This monograph provides a brief introduction to the material history of
Ostia, Rome's harbour town from ca 300 BC until ca AD 600, before
centering on about one hundred Latin as well as some Greek inscriptions,
some of which are previously unpublished. It focuses on inscriptions
which are still present in situ, in forty-two places. They range in date
from ca 100 BC until ca AD 420. They belong to and cast light upon
buildings, monuments, urban spaces and tombs. Some of them were reused
in floors after ca AD 250. Each inscription is presented in full,
supplemented by abbreviated names and words, translated into English,
dated and commented upon from a contextual point of view. Sometimes
inscriptions that are not in situ, as well as relevant ancient texts,
are quoted and translated in order to sketch a broader picture. The
comments are based on a critical evaluation of the most recent
archaeological, historical and epigraphic publications. Several new
interpretations result from own research. The inscriptions cast light
upon political, socio-economic, religious (pagan and Christian), and
funerary aspects of the multi-ethnic Ostian society, its relation with
Rome and the Mediterranean world. The publication is intended not only
for scholars, teachers and students, but also for historians,
classicists, philologists, linguists, epigraphists, archaeologists and
art historians. It may also prove a useful vademecum for those who
intend to visit or have visited Ostia Antica.
