The Gordian Palace (Le palais dit de Gordien)
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
The Gordian Palace (Le palais dit de Gordien)
Keywords
- balneaAAT:300120377
- columns (architectural elements)AAT:300001571
- palaces (official residences)AAT:300005734
- peristyles (Roman courtyards)AAT:300080971
- peristyle housesAAT:300005452
- piscinae (pools)AAT:300375619
- porticoesAAT:300004145
Garden Description
The large domus that belonged to the rich Pompeian family during the second century became the Governor's palace during the Gordian period. The domus, approximately 69 by 74 m, was located on the north side of the decumanus maximus. The vestibule opened into a rectangular peristyle garden enclosed on four sides by a portico supported by 12 columns. A horseshoe-shaped pool faced the large oecus (label 7) on the north and extended into the garden. There was an entrance into the garden on the south, placed along the central axis of the vestibule and the oecus. Two other courtyards (labels 22 and 17) with pools gave light and air to their surrounding rooms. A bath with a courtyard peristyle added to the luxury of the domus.
Plans
Dates
Second century CE
Excavation Dates
Bibliography
- R. Thouvenot., Maisons de Volubilis: Le palais dit de Gordien et la Maison à la mosaïque de Vénus, Rabat, 1958, p. 49-86, fig. 8, pl. 11. (worldcat)