Rome was often called the warehouse of the world.

This term goes back to the end of the fourth century BC, when Rome started its expansion and the Appian Way was built and Ostia, the main port for the city of Rome, was founded.

A mural depicting a large Horrea

Roads and ports had to be built and maintained for land, river, and maritime transport, and adequate storage space for the commodities secured.

The amount of storage space available in the public Horrea can be judged by the fact that when the emperor Septimius Severus died in 211 AD, he is said to have left the city’s Horrea’s stocked with enough food to supply Rome’s million-strong population for seven years.

Plan of the excavated horreum of the Roman villa of Veranes (Gijón, Spain)

By the end of the imperial period, the city of Rome had nearly 300 Horrea to supply its demands.

The biggest were enormous, even by modern standards; the Horrea Galbae contained 140 rooms on the ground floor alone, covering an area of some 225,000 square feet (21,000 m²).

These Horrea or warehouses were the very lifeblood of Rome.

I have now finished the main buildings for my “Gangs of Rome” terrain. Tomorrow I will provide an overview of the finished seaside village of “Stabiae”.