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Archaeological Site of Volubilis

Archaeological Site of Volubilis

The Mauritanian capital, founded in the 3rd century B.C., became an important outpost of the Roman Empire and was graced with many fine buildings. Extensive remains of these survive in the archaeological site, located in a fertile agricultural area. Volubilis was later briefly to become the capital of Idris I, founder of the Idrisid dynasty, who is buried at nearby Moulay Idris.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Site archéologique de Volubilis

La capitale de la Maurétanie, fondée au IIIe siècle av. J.-C., fut un avant-poste important de l'Empire romain et a été ornée de nombreux beaux monuments. Il en subsiste d'importants vestiges dans le site archéologique, situé dans une région agricole fertile. La ville devait devenir plus tard, pendant une brève période, la capitale d'Idriss Ie r , fondateur de la dynastie des Idrissides, enterré non loin de là, à Moulay Idriss.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

موقع وليلي الاثري

تأسَّست العاصمة الموريسكية في القرن الثالث ق.م. وقد أعطتها الامبراطورية الرومانية أهميةً كبيرةً وخصّصتها بآثارٍ جميلةٍ عدة. ولا تزال آثارٌ عديدةٌ منها صامدةً في الموقع الاثري الذي يقع في منطقةٍ زراعيّةٍ خصبة. ثم أصبحت هذه المنطقة فيما بعد ولفترةٍ قصيرةٍ جداً عاصمة ادريس الاول وهو مؤسس حكم الأدارسة وقد تمّ دفنه في مكانٍ غير بعيد عنها، في مولاي ادريس.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

瓦卢比利斯考古遗址

古城建于公元前3世纪,曾是北非古国毛里塔尼亚的首都,是罗马帝国的一个重要前哨,有着许多优雅精致的建筑物。该考古遗址是一个富饶的农业区,在这里挖掘出土过许多重要遗迹和文物。瓦卢比利斯后来曾有一段时期成了伊德里斯王朝的首都,王朝的创立者伊德里斯一世就葬在附近的穆莱伊德里斯。

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Археологические памятники Волюбилиса

Волюбилис - столица Мавритании, основанная в III в. до н. э., - стал важным форпостом Римской империи и был украшен многими прекрасными зданиями. Их внушительные руины сохраняются в археологической зоне, расположенной в плодородной сельскохозяйственной местности. Позднее Волюбилис ненадолго стал столицей Идриса I, основателя династии Идрисидов, который похоронен в соседнем городе Мулай-Идрис.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Sitio arqueológico de Volubilis

Fundada en el siglo III a.C., la ciudad de Volubilis, capital de la Mauritania Tingitana, fue un importante puesto de avanzada militar del Imperio Romano en el que se erigieron múltiples monumentos de gran belleza. El sitio arqueológico, ubicado en una fértil región agrícola, conserva importantes vestigios de muchos de ellos. La ciudad sería más tarde la efímera capital de Idris I, fundador de la dinastía de los idrisidas, que está sepultado en el lugar próximo de Muley Idris.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

ヴォルビリスの古代遺跡
先史時代からの集落があり、マウレターニアの首都として整備された前3世紀末頃からの建造物が知られている。1世紀にローマ植民市となり、3世紀にはローマ量から除外された。3世紀を中心とするフォルムやバシリカなどの公共建造物や、「柱の家」「ゴルディアーヌスの宮殿」「野獣の家」「ウェヌスの家」などと呼ばれる広壮な邸宅が多く残っている。8世紀末イドリース朝が再びこの地を首都とした。

source: NFUAJ

Archeologische site van Volubilis

De archeologische omgeving van Volubilis vormt een grote getuigenis van stedelijke ontwikkeling en romanisering aan de grenzen van het Romeinse Rijk. De Mauritaanse hoofdstad werd gesticht in de 3e eeuw voor Christus. De stad ontwikkelde zich tot een belangrijke buitenpost van het Romeinse Rijk en werd opgeluisterd met veel mooie gebouwen. Volubilis werd later kort de hoofdstad onder het regime van Idris I, stichter van de Idrisid dynastie en begraven in het nabijgelegen Moulay Idris . De archeologische overblijfselen getuigen van verschillende beschavingen uit de tien eeuwen van bezetting, van de prehistorie tot de islamitische periode.

Source: unesco.nl

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Basilica and Capitol © Barbara Blanchard
Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Volubilis contains essentially Roman vestiges of a fortified municipium built on a commanding site at the foot of the Jebel Zerhoun. Covering an area of 42 hectares, it is of outstanding importance demonstrating urban development and Romanisation at the frontiers of the Roman Empire and the graphic illustration of the interface between the Roman and indigenous cultures. Because of its isolation and the fact that it had not been occupied for nearly a thousand years, it presents an important level of authenticity. It is one of the richest sites of this period in North Africa, not only for its ruins but also for the great wealth of its epigraphic evidence.

The archaeological vestiges of this site bear witness to several civilizations. All the phases of its ten centuries of occupation, from prehistory to the Islamic period are represented. The site has produced a substantial amount of artistic material, including mosaics, marble and bronze statuary, and hundreds of inscriptions. This documentation and that which remains to be discovered, is representative of a creative spirit of the human beings who lived there over the ages. The limit of the site is represented by the Roman rampart constructed in 168-169 AD. The features of the site reveal two topographic forms: a relatively flat sloping area in the North-Eastern part, the monumental sector and a part of the sector of the triumphal arch, where the Romans employed an urban hypodamian system, and a rougher hilly area covering the South and Western parts where a terraced plan was adopted. The vestiges bear testimony to diverse periods, from Mauritanian times when it was part of an independent kingdom, to the Roman period when it was a metropolis of the Roman province of Mauritania Tingitana, a period called the « dark ages » with towards the end a Christian era, and finally an Islamic period characterised by the founding of the dynasty of the Idrissids.

Criterion (ii): The archaeological site of Volubilis is an outstanding example of a town bearing witness to an exchange of influences since High Antiquity until Islamic times. These interchanges took place in a town environment corresponding to the boundary of the site, and in a rural area extending between the prerif ridges from Zerhoun and the Gharb Plain. These influences testify to Mediterranean, Libyan and Moor, Punic, Roman and Arab-Islamic cultures as well as African and Christian cultures. They are evident in the urban evolution of the town, the construction styles and architectural decorations and landscape creation.

Criterion (iii): This site is an outstanding example of an archaeological and architectural complex and of a cultural landscape bearing witness to many cultures (Libyco-Berber and Mauritanian, Roman, Christian and Arabo-Islamic) of which several have disappeared.

Criterion (iv): The archaeological site of Volubilis is an outstanding example of a focus for the different kinds of immigration, cultural traditions and lost cultures (Libyco-Berber and Mauritanian, Roman, Christian and Arabo-Islamic) since High Antiquity until the Islamic period.

Criterion (vi): The archaeological site of Volubilis is rich in history, events, ideas, beliefs and artistic works of universal significance, notably as a place that, for a brief period, became the capital of the Muslim dynasty of the Idrissids. The town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun adjacent to the site houses the tomb of this founder and is the subject of an annual pilgrimage.

Integrity

The buffer zone (Decision 32 COM 8B.55) and the boundaries of the site (Decision 32 COM 8D) were clarified and approved by the World Heritage Committee in 2008. The boundaries of the property include all the preserved elements that belonged to the fortified town and its outer buildings.

The abandonment of the town for many centuries ensured that its ruins remained in an excellent state of conservation. The ruins should be the subject of long-term conservation programmes to preserve their authenticity.

Authenticity 

Volubilis is remarkable for its urban conception (hypodamian plan and terraced plan), its execution according to well-defined architectural and defensive standards, its construction materials representing various geological aspects, its components reflecting a wealth of town facilities; all these features are still visible today.  It is also characterised by its integration into a natural intact landscape and an original cultural environment.

Protection and management requirements 

Protection measures principally concern the different laws for listing historic monuments and sites, in particular Law 22-80 (1981) regarding the conservation of Moroccan heritage.  The management of the site is based on an Action Plan, which refers to a national and international legal statute as well as to the strategy of the Ministry of Culture and decisions of the World Heritage Committee.  The management concerns conservation, preventive conservation, excavations, maintenance, security, restoration, presentation of the site and preservation of its protection area. The management plan is under preparation by the Conservation departement of Volubilis, the body responsible for the management of the site. Adoption of the protection zone, the establishment of land ownership of the property, the preparation of the cadastral plan and the development project being established by the Ministry of Culture, all constitute the basic elements of this document.  The management plan should treat all new interventions at the site.