The Ruins of Ostia Antica by Lia Pittman

Today we met up for our trip to the ruins of the ancient Roman city Ostia Antica. This was our first journey using the Roman transportation system as a group, but we discovered that the buses and trains here are pretty easy to use. Bonus: a ticket is only 1 Euro and it lasts for one metro ride or as many bus rides you want within 75 minutes!

Alex, Cami, and Reed on the train ride to Ostia!
We arrived at Ostia Antica to find great weather, which was a pleasant change from the cold and rain we've been experiencing! The ruins of the city are absolutely amazing. So far, this has been the most interesting site for me. The entire time we walked through the city, I kept thinking of what it would be like to live there back when it was thriving and alive. Ostia Antica was a major port city located by the Tiber River. Shipping and fishing was a main industry for Ostia along with salt mining. When we first entered the ruins, we walked past tombs and ancient roads. The entrance to the city is beautiful with the giant remains of the ampitheater, which could apparently hold thousands of people!

View of the stadium

There are a few different kinds of buildings in Ostia for homesteds. There were even three story apartment buildings and bars! You can see several stages of different Roman architecture in the buildings. Some of these buildings had beautiful mosaics and decorations included in the tile. A lot of the city has been restored and excavation has been going on for years.

View of the ruined city from atop an apartment building

Picture of the inside of one of the intricately designed houses. You can see the beautiful mosaic and the types of building materials used in the walls.

Today was Richelle's presentation of the Roman bathing system, so we walked through the ruins on our way to the baths. Over 800 baths were in Rome, and they were used as not only a cleansing tool, but to socialize as well. Women took the earlier, colder showers and the men took the later and much warmer afternoon showers. The heating system for the baths was called the Hypocaust Heating System and involved a furnace and underground floor chamber that were heated with fire. They cleared whole forests in order to have enough wood to heat these baths. The marble floor of the bathing house was also heated from below, so shoes had to be worn to protect the feet from burning.

There are 6 main types of rooms one would find in a typical bath: the Apodyterium (changing room), Palaestra (excercise room and gameroom), Frigidarium (cold room), Tepidarium (warm room), Caldarium (hot room), and the optional Laconicum (sweating room).

Emperors and nobles would sometimes bathe in the same bathing houses as the poorer citizens. The baths served as a good way for the Emperor to show that he was still involved in his city, but the baths served as an escape for the poor. People could get out of the cold and dirty city and come into this fantastic bath house. The whole concept is pretty amazing.

Ostia Antica was an amazing adventure, and I can't help but wonder: What will they say of where I lived in 2000 years? Will students of the future be taking a tour of the 'Ruins of Seattle'? We'll never know.

Walking through the streets of Ostia Antica!