Living and Dying at the Port of Ancient Rome

The findings suggest that the political upheaval following the Vandal sack of Rome in AD 455 and the 6th century wars between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines may have had a direct impact on the food resources and diet of those working at Portus Romae. Director of the University of Southampton’s Portus Project, Professor Simon Keay explained, “Our excavations at the centre of the port provide the first archaeological evidence of the diet of the inhabitants of Portus at a critical period in the history of Imperial Rome.” Project, led by the University of Southampton, studies the development of Portus, Imperial Rome’s maritime port, which was used to feed the city’s population between the mid 1st and the 6th Century AD.

Source: www.arch.cam.ac.uk