘save Tiberius Caesar Augustus’ and an inscription provided by Calabrio a patron of this Roman colony city. Notice how wide the streets are and the umbrella or broom pine trees…
Along this street were the houses of non-elite persons. For instance, see below….
This street also leads to the main gate into the city, the so called Porta Romana, and not surprisingly, there were major inscriptions and statues one could hardly miss as one entered the city through this gate.
One eventually got to the boundary of the city, and its boundary stone….after passing some of the memorials and burial boxes. The necropolis of most cities, or city of the dead, was on the same road as the city of the living. Notice the high skill in carving these marble sarcophagi, or steles. This last one is to the spirit of the dead Cornellio. D.M. Cornello…. and also his wife Cornellia.
English (US) · 