Was Rome Larger Than First Thought?

From the Daily Mail:

As Rome prepares to celebrate its official 2,767th birthday, archeologists believe they have unearthed fresh secrets about the ancient city.

They claim the discovery of a boundary wall of the river port of ancient Rome suggests the city is larger than previously thought.

Scientists from the universities of Southampton and Cambridge uncovered the extra section of wall at Ostia, the harbour city of ancient Rome.

The discovery was made while conducting a survey of an area between the Ostia port and another Roman port called Portus – both of which are about 30 miles (48 km) from the Italian capital.

Scholars had thought the river Tiber formed the northern edge of Ostia, but this new research has shown that Ostia’s city wall continued on the other side of the river.

The researchers have shown the newly discovered area enclosed three huge, previously unknown warehouses – the largest of which was the size of a football pitch.

Professor Simon Keay, director of the Portus Project, said: ‘Our research not only increases the known area of the ancient city, but it also shows that the Tiber bisected Ostia, rather than defining its northern side.

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