Un nuovo grande spicatum da Ostia antica e il problema dell’uso di stuoie, tappeti e pavimenti lignei nel mondo romano

In the last years the Ostia Marina Project has focused on an area located north of the Caupona del dio Pan (3rd century A.D.). The excavations have led to the discovery of part of an earlier building dating back to the 1st century A.D., located under many raising layers. A series of rooms, with traces of mosaic floors, has been identified around a large and elongated room with an opus spicatum floor. This floor, brought to light on an area of approx. 20 sq.m, is characterized by the presence of about a hundred small iron nails, driven into the bricks. These nails are probably to be related to the presence of wooden or perhaps textile cladding elements.