Hotell eller inte i Ostia

Sammanfattning: Ostia was a very important city and was characterized by commerce and traid. Because of this a lot of people went through and sometimes stayed in Ostia for some time. These people required somewhere to live, and this has led to several houses in Ostia being interpreted as hotels and inns. The aim of this essay is to examine these houses and the different criteria suggested bu scholars. The houses are: Casa di Diana I.III.3-4, Domus di Giove e Ganimede I.IV.2, Casa dei Dipinti I.IV.4, Casa dei Triclini I.XII.1, Casa delle Volte Dipinte III.V.1 with Caseggiatio Trapeziodale III.IV.1 and, finally, Caupona del Pavone IV.II.6. Some of the criteria are, among others, the plan of the houses, the distribution of rooms, the presence of kitchens and latrines, bars and also wall paintings. A comparative study shows that these houses have very little in common, and that the only house that would fit into most of the criteria is Casa delle Volte Dipinte. It should be pointed out, however, that most of these criteria would also fit into any house, and there are examples of this. The conslusion of this study is that none of these houses can be regarded, for certainty, as a hotell, and therefore, it is not possible to say that there is a certain pattern for hotels and inns in Ostia. The most probable reason for this is that travellers did not stay at hotels. Most likely the hired available rooms in private homes.