- Sabratha
Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Archaeological Site of Sabratha
State Party =
Type = Cultural
Criteria = iii
ID = 184
Region =Arab States
Year = 1982
Session = 6th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/184Sabratha, in the Zawia district in the northwestern corner of modern
Libya , was the westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65km (40 miles) west ofTripoli (ancientOea ). The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1982.Ancient Sabratha
Sabratha's port was established, perhaps about 500 BC, as a
Phoenicia n trading-post that served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland. Sabratha became part of the short-livedNumidia n Kingdom ofMassinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The EmperorSeptimus Severus was born nearby inLeptis Magna , and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred years of the Arab conquest of themaghreb , trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.The archaeological site
Besides its magnificent late 3rd century theatre that retains its three-storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater,
Serapis andIsis . There is a Christianbasilica of the time of Justinian and also remnants of some of themosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa (for example, at theVilla Sileen , nearAl-Khoms ). However, these are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward (or Forum) baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the Theatre baths.There is an adjacent museum containing some treasures from Sabratha, but others can be seen in the national museum in
Tripoli .Max Mallowan at Sabratha
In 1943, during the
Second World War , archaeologistMax Mallowan , husband of novelistAgatha Christie , was based at Sabratha as assistant to the Senior Civil Affairs Officer of the Western Province ofTripolitania . His main task was to oversee the allocation of grain rations, but it was, in the words of Christie's biographer, a "glorious attachment", during which Mallowan lived in an Italian villa with a patio overlooking the sea and dined on fresh tunny fish and olives. [Janet Morgan (1984) "Agatha Christie: a Biography"]References
*Philip Ward, "Sabratha: a guide for visitors"
External links
* [http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=184 UNESCO archaeological site of Sabratha]
* [http://www.caravanserai-tours.com/sabratha.htm Sabratha]
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