House of Flavius Germanus (La maison de Flavius Germanicus)
Province
Province Description
An ancient district of Africa in Roman times, Mauretania lay west of Numidia and covered most of present-day Morocco and western Algeria. By the second century BCE, when Jugurtha of Numidia was rebelling against Rome, Jugurtha's father-in-law Bocchus had most of Mauretania under his control. In 25 BCE Augustus appointed Juba II as ruler of Mauretania. Claudius divided it into two provinces: Mauretania Caesariensis, with Caesarea (modern Cherchel) as capital, and Mauretania Tingitana, with Tingis (modern Tangier) as capital. By the end of the 5th century CE, the province had disappeared.
Location
Location Description
Volubilis was the capital of the province of Mauretania Tingitania. The city was of Punic foundation, located on the edge of a plain that slopes down from the Zerhoun hills. During the reign of Juba II, king of Mauretania, Volubilis knew a prosperous period. He was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy of Mauretania, who was assassinated in 40 CE by Caligula. The kingdom was then divided into two provinces, and Volubilis was elevated to the rank of municipium as a reward for taking the side of Rome during the conflict.
The city rapidly developed and expanded; new temples, baths, civic buildings and luxurious houses lining the porticoed decumanus maximus were built. The olive press and the mills attached to the houses attest to the rural character of the region. The city reached its climax in the beginning of the third century CE and survives today as a well-preserved archaeological site. The city walls and gates, Caracalla's triumphal arch, the Capitolium temple, and the Basilica law courts survive. A number of houses known for their floor mosaics and bronze sculpture also persist to the modern day.
Garden
House of Flavius Germanus (La maison de Flavius Germanicus)
Keywords
- columns (architectural elements)AAT:300001571
- peristyles (Roman courtyards)AAT:300080971
- peristyle housesAAT:300005452
- piscinae (pools)AAT:300375619
- porticoesAAT:300004145
Garden Description
The House of Flavius Germanus, dating to the third century, is located between the decumanus maximus, the decumanus north I, the House of the Labors of Hercules, and the House of Dionysus and the four Seasons. The peristyle was enclosed on four sides by a portico supported by 14 columns (Plan view, Fig. 1). The space between the columns was spanned by a low wall. Along the north portico, a rectangular pool, curved at its center, extended into the garden and faced the oecus (label 12) opening into the garden. At the southeast corner was a domestic shrine with an inscription giving the name of the owner. During the second phase of the house, a large garden was added at the rear, bounded by a wall on the southern side.
Plans
Dates
Third century CE
Excavation Dates
Bibliography
R. Etienne, Le quartier Nord-Est de Volubilis, Paris, 1960, 34-8, Pl. V, XLVI, 2. (haithitrust)
R. Thouvenot, "Maisons et hydraulique dans le quartier NE de Volubilis", p. 27-58, Plan I, Pl. IV. (worldcat)