Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Roman theater of Sabratha

It seems that Libya is home to an impressive collection of Roman ruins, which officially didn't exist under Quadafi's regime. I admit to finding 'other' Roman ruins (as in, not the Roman forum) a bit boring, even very extensive ones that have been more or less lost and rediscovered:

Leptis Magna, the arch of Septimius Severus (Image credit)
But I think even non-archaeologists might find themeselves captivated by the theater at Sabratha, where a three-story architectural backdrop still stands:

Image credit


I would love to know if this was a standard feature of Roman theaters. Perhaps we don't even know for sure, if theater backdrops are not preserved elsewhere. But it does change the way I imagine the theater scenes from Ars Amatoria, or the performances at the Theater of Pompey where Caesar was assassinated (in an adjoining meeting room).

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