A street in Ostia. Photo: TMK, March 2006.
Luke Lavan, Axel Gering and their team have recently begun excavations in Ostia, the harbour city of Rome. They will be looking at the late antique street system and use of urban space. They have also just launched their blog: Berlin-Kent Ostia Excavations.
What about the early Christian church with 2 naves, built partly on a blocked-off street? Does this decision to use municipal right-of-way for a religious building say anything about the dating? Are there parallels for this use of a street?
Is this church the “Constantinian basilica”? If not, has any other building at Ostia been identified as the Constantinian basilica?
I would appreciate any bibligraphy helpful to this question, as well as your own results.
The Constantinian basilica has indeed been identified by Michael Heinzelmann (see e.g. http://www.ostia-antica.org/intro.htm). You can begin your research with Journal of Roman Archaeology vol. 12 (1999): 342-353 (http://www.journalofromanarch.com/annual/V12.pdf).