Claudius’ project, probably not yet completed when the port was inaugurated in 64 AD, provided for the unloading and transit of goods through the spaces between the columns, directly in the porticos’ circulation spaces, adequately elevated above sea level. Along with the plugging of all the porticos, a new quay was built, all around the building, in the Severan Age AD; this structure, its travertine staircases still visible today, allowed goods to be unloaded to the outside of the monument, and consequently promoted a more effective and orderly system to control their storage.
The quay’s travertine staircases
Torlonia Relief. Detail of unloading operations on the quay
The eastern quay, in its full length
(École française de Rome)
Staircases of the eastern quay, restored in 1994
Detail of the quay