Staring eyes and furrowed brow on Roman theatrical mask, now displayed at the Roman theatre at Ostia Antica, Italy, and once part of the theatre’s architectural decoration.
Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy: theatrical mask that once decorated the theatre. Fragments of an inscription indicate that a first theatre was built at Ostia at the end of the first century BC. The masonry of the present theatre has been dated to the second century AD. Ostia (from Ostium, Latin for mouth) lies about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Rome. It was founded in the 7th century BC on the estuary or mouth of the Tiber as a seaport to serve Rome, but silting made the river change course and the site is now about miles inland. The oldest surviving remains are city walls built around 325 BC, as Rome expanded its domain within Italy. In the Republican era, Ostia grew into a thriving port, sending ships to Spain to supply Roman troops fighting Carthage. Ostia also thrived in the Imperial era and although the harbour began to silt up under Claudius (41-54 AD), with large vessels forced to moor at sea, it continued to supply Rome with provisions and treasures shipped from around the Empire and reached peak prosperity in the 2nd century AD. Further silting cost Ostia its prime role. It was eventually sacked by Visigoths and Vandals and was finally abandoned in the 9th century.
Size: 2772px × 4172px
Location: Theatre, Theater, Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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