The Buildings and the Images of
the Imperial Cult
VI Leptis Magna
- North Africa – most of the country
in the Sahara desert
- population: along the coast and its
immediate hinterland
- Tripoli – the capital
- 3 historical regions:
a) Tripolitania
b) Cyrenaica
c) Fezzan
- Two languages: Greek and Punic
- History:
trading post – Phoenicianstrading post – Phoenicians
Cyrenaica
630 BC – Greek colonization – city
Cyrene – Persians – Alexander the
Great – Ptolemaic kingdom
Tripolitania
5th c. BC – Carthage – hegemony across most of the North Africa – fall of Carthage – Numidian
kings – Roman empire as a province Africa Nova with Crete –golden age 2nd and 3rd c. AD
Fezzan
5th c. BC – 5th c. AD – Garamantiam Empire – operated trans-saharan trade routes between
Carthage and the Roman Empire and Sahelian states of west and central Africa
Carthage
Sallust
The War with Jugurtha
- 130 km east of Tripoli, near
Khom, on the coast
- founded by Phoenicians – 12th
c. BC
- prominence when Carthage a
major power in the
Mediterranean – 4th c. BC
- after the 3rd Punic War – part of
the Roman Republic
- Septimius Severus –
independent city
- high degree of preservation- high degree of preservation
(earthquakes, abandoned – Arab
conquest)
The Old Forum
Augustan age
reconstructions: Claudius
(53/54 AD), the Antonines
(mid. 2nd c. AD)
3 temples N side:
Liber PaterLiber Pater
Hercules
Rome and Augustus
-typical Leptitan temples: very
high podium housing rooms
in its inside
-Augustan period: theatre,
market, The Old Forum,
Excavations
The temple excavated in 1922, 1925 –
27, 1932, published only partly
J.B. Ward Perkins – after the war, only
basic research
Systematic research – 2001 – 2003
2001 – the first recognition of the
structures and the size of the temple
2002 – cleaning the structures, detailed2002 – cleaning the structures, detailed
survey, fragments documentation, a
small trench to study foundations
2003 – historical research and
documentation – based on photos,
drawings and aerial photos from 1965
-architectural fragments determine
different phases of the temple
The two semi-columns in the rear side of the
temple have been always visible
The Old Forum
South-west, north-east: two
streets linking the Old Forum with
the residential quarters at north-
west
-7 phases
The Temple of Rome and
Augustus
Phase I – Tiberian period
-construction of the building, first-construction of the building, first
figurative cycle (Tiberian)
Phase II – Claudian period
-Remake of the square pavement
and bilingual inscription, other
two figurative cycles (Claudian)
Phase III – Antonine period
-Works on the peristasis and the
top order of the cella
Phase IV – Destruction and later
re-occupations
310 and 365 AD
The Temple of Roma and
Augustus
Date: 14 – 23 AD
Position: the centre of the
north-east part of the Old
Forum
-south-east the Temple of
Liber Pater, opposite side
the Temple of Hercules
Dimensions: 41,41 x 21,05
mm
Type: ionic, peripteros sine postico on a high podium, octastyle porch, 8 columns on its sides too
- corners: heart-shaped half-columns
Podium: 5.09 m high above the surface level of the forum, in front a lower part – rostra (2.77 m
height), 3 staircases, Ras el-Hammam limestone (rear wall in sandstone covered with plaster)
Cella: 10.30 x 18.55 m, podium covered with marble slabs in the back supported the cult statues
Some urban models of the temple:
Special features
podium:
- inner rooms in the podium closed and
enlightened by narrow windows – probably
contained a valuable objects (aerarium of the
city?)
- arches on imposts – structures between
podiums, supported elevated passage – linked
the temples at the level of the intermediate
terrace
Tunisia, Sufetula
Leptis Magna, Libya
- The three temples aligned on the front line (evidence of a
Punic tradition) – a sanctuary with three cells, visual unity
-later phase – other arches built
- passageways – widened the fruition of the internal paths of
the sacred space (the temple accessible through two
stairways, pronaoi of the other two temples)
- built at the moment of the erection of the Temple of Rome
and Augustus
A front terrace
B intermediate
terrace
C temple
C
C temple
D side
passageways
A
B
D
D
- in the sides of the tribune – two passageways preceded by three steps, one passed into a
square chamber of disengagement, from which the tribune was reachable or the spaces under
the intermediate terrace (favissae)
- design comes from the need to create a terrace facing directly the forum with no loose of
spaces (frontal stairway)
-front side of the tribune – a series of
rostra sculptured in limestone, one
preserved in situ
- the comparison – the Temple of Divus
Julius (Hadrianic sestertius)
- 8 x 8 columns, semi – columns in the corners, attic bases,
smooth and tapered shaft, made by drums with a ionic capital
- the architrave was made of single blocks, not monolithic
(limestone and sandstone are not suitable for monolithic
trabeations)
- Only one block preserved with the upper half of a tabula ansata
(a tablet with dovetail handles, very popular in Rome for votive
reliefs)
-the cella measures 10.30 x 18.55 m with a large
podium in the rear as wide as the cella itself, against
the rear wall
- the podium covered with marble slabs- the podium covered with marble slabs
(pavonazzetto, giallo antico, green serpentine)
- the cella contains a single room (the three partition
walls must have been a further support of the floor)
Phase I – Tiberian period
-large description above the doorway in limestone, found during excavations
- neo-punic inscription
…the statues of the god Augus]tus and of Rome and of Tiberius Augustus and of Julia
Augusta and of Germanicus and of Drusus Caesar and of Agrippin[a, the wife of]
Germanicus and [of Livia the wife of Dru]us and of Antonia the [mother of
Ger]manicus and of Agrippin[a the mother of ] Drusus and the collection of statues of
the god Augustus and the throne of the statue of the god Augustus
…of the statue of the god] Augustus and the vestments of the statues of Germanicus
and of Drusus Caes[ar]… for Tiberius Caesar and the quadriga of [Germani]cus and of
Drusus C[aesar] and the bronze doors and the ceiling of the portic[o and the]Drusus C[aesar] and the bronze doors and the ceiling of the portic[o and the]
forecourt of the sancturary and the porticos, they were taken up at the expanse ...,
the sufets being Baliton, the son of Hanno G… Saturninus and Bodmelqart, the son of
Bodmelqart Tapapi …riculus.
The statues listed in the inscription:
1. Divus Augustus (head)
2. Rome (head)
3. Tiberius Augustus (head)
4. Julia Augusta [Livia] (head)
5. Germanicus’ mother Antonia (complete
standing statue)
6. Germanicus’wife Agrippina [Maior]
(complete standing statue)
7. Germanicus (head in the round)
8. Quadriga
9. Quadriga9. Quadriga
10. Drusus [Minor] Caesar (head in the round)
11. Drusus [Minor] Caesar’s wife Livia [Livilla]
12. Drusus [Minor] Caesar’s mother Vipsania
Agrippina (head in the round)
- quadriga: for Germanicus and Drusus Caesar, only several blocks of the base found, some of
them inscribed, the quadriga must have been in bronze, 1.5 times larger than life-size, total
width 5.30 m, coherent width the space between the two rostra in the middle
- all statues are in the Museum of Tripoli, they were studied in the 40’s on the base of the list
of the dedicatory inscription
- The heads of the acroliths 1-4 are all partially empty inside (the same technique of
assembling the statue of Genius Augusti in the Hall of the Colossus)
- internal dimensions of the cella are 17.25 x 8.70 m, the base against the rear wall was 2.06 m
deep, housed the acroliths of Augustus and Rome only (4:1), Tiberius and Livia outside (not
enough room)
- dimensions of Augustus 3.50 m wide, 7.60 m high
- the statues of Tiberius and Livia were placed outside the cella (both were still alive at the time
of construction), the best place is the pronaos at each side of the doorway (Pantheon of Agrippa
– Augustus and Agrippa during their lifetime)
- inside the podium - remains of a structure similar to that under the base inside the cella – it
could have supported two segments of the base 2.20 m deep, on which the two acroliths of
Tiberius and Livia were places (3:1)
- the number of remaining statues is the subject of discussion – the main problem: were
Germanicus and Drusus Minor shown twice? (standing and in the quadriga) or only once?
Reasons for the first hypotesis:
a) The quadriga was in bronze, the two heads are in marble
b) The ratio of the quadriga 1.5:1, the heads are 2:1
c) The marble heads are unfinished in the back (Germanicus) and show the hole for a tenon
(Drusus Minor) – not in the sight, must have been secured on its back
Germanicus Drusus Minor
The result – several sculptural groups:
1. In the cella – Augustus and Rome
2. Under the pronaos – Tiberius and Livia
3. Under the intermediate terrace, in alignment with the outer three columns on both sides
of the temple: Antonia Maior (A), Agrippina Maior (B), Livilla (C), Vipsania Agrippina (D)
and the other two, who cannot be but Germanicus (E) and Drusus Minor (F) depicted
standing. (Germanicus and Drusus Minor 2:1, wives and mothers 1.5:1)
4. The quadriga on the tribune, inside filled with soil according to the building tradition for
North-Africa
B DA C
E F
Germanicus Drusus Minor
Antonia Minor Agrippina Maior
Vipsania Agrippina
Livilla
The chronology of the Temple of Rome and Augustus
- deduced by
the relationship of the temple with the pavement of the square
the adjacent temples
the inscription above the doorway
Results:
1. Relative chronology: the temple is later than both the other two temples (the arches were
additionally added), but earlier than the pavement of the square (dated to 53 AD by an
inscription)
2. The absolute chronology is possible due to the inscription. The temple itself was built in
function of the sculptural cycle
a) The presence of the acrolith of Augustus inside the temple and Livia and Tiberiusa) The presence of the acrolith of Augustus inside the temple and Livia and Tiberius
at each side of the doorway, the term divus related to the name of Augustus and
the attribute Augustus to the name of Tiberius in the inscription suggest a date
post 14 AD
b) End of the works – after 32 AD (damnatio memoriae of Livilla, wife of Drusus,
whose statue was on the terrace of the temple) or even before 29 AD, the year of
Agrippina’s exile to Pandataria (today Ventotene)
c) The Quadriga with Germanicus and Drusus Minor – its base partly preserved, the
titles indicate a date after the death of the two princes, already heroized there.
The monument must have been ready at the moment in which the inscription
above the doorway was made. Then, the end of the works ranges from 23 AD
(Drusus’s death) to 29 AD (Agrippina’s exile)
- the new pavement – large slabs of
limestone of Ras el-Hammam (the level
Phase II – Claudian period
-4 bilingual stelae (Latin and Neo-Punic)
attest that in 53 AD a rich citizen of Leptis
offered de pecunia sua columnas cum
superficie et forum
- new pavement, a three-side portico,
three connected temples and a basilica at
the opposite side of the temples – the
Roman-Italic trend
limestone of Ras el-Hammam (the level
of the square raised by 32 cm)
- in front of the tribune, against the
front side, the bases of four inscribed
stelae were put (three of them are still
in situ), they are not evenly spaced, but
are placed in two pairs slightly closer to
the corners
- the stelae also indicate a position of
the statues on the tribune of a later
date – did not clutter the area of the
central quadriga
two sculptural cycles in this period:
a) only the bases survive – found close to the
Temple of Rome and Augustus
5 identical bases: 1) DIVO AVGVSTO (Augustus)
2) DIVAE AVGV (Livia)
3) TI. CAESARI DIVI AVG F
AVGVSTO (Tiberius)
4) TI CLAUDIO CAESARI AVG
GERMANICO PONT MAX TRIB
POT V IMP XI P P COS DESIGPOT V IMP XI P P COS DESIG
IIII (Claudius) – 45 – 46 AD
5) (eraded) MESSALINAE C[…]
(Messalina)
-none of the survived statues can be ascribed to
such bases
- the dimensions suggest statues with the ratio 1:1,
they must have been placed against a wall (the
back side is rough)
b) Three seated statues and one standing
-the ratio is 1.5:1
- probably a fourth seated statue was part of the cycle, so four enthroned statues located on the
level of the tribune, at the sides of the quadriga, in correspondence with the stelae below
- the standing statues on the pavement below
- but, the seated statue of Claudius shows a hole for a tenon – must have been placed at the
wall, the same with the Tiberius statue
- the standing Tiberius statue was found in the cella, so some of the Julio-Claudian portraits
must have been located inside the cella
- the preserved statues portray:
a) Seated Augustus
b) Seated Livia (reconstructed from two
large fragments, the lower could also
belong to a fourth (female) seated
statue
c) Seated Claudius
d) Standing Tiberius