The complex most likely presents a C-shaped plan, with two short arms oriented north-south, and the long arm east-west. The eastern short arm is parallel and adjacent to Trajan’s basin, while the second short side is no longer visible. The complex was articulated on three storeys. On the ground floor, along a corridor covered by cross vaults, 4.50 metres wide, square-shaped rooms, modular and covered by masonry groin vaults, open on the long arm, with entrances characterized by brick arches and jambs. On the short side, the rooms facing onto the corridor are long and narrow, alternating with ramps in order to ascend to the upper storey. The Severan Warehouses are closely connected with the Imperial Palace, which is linked to it by a vaulted passageway.
Reconstruction of the Severan Warehouses
(Portus Project)
Interior of a ground-floor room with windows on the back wall
Reconstruction of the ground-floor
(Portus Project)
The spatial relationship between the Severan Warehouses and the Imperial Palace
(Portus Project/Artas Media)
Vaulted passageway providing linkage to the Imperial Palace
(P. Verduchi)
Reconstruction of the Severan Warehouses
(G. Carazza)
Rooms on the first storey of the warehouses
(P. Verduchi)
Aerial view of the warehouses
Detail of the rooms in the eastern wing of the warehouses; the hexagonal basin is in the background
(P. Verduchi)