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Volubilis
Volubilis - no chance with this one - pronounced Wa-lili. ( Arabic:
وليلي ) is an archaeological site at 400
meters altitude, in Morocco situated 18 miles from Meknes between
Fez and Rabat. The nearest town is the Holy City - Moulay Idriss. Volubilis
features the best preserved ruins in this part of northern Africa. In 1997 the
site was listed as UNESCO World Heritage.
  
Our first view from the road could not have
prepared us for the wonder in store.
Roman
period
Volubilis was an
important Roman settlement near the westernmost border of Roman conquests,
constructed on what was probably a Carthaginian city, dating from 3rd century
BC. Volubilis was the central administrative city for this part of Roman Africa,
responsible for the olive trees, grain growth, olive oil production and exports
to Rome from this fertile region. Volubilis was also in contact with the Berber
tribes which the Romans never managed to suppress, but who only came as far as
to cooperate with the Romans for mutual benefits. Volubilis was
the centre of the province called Mauretania Tingitana. Volubilis
grew and prospered from the third century B.C. to B.C. 40, under the successive
rule of independent Moorish Kings (Bocchus the Elder, Bogud I, Bogud II. From
this period several monuments have been uncovered and identified; namely,
temples in the Mauretanean - punic tradition and a mysterious tumulus. After the
assassination of King Ptolemy in B.C. 40 by Caligula and the crushing of a
revolt by Ademon in ancient Mauretania, Emperor Claudius annexed the region,
dividing it into two parts: one to the West with Tingi (Tangier) as its capital,
the other to the East with Caesara (in Algeria) as capital. Volubilis was then
elevated to the rank of a municipality.
House with the big pilasters, so named for the big pilasters ornamenting its main
entrance. The south wall is attached to the
city's surrounding wall. At the centre of its 1235 square meters, stands a
peristyle, complimented by a pool. The house is in two parts: the house proper
and an independent apartment to the south.
In 168-169, under the emperor Marcus Aurelius ( in the
Millard family tree ) city walls were constructed, including eight monumental
gates flanked by towers. Further additions came under the Severans, when a new
monumental center was created, including the capitoline temple, built by the
emperor Macrinus in 218, the civil basilica and the reorganized Forum. The Arch
of Triumph dates to the emperor Caracalla, of the same dynasty. From 40 to
285, Volubilis expanded spectacularly. During the first century came the major
urban structures, such as the spacious roads (Decumani and Cardines), and the
public monuments ( temples, thermal baths ).
Bear and Beds in the fitted baths, I
can just picture them being tended to by maidens offering wine,
grapes........................ Bear in an original
doorway.
The next century saw further developments in the urban tissue;
most importantly, the wall surrounding the city was founded by together with the
eight major gates linking the city to the outside world. Also dating back
to this period are the stately homes with perislyles and pools, the great
mosaics (Orpheus, the Works of Hercules, Diana's Bath, Neriedes are some of the
well-preserved, much visited in-situ mosaics), numerous bakeries, and about one
hundred oil presses attesting to the thriving economy of this Roman
outpost.
 
The amazing mosaics, still holding beauty after so many years. Completely unprotected
from the elements, we know a fair few modern bathrooms looking shabby after two
years let alone two thousand years plus.
The texts referring to the arrival of Idriss I in 788 show that
the town was at that point in the control of the Awraba tribe, who welcomed the
descendant of Ali, and declared him imam shortly thereafter. Within three years
he had consolidated his hold on much of the area, founded the first settlement
at Fez, and started minting coins. He was assassinated in 792, leaving a
pregnant Awraba wife, Kenza, and his faithful slave, Rashid, who acted as regent
until the majority of Idriss II, who favoured Fez which he founded and made
the first Arabo-Musli, capital of the first ruling dynasty of Morocco. Meantime,
Volubilis continued as an urban center, welcoming refugees and settlers
from Andulusia, known as the Rabedis, who had revolted in a neighbourhood in
Cordoba.
 
The house west of Godian's Palace.
One of the large houses situated north of the north-eastern quarter, much of the
mosaic floor intact. A peristyle surrounding a pool which Bear tried out for style, dominates the house. A
small apartment with small thermal baths is located north of the peristyle. The
two facades are taken up by several shops.
Occupation seems to have lasted until the Almoravid period, in
the eleventh century. According to early Arab historian, Al Bakri, Volubilis was
still a sizable town as late as 1086. Thereafter, most probably due the
successive raids of the Almoravids (the next ruling dynasty) the city's
resistance came to an end. After this date, Arab historians referred to
Volubilis only as an abandoned city in ruin. At this point the court departed
for Fez, leaving the Awraba in control of the town. The Romans evacuated most of
Morocco at the end of the 3rd century AD but, unlike some other Roman cities,
Volubilis was not abandoned. However, it appears to have been destroyed by an
earthquake in the late fourth century AD. It was reoccupied in the sixth
century, when a small group of tombstones written in Latin shows the existence
of a community that still dated its foundation by the year of the Roman
province. Coins show that it was occupied under the Abbasids: a number of these
simply bear the name Walila.
The Capitol was built
facing the basilica, in 217, within the grounds grew olives trees. Capitol seen from the cafe. The heron's nest became the
central point of the photos to show scale.
Excavations
Toward the end of the third century, an era of decline nearly
officially began with the order of Emperor Diocletes to the Roman administration
and the army to vacate Volubilis and the southern region in favor of the
northern coastal posts of Mogador, Loukos and Sale to the west. From then
on, what remained of the population shifted to the west of Caracala's Arch,
proceeded to raise a protective wall toward the sixth century and even continued
to erect public structures. Some Latin inscriptions found in the city's
necropolis from the period 599-655 indicate some Christianization of the
population. Arab sources, and in particular some found
pre-Idrisside coins, point to an Islamic presence in Volubilis had to wait as
early as the beginning of the eight century. However, a centralized Islamic
authority in Volubilis had to wait for the arrival of Idriss I, founder with his
son of the first Arabo-Islamic dynasty in Morocco. Volubilis' structures
were damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, while in the 18th century part of
the marble was taken for constructions in nearby Meknes. In 1915, archaeological
excavation was begun there by the French. Extensive remains of the Roman town
have been uncovered. From 2000 excavations carried out by University College,
London and the Moroccan Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du
Patrimoine under the direction of Elizabeth Fentress, Gaetano Palumbo and Hassan
Limane revealed what should probably be interpreted as the headquarters of
Idriss I just below the walls of the Roman town to the west. Excavations within
the walls also revealed a section of the early medieval town.
 
The Aquaduct. The supply of water to the city
passed through the aquaduct, rebuilt and restored throughout history. The
houses, public baths and fountains were supplied through secondary canals
branching off from the aquaduct. Decumanus Maximus, the main
street with Bear looking downwards and with me
upwards.
    
The big pool. The Basilica. The mosaic
to mark the house of the acrobat. The Forum,
triangle shaped, this public place which covers an area of 1300 square meters.
It was the centre of political, administrative and economic life of the city.
The Arc of Triumph, was built by Volubilis town
council in honour of the Emperor Caracalla and his mother Julia Domna in 217 AD.
It was meant to thank them for having bestowed upon its inhabitants Roman
citizenship and tax exceptions.
Next to the Arch is the house of Euphebus which is worth
stopping at, as are the houses of Orpheus and Dionysus. There is also
an olive press. The walls and columns of the Basilica are still standing,
giving you a good frame around which to imagine how impressive the original
building must have been. Most of the important finds from the site are now at
the archaeological museum in Rabat, although there are about 30 good mosaics
still in situ. After a really good wander round the site, we ate lunch in the
cafe, which could have cost much more than 40 Dirham's ( £3.00 ) for chicken
tagine, when you think about the price charged in some of the museum cafe's in
London.
All in all an amazing trip to experience what a clever lot
the Romans were, amazingly intact for an entry fee of 80p
each.
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