Unfortunately, most people visiting Aspendos
leave immediately after seeing its unique theater and skip its aqueduct
altogether. However, it is a true masterpiece of Roman architecture that can
only compete with the Pont du Gard in
France or the aqueduct of Volubilis in Morocco.
During a tour of Morocco , I stopped at Volubilis,
and my hopes ran high when I first glanced at this vast city spread out
over the gentle slopes of the overall green landscape. I fail to see why this
location was chosen because the sea is too far away. I'm unaware of any
neighboring commercial towns or crossroads networks. However, this city once was one of the largest in North Africa, together
with Leptis Magna and Sabratha in Libya and Douga and El Jem in Tunisia. Time
for some in-depth research.
The Volubilis I am discovering covers 42 ha . In the third century
BC, it was a true Carthaginian city built on top of older prehistoric
settlements. In 40 AD, Volubilis became part of the Roman
Empire and the administrative center for the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitana .
The fertile farmlands around the city produced rich wheat and olive
oil crops, which were in high demand in Rome
and contributed to local prosperity. This answers my initial question, but
unfortunately, nobody informs me about the many buildings and mills dedicated to
olive pressing. Only afterward did I hear that Volubilis counted 58
oil-pressing sites in as much they have been unearthed until now.
The poor ruins of Volubilis date in the majority from the 2nd-3rd century and are pretty disappointing, but that is because most of its remains were shaken mainly by the earthquake of 1755, which destroyed significant parts of Lisbon , Portugal . On top of that, the site
was widely plundered and stripped of its marble in the 18th century to
build nearby Meknes,
which was supposed to become a second Versailles . It is madness considering today's standards, but on the other hand, nothing much
has been done to restore any of the key buildings of this antique site as is
generally practiced nowadays. Moreover, most artifacts have been
moved to the Archaeological Museum
of Rabat . In 285, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, the Romans suddenly
left Mauretania Tingitana. Life returned only in 789 when Idris I, a
descendant of Prophet Mohammed,
settled here and renamed the town Walila.
In the distance, I discover remains of the city
walls dating from 168-169 AD with a lonely arch, the Tingis Gate, one of the eight city gates. From there, the straight
Decumanus runs down to the well-preserved Arch
of Caracalla at the southern end, erected in his and his mother's honor in
217 AD. It is decorated with Corinthian columns and was originally topped with
a bronze chariot as customary on triumphal arches. The inscription on the
outside wall is still in situ and reads
as follows:
IMPERATORI CAESARI MARCO AVRELLIO ANTONINO PIO
FELICI AVGVSTO PARTHICO MAXIMO BRITTANICO MAXIMO GERMANICO MAXIMO
PONTIFICI MAXIMO TRIBVNITIA POTESTATE XX IMPERATORI
IIII CONSVLI IIII PATRI PATRIAE PROCONSVLI ET IVLIAE AVGVSTAE PIAE FELICI MATRI
AVGVSTI ET CASTRORVM ET SENATVS ET PATRIAE RESPVBLICA VOLVBILITANORVM OB SINGVLAREM EIVS
ERGA VNIVERSOS ET NOVAM SVPRA OMNES RETRO PRINCIPES INDVLGENTIAM ARCVM
CVM SEIVGIBVS ET ORNAMENTIS OMNIBVS INCOHANTE ET DEDICANTE MARCO AVRELLIO
AVGVSTI ET CASTRORVM ET SENATVS ET PATRIAE RESPVBLICA VOLVBILITANORVM OB SINGVLAREM EIVS
ERGA VNIVERSOS ET NOVAM SVPRA OMNES RETRO PRINCIPES INDVLGENTIAM ARCVM
CVM SEIVGIBVS ET ORNAMENTIS OMNIBVS INCOHANTE ET DEDICANTE MARCO AVRELLIO
SEBASTENO PROCVRATORE AVGVSTI DEVOTISSIMO NVMINI
EIVS A SOLO FACIENDVM CVRAVIT
Translated by Wikipedia, it says:
For the emperor
Caesar, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus [Caracalla], the pious, fortunate Augustus, greatest
victor in Parthia, greatest
victor in Britain, greatest victor in Germany, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician
power for the twentieth time, Emperor for the fourth
time, Consul for the fourth time, Father of the Country, Proconsul, and for Julia Augusta [Julia Domna], the pious,
fortunate mother of the camp and the Senate and the country, because of his
exceptional and new kindness towards all, which is greater than that of the principes that came before, the
Republic of the Volubilitans took care to have this arch made from the ground
up, including a chariot drawn by six horses and all the ornaments, with Marcus
Aurelius Sebastenus, procurator, who is most deeply devoted to the divinity of
Augustus, initiating and dedicating it.
Only a dozen columns have been re-erected
along said Decumanus. A sharp eye
will notice several public fountains (Nymphaeums)
along the way with their worn-down edges where so many water jars have been
pulled up.
My guide (who was imposed on me) has no
interest in these details. It is rather annoying to be herded from one
mosaic to the next without explaining Volubilis' general layout or
history. It feels like a tour of Pompeii in the 1970s when archaeology
was approached differently. The mosaics are pleasant enough but rather crude and less refined, and the floors need a
good cleaning and even restoration job. Despite the rush, I still can
appreciate the peculiar round Atrium we are crossing, surrounded by twisted
columns crowned with Pergamese capitals and the out-of-common layout of the so-called North Baths. However, the overall picture remains pretty obscure.
Beside the Arch
of Caracalla, only two other buildings stand out in
all of Volubilis, and these belong to the Capitol Complex with the Basilica and the Forum. It is easy to mentally
reconstruct the Basilica because the walls of the five wings are still intact. Opposite lies the Capitol from 217, dedicated to the Roman gods
Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, of which only the columns in the front are in place.
The 1300 square
meters between the Basilica and the Capitol constitute the
paved Forum with the remains of an altar. And this is where my tour ends …
That leaves me with my most burning question: where
is that famous aqueduct? Based on the maps, it is supposed to run on the east
side of and more or less parallel to the Decumanus,
but I see no trace. The Aspendos and Pont du Gard aqueducts are pretty
easy to spot; you simply can't miss them – why not here in Volubilis? Maybe it is
to be found out of view on the other side of the hill? The site has been put
on the Unesco World Heritage List, but
even in the literature, I cannot find any reference to this famous aqueduct… Any
additional information is most welcome!
[Click here to see all the pictures of Volubilis]
[Click here to see all the pictures of Volubilis]
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