Basilica and the Capitone temple
We stopped in Volubilis for a couple of hours on our way to Fes, which happens to be Morocco’s most famous Roman remnant. The entrance fee to this place was $7 and I found it was totally worth every cent! It makes a nice change from the medinas that otherwise dominate the country’s heritage, and is an interesting insight into the spread of the Roman Empire.
Sitting atop a hill, with the countryside rolling out below, the surviving columns and temple fragments of Volubilis are an impressive and powerfully atmospheric site. Although much of what has been unearthed here is now on display in Rabat’s Archaeology Museum, many of the gorgeous and intricate floor mosaics in Volubilis’ grand Roman villas have been left in-site, giving you a taste of the grandeur of wealthy Roman life. The city’s heyday was AD 24-285, when it served as capital for the Roman province, and most of the ruins date from this period of prosperity.
Of particular interest are the House of Acrobat, the House of Knight, and the House of the Labors of Hercules, with their particularly well-preserved mosaics.
