Le soglie come elementi strutturali nella definizione degli spazi a Ostia antica

During the archaeological investigations carried out by the Ostia Marina Project in the area outside Porta Marina, various floors were found, dating from the 1st to the 4th century A.D. The thresholds can assume the value of a sacral distinction between exterior and interior, between public and private or just correspond to the gaps between one interior space and another; the value of the thresholds as indicators of construction quality is also evident; finally, the wear of the thresholds is often a useful sign of the attendance and importance of the building. In this paper a series of thresholds found in the Building of two staircases (IV, ix, 6) and in the Caupona of the god Pan (IV, ix, 5) is examined. The most important thresholds were made by monolithic blocks; in less important cases they were the result of the composition of single pieces.