Ashby had previously visited the site of Falerii Novi on the Via Amerina, and his photographs capture the changing aspect of the city walls from 1894 to 1911. The BSR Archive contains a unique chronological visual record of Falerii Novi over the period from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries; alongside Ashby’s images there are also photographs taken by Dora or Agnes Bulwer and Peter Paul Mackey in the late 19th century, and J.B. Ward-Perkins in the 1950s/60s.
This image shows the Porta del Bove (or Porta Puteana) at Falerii Novi. Aptly, given that it is known as the Gate of the Ox, Ashby's photograph captures oxen grazing in front of the gate and city walls. Today, the walls of Falerii Novi are in a state of disrepair and even more overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult to view them as Ashby and his colleagues did when they visited the site. As such, these photographs are wonderful records of the city walls as they were over a century ago.
Photo by Thomas Ashby: Porta Bove, Falerii Novi, 28th March 1894, Thomas Ashby Collection, TA-0236
