Roman Ruins in Morocco: Volubilis

This was a crazy weekend. Yesterday, we went to Volubilis, an ancient roman city, and to Moulay Idriss, the first Islamic city of Morocco. Today we hiked for about 4 hours to the top of a mountain in the Middle Atlas Mountain Range near the vilalges of Ifrane and Azrou. All of this was really sweet, but for right now, I am going to focus on Volubilis.

Who knew there were Roman ruins in Morocco? I certainly did not. Volubilis, dating from around the 3rd century, was built to organize the grain production in Morocco and to control the Berber tribes. The idea was that the people in Morocco would grow all this grain, feed the Roman people in Volubilis, and send the rest back to Rome, all without complaining or getting paid. Imperialism much? Well turns out it didn't work out quite so well, the Romans were never able to fully conquer the Berber populations.

Despite that small setback, Volubilis was a thriving city for a very long time. (think longer than the US has been around, way longer). It was inhabited for atleast 1,000 years, but not entirely by Romans. The Romans had mostly evacuated Morocco by the 6th century, but a group of Volubilis citizens stayed behind and mingled with the tribal people.

This is what is left of the courthouse. 

Through out its long history, parts of the city have been taken down in order to recycle building materials and earthquakes have torn down bits and pieces as well. The most disastrous earthquake was the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake that took down a significant portion of the city. The structures that are left are pieces of community buildings, foundations for wealthy persons homes, and the main street. 

What's left of the temple. Volubilis was built way before the Romans became Christians so this temple was for a god or goddess. Animal sacrifices would have taken place just at the top of the stairs.

The homes are identified by the mosaic floors that are still intact even though the walls are long gone. The houses are built in the typical Roman fashion; one big square with a courtyard in the middle and a hall way surrounding. This architecture would later become a signature style of Morocco in the Riad style buildings.

Close up of a floor mosaic. This mosaic depicts the goddes Diana getting out of her bathtub and being watched by a peeping Tom. She catches him and turns him into a stag and he is then hunted down by his own hunting dogs. Sad day.

The main street of Volubilis is very much still intact and you can almost imagine how grand it used to be. There is a center path of stone, which in fact is covering up the sewer system, quite a modern technology for the Romans. Each side was lined with columns and arches and also had side walks. All this led right up to the triumphant arch which was the formal entrance to the city.