Mosaic of the Merchants of Sabratha

This black-and-white floor mosaic (3rd c.) shows an elephant in profile framed by Latin inscriptions in simple tesserae . It comes from the Piazzale delle Corporazioni and marked the station of merchants from Sabratha in Roman North Africa. Sabratha functioned as a coastal hub for Mediterranean trade, and the elephant likely signals the movement of exotic animals for Roman spectacles through Ostia’s harbor.