One city, two Tibers? Reintegrating the supply network of imperial Rome

The Tiber constituted a fundamental axis of transport and trade to Rome that made possible its subsistence and development in antiquity. However, different trajectories of research in the upper/middle and lower Tiber valley have led to an apparent perception of both stretches playing different roles in the supply of Rome, a perception not supported by wider archaeological evidence.

This chapter explores the different factors influencing research in the lower and upper/middle Tiber as a first step towards the reintegration of both sections and the re-analysis of the role of Rome within this system. Next, a new model of mobility is described and developed by considering multi-modal mobility across the Tiber valley between locations in the lower valley (i.e. Rome and Portus) and the middle valley (i.e. Lucus Feroniae and Castellum Amerinum). In doing so, the chapter aims to examine the role of Rome as a transhipment port and to explore the relationship between road and river transport across the Tiber valley. As a result, this study will highlight the complexity of this transport system and the multiple possibilities it offered for addressing the supply needs of Rome and the towns in the Tiber valley.