An ambulatory inside the Sabratha Theatre, covered by a curving tunnel vault. -MA
"The theater was built under Commodus or Septimus Severus, at the same time shipping agents from Sabratha had an office ... in the Piazzale delle Corporazioni at Ostia. Unlike the Miletus nymphaeum and Ephesus library, the Sabratha stage has three stories of columns perfectly aligned one above the other. The architect made this simple design more interesting and complex by setting some of the sections farther back than others and by alternating curved and flat walled surfaces. In the bright light of the North African desert, the columns also cast strong shadows and enliven the facade, which the designer doubtless took into consideration when planning the placement of the columns" (Kleiner, 254-5). "Situated on the Tripolitanian coast to the west of modern Tripoli, Sabratha was one of the ancient triad of cities, consisting of Sabratha, Oea (Tripoli), and Leptis Magna, which gave the name of Tripolitana to this territory. Like its two sister settlements Sabratha was in origin a mere Phoenician trading center, dating perhaps to the seventh century B.C. The vestiges of this early outpost, situated between the harbor and the Forum, offer no evidence of solid permanent structures, but rather consist of the remains of Punic storage jars and Greek vases. This would indicate that the site was merely one where occasional traders stopped or might even have resided during the good sailing season" (Matthews, 48).-MA
Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman art. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010.
Matthews, Kenneth D., and Alfred W. Cook. Cities in the sand: Leptis Magna and Sabratha in Roman Africa. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1957.
Photograph created 1963. Photograph processed September 1963. Formerly cataloged as B.04.034. Notes written on the slide or index: Sabratha, Theater.
Legacy Subcollection: "D: Sabratha"
