Portus

Portus was the Port of Ancient Rome, the ruins of which are now located in the Fiumicino suburb of Rome.
It was named Portus Augusti Ostiensis, but was generally known as Portus Romanus. Built in 42 CE to accommodate the Grain Fleet, it surpassed the port of Ostia.

In 42 CE Claudius started construction on the Port of Portus 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Ostia.
It was built to create an all year round Harbour with a permanent 20 ft (6m) water level. This allowed grain to reach Rome and alleviate the grain shortages that regularly occurred.
In 62 CE a huge storm or tidal wave destroyed 200 ships in the new harbour.
In 64 CE Nero (54-68 CE) issued coins celebrating Portus as the new harbour for Rome.
Trajan (98-117 CE) decided to build another hexagonal inner harbour, safely inland of the first outer harbour. They were called together ‘Portus Augusti et Traiani Felicis’ or ‘Portus Uterque’ (meaning both harbours).
Portus had its own Amphitheatre and Aqueduct.
In 408 CE the Goths destroyed the city of Portus. In 455 CE the Vandals razed the city. And in 537 CE the Goths again attacked the city.
However, Portus continued in use as a Port until 879 CE.
Today the Ruins of the city can be visited. The Hexagonal harbour, however, is on private land.

Portus had two semicircular moles projecting into the sea, with an artificial island between the moles.
Excavations during the building of Rome’s Fiumicino Airport revealed the northern Mole to be almost 1 mile (1,600m) long and the southern Mole to be 4,330 ft (1,320m) long.

Pharos of Portus
- An artificial island was created by sinking one of the huge vessels that had brought an Obelisk from Egypt to sit on the Spina of the Circus of Nero.
- The Pharos of Portus Roman Lighthouse was constructed on the artificial island between the moles.
- Suetonius, (Claudius XX) recounts that the Pharos of Portus was built in imitation of the Pharos of Alexandria.

Fossa Traiana
- Named after Trajan, but built by Claudius, this was a very wide Canal which linked Portus Harbour to the Tiber
- It was 295 ft (90 m) wide and bypassed the mouth of the River. It is now known as the Fiumicino Canal.

Via Portuensis
- Trajan extended the Road] from Rome to Portus.
- It ran near the west bank of the Tiber partly with the Via Campana.
- The towpath on the Tiber was only for the use of oxen hauling barges upriver.

A Vexillatio of two centuries of the Vigiles Urbani from Rome, was posted here on a four month tour of Duty.
The Roman Navy had a base here.