The archaeological site of the cemetery along the Via Ostiensis in Rome is the best-preserved part of a vast necropolis flanking the ancient street for almost 1 kilometer between the Almo river and the bridge over the Fosso di Grottaperfetta (socalled Ponticello). Numerous tombs were discovered by chance during the 18th and 19th centuries near the Basilica di San Paolo and destroyed without adequate documentation, yielding however considerable epigraphic material. The currently visible sector of the necropolis was exposed during road work in 1918 (excavation by Giuseppe Lugli) and later in 1923. The tomb monuments, mostly of the columbarium type, follow the north-south orientation of the Via Ostiensis and were used continually from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE, evidencing the switch in burial custom from cremation to inhumation. This study aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the ancient topography of the necropolis and suburban settlements along the Via Ostiensis.
