LE GORGONI ALLA PORTA. RICOSTRUZIONE E INTERPRETAZIONE DI UN SOFFITTO DIPINTO IN STILE LINEARE RINVENUTO IN CROLLO NELLA CAUPONA DEL DIO PAN A OSTIA ANTICA

Abstract

Recent archaeological investigations carried out over the last number of years by the Ostia Marina Project
have led to the discovery of a building dating to the third century AD, which was well integrated into the
context of the thermal district overlooking the sea outside the city walls of ancient Ostia. The building,
called “The Caupona of the God Pan” due to the subject depicted in the mosaic floor of the main hall (Pan
fighting with Eros), had elegant walls frescoed in linear style. This decoration was subsequently covered
over by new frescoes during the fourth century AD, which imitated marble inlays. There is also evidence
for the collapse of the building, which most likely took place during the fifth century AD. The pictorial
decoration of the ceiling of one of the rooms of the building (a sort of special entrance) containing geometrical patterns and gorgons at the corners, was found broken into many pieces on the floor. Thanks to the
excavation technique employed, by which the position of each fragment was recorded, it has been possible
to reconstruct the entire ceiling. This reconstruction is the product of a jigsaw work of more than 700 fragments
of plaster.