Archaeological Site of Sabratha | |
Map Type: | Libya#Africa |
Coordinates: | 32.8053°N 12.4997°W |
Type: | Settlement |
Designation1: | WHS |
Designation1 Offname: | Archaeological Site of Sabratha |
Designation1 Date: | 1982 |
Designation1 Number: | 184 |
Designation1 Criteria: | iii |
Designation1 Type: | Cultural |
Designation1 Free1name: | Region |
Designation1 Free1value: | North African States |
The archaeological site of Sabratha is an excavated Numidian and later Roman city situed near present-day Sabratha, Libya.[1]
It was a Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, and later part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.[2]
Sabratha, on the coast of Libya 40 km, to the west of modern Tripoli, was founded by Phoenician settlers in the sixth or fifth century B.C. and grew to be a prosperous town during much of the Roman period, though it did not long survive the coming of the Arabs in the seventh century A.D. Today it ranks alongside Lepcis Magna as one of the major classical sites of the region. The' modern exploration of the ruins was begun in 1926[3] during the Italian colonial period and in the ensuing years much of the heart of the town was laid bare. During the period of the British Military Administration immediately after the end of the Second World War, three seasons of work were carried out by a British expedition.
Damage resulting from the clashes in 2018