Britons uncover Roman era shipyard

A team headed by the University of Southampton excavated the remains of a building more than 150 metres long, 60 metres wide and five storeys high at Portus, which was the ancient port for Rome.

The structure from about 117 AD, in the reign of Trajan, was used to either build or service ships that travelled across the empire 2,000 years ago to keep Rome supplied with food and goods.

Sited alongside Rome’s Fiumicino airport, it is now more than two miles from the Mediterranean, and was found close to a distinctive existing hexagonal basin or harbour at the centre of the huge ancient port complex, which covers two miles square.

The building is so grand archaeologists think it had some form of imperial connection and may have been used as the base for galleys that transported emperors, such as Hadrian, across the empire.

The latest discovery comes after the team found an ornate private amphitheatre at the same site two years ago.

University of Southampton professor and Portus project director, Simon Keay, said: “This is an exciting and important discovery and the building is a really, really fantastic thing to find.

“Few Roman imperial shipyards have been discovered and, if our identification is correct, this would be the largest of its kind in Italy or the Mediterranean.”

Portus was a crucial trade gateway linking Rome to the Mediterranean throughout the Roman period.

Until now, no major shipyard building for Rome had been identified, apart from the possibility of one on the Tiber near Monte Testaccio, and one claimed for the neighbouring river port at Ostia.

Supporting evidence comes in the form of inscriptions discovered at Portus referring to the existence of a guild of shipbuilders.

The dig is a joint project between the University of Southampton, the British School at Rome, Cambridge University and Archaeological Superintendency of Rome.