What is "navalia"

Navalia is a town (polis or oppidum) that was mentioned by Claudius Ptolemaeus in his Geographia. The town has recently been associated with Essen. The name translates from Latin as "dock" or "wharf", but this may be coincidental.

Though Ptolemy provides coordinates, it is unknown which prime meridian he used. Moreover the coordinates provided have been polluted by mistakes by copyists. The exact locations of the places mentioned remained unsure until recently.

The Navalia was ancient Rome's river port and arsenals, which may also have included a naval dockyard. It was sited on the left bank of the river Tiber to the south of the Campus Martius. It is sometimes called the 'Navalia superiora' to distinguish it from another military port further down the Tiber near the Forum Boarium (the 'Navalia inferiora'). Its construction was led by Hermodorus of Salamis in the 2nd century BC.