Archeology: Roman soldiers trod the ground of the Volubilis valley
The Roman army was present and even active in the Volubilis valley, as evidenced by the find made by Moroccan archaeologists but also by Polish archaeologists, who have just unearthed the remains of an observation tower on the site of El Mellali, located in the heart of the former Mauretania Tingitana (in northern Morocco).
This major find confirms the military calling of this region, considered one of the most important in Roman Africa. This major archaeological discovery, made by Moroccan and Polish specialists, thus revealed a “surveillance” tower which may have been founded and used by the Roman army for strictly military purposes. This is tangible proof of the presence of a Roman defense system around the famous city of Volubilis. “These joint discoveries constitute a real step forward in the study of the defense system of the valley within which Volubilis, the largest city in this part of Roman Africa, is located”, we are told. “Of all the provinces of the Roman Empire, Mauretania Tingitana indeed possesses the least recognized defense system. Previous field missions had suggested the locations of a series of watchtowers, but no excavation had confirmed such hypotheses”, completes a specialist concerning this point.
“What Polish archaeologists from the University of Warsaw, led by Professor Radoslaw Kara Siewicz-Szczypiorski, have discovered in recent days has exceeded all our expectations” , Polish Ambassador to Morocco Krzysztof Karwowski said. Concretely, the teams, mobilized by the University of Warsaw and the Institute of Archeology and Cultural Heritage (INSAP) in Rabat, were able to “dig up” the upper part of a tower at the southern border of the Roman province, approximately 6.5 kilometers south of ancient Volubilis. But not only that. “We were also able to find on the site several fragments of pilum (Roman javelins), as well as nails from the soles of military sandals and some metal elements of the cingulum (belt). These finds leave no doubt about the presence of armed soldiers in this region. This is the result of a year of continuous excavations between the two partner teams, under the guidance of renowned professors Aomar Akerraz and Radoslaw Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski.
A pinch of history
Mauretania Tingitana was a province of the Roman Empire whose capital was Volubilis. Its main cities were Banasa, Tingis (Tangiers), Lixus (Larache), Tamuda (Tétouan), and Russadir (Melilla). Before falling under the yoke of Rome, this State, created in the 4th century BC, was an Amazigh kingdom of the Maghreb (ancient Libya) emerging from a federation of Moorish tribes (inhabitants of ancestral Berber origin). After its annexation by the Romans in 42 or 43, the region was divided into two distinct provinces: Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis.
Karim AGOUMI
