I dannati del fiume. La pratica dell’alaggio sul Tevere in età romana

Abstract: The aim of the research is to examine the figure of the harbor worker, who is part of the class of “helciarii”, so man towing the ships and the boats by the river. The interest for this group of workers is especially related to the huge contrast of their job: between being the expression of a work without specialization and, at the same time, being the active part and the cause of the trade on the Tiber river. For about 70 years from the more important publica­tion Le Tibre fleuve de Rome dans l’antiquité, this article wants to return on the opinion formulated by Joël Le Gall concerning the towing on the Tiber river, who didn’t admit the use of the animals’ work during the Republic and Imperial Roman Ages. The use of some documents which weren’t considered by Le Gall, lets us to confirm the hypothesis of this author.

Keywords: Helciarius; Caudicaria; Towage; River trade