Tomb 95Isola Sacra Menu

Tomb 95 dates from an earlier time than tomb 94 and was completely detached before the construction of the latter. On the left outer wall, where the wall of the enclosure reaches the burial chamber, is a brick column with a rosette of flowers, cut out of pumice, on top. Tomb 95 was organized for cremation only and had low, central aediculae flanked by small semicircular niches. The decorations of the walls continued on the ceiling. The tomb dates from about 120 AD. click to enlarge photograph In a time of reuse during the reign of Antoninus Pius the burial chamber was replastered and painted yellow. Traces are still to be seen at the bottom of the back wall

On the ceiling of the burial chamber were twelve panels, depicting the labours of Hercules. Six of the panels, those on the right side of the tomb, have been preserved. The panels were in bad condition and are stored in the Ostian depots today.

The surviving labours are:  

 Thylander mentions that the following inscription, found near the tomb 95, probably belongs to the tomb:

D(is) M(anibus)
M(arcus) ANTONIVS VITALIS ET
M(arcus) ANTONIVS M(arci) FILIVS VERVS FECERVNT SIB(i)
ET SVIS LIBERTIS LIBERTABVSQVE POSTERISQVAE
EORVM
QVOD SI QVIS IN HOC MVNIMENTVM VEL INTRA MACERIAM
QVAM EIVS POST EXCESSVM M(arci) ANTONI VITALIS VENDERE VEL
DONARE ALIOVE QVO GENERE ABALIENARE VOLET AVT CORPVS
OSSVAVE ALIENIGERI NOMINIS QVAM TITVLO S(upra) S(cripto) CONTINETVR
INTVLERIT TVNC POENAE NOM[in]E IN SINGVLA CORPORA
CVLTORIBVS LARVM PORTVS [augu]STI (sestertium) III M(ilia) N(ummum)
H(oc) M(onumentum) H(eredem) E(xterum) [N(on)] S(equetur)

Marcus Antonius Vitalis and Marcus Antonius Verus, son of Marcus, have made this monument for themselves and for their freed slaves and for the descendants. However, if, after the death of Marcus Antonius Vitalis, somebody prefers, in one way or another, to sell, donate or alienate the monument, bring in the monument or in one of the walls of the enclosure a body or bones of persons with a name not standing on the list below, he will pay for each body a penalty of three-thousand sesterces to those who take care of the Lares of Portus Augusti. The monument cannot be inherited by strangers.

During the excavation campaign of 1988-89 a semicircular tomb "a cassone" has been discovered to the west of tombs 94 and 95. The grave, not visible anymore, lies parallel with the main street and at a higher level than tombs 94 and 95. On the short, northern side of the tomb is an inscription of which the left side is damaged:

[D(is)] M(anibus)
[---]NIO ARISTO
[---] AELIA DONATA
PATRI PIISSIM(o) FECIT

The grave was erected by Aelia Donata for her dear father [---]nio Aristo[---].

• Sources
• Russel Meigs - Roman Ostia, At the Clarendon Press 1973
• Guido Calza - Necropoli nell'Isola Sacra'(1940)
• Dr. Jan Theo Bakker.
• Hilding Thylander - Inscriptions du port d'Ostie (Lund C W K Gleerup 1952).
• Ida Baldassarre, Irene Bragantini, Chiara Morselli and Franc Taglietti - Necropoli di Porto, Isola Sacra (Roma 1996).