In an earlier post, we considered the stacked amphora fragments at Monte Testaccio. Today we are looking at another reuse of storage amphorae, this time in Roman architecture. Most of the reused amphorae at Testaccio and also in Roman vaulting are olive oil containers from Souhern Spain of Dressel type 20 or 23. The earliest examples are from outside Rome. In the Magazzini Traianei at Ostia (AD 126) two Dressel 20 amphorae were placed in each corner of the cross-vaults wherea

An artificial hill on the outskirts for he historical center, Testaccio or Monte dei Cocci (hill of terracotta shards) is composed of over 53 million storage amphorae of the Roman period. It is estimated that an additional 13 million amphorae were used in building works, used for target practice by the Vatican artillery and looted over the course of the centuries. The deposit dates from the 1st BC through 3rd century AD and extends over a kilometer in diameter and is 54 meter