Leptis Magna is the home of Berber, Punic, Phoenician
and Roman remains, as well as the home of the Berber Roman
emperor Septimius Severus. Many of these
archaeological finds are now housed in
the museum, including statues and
stelaes of Tannit, Bal, El, Zeus, Mars,
Isis, Serapis, Apollo, Castor
&
Pollux and many more characters
of classical mythology, busts, inscription-bearing
rocks, pottery, jewellery, coffins and metal
work.
Roman pottery and tableware.
Clay Oil Lamps
Wadi Caam: The Greeks in Tripolitania!
Wadi Ka'am (River Cinyps)
The Greek invasions of Crete and Rhodes of the 9th century BC
were shortly followed by their invasions of Egypt and Libya. Archaeology
and history provide ample evidence of their colonies in Cyrenaica, Eastern
Libya. But also there was a failed attempt to
colonise Tripolitania on the hands of Dorieus
the king of Sparta. Apparently, he reached
as far west as River Cinyps, also known as Wadi
Ka'am (Wadi Caam), just east of Leptis Magna,
where he founded a city by that name. However,
the Greeks were not welcomed by the local Carthaginians
(Berbers
&
Phoenicians) and subsequently were
driven out of the area after a short stay
of three years. The archaeological finds of Wadi
Caam have uncovered a Greek necropolis area dating
to the 3rd century BC, consisting of a series
of stone, box-shaped urns containing ashes and
bones, with the lids in the shape of a sloping
roof, as well as various classes of pottery and
tableware.
Note the square stone urns with the pyramidal
roofs, which appear to have been thrown in the hole in a hurry either to hide them or just dispose of them as
rubbish.
Marble relief showing sacrificial scenes in front of a temple.
The relief
originally comes from the Arch of Septimius Severus.
Septimius Severus was a Berber native of Leptis Magna, who
went on to become the first African Roman Emperor. Under his command Leptis Magna
witnessed an extraordinary burst of growth and development which earned the city
its international status. His commanding personality and strong character are
evident in the above sculpture.
A marble relief from the
Arch of Septimius Severus
showing the Emperor and his wife as Jupiter
and Juno.
A marble relief from the Arch of Septimius Severus, showing Diana, Ceres,
Selvanu and Apollo.
MARS < > WARS
Seated headless marble statue of
the War-god Mars, 2nd AD.
The statue was found at the Frigidarium,
in the passage to the hot rooms.
Libyan Goddess Isis
Asclepius the God of Medicine
Statue of Marcus Aurelius
Misrata Coin Treasure
Misrata Coin Treasure. It was said that the Misrata treasure
is the largest coin treasures in the world, containing at least 100,000 bronze
coins, stored in clay jars. The treasure was found in February 1981, and was
said to weigh six tonnes (6000 kilograms). The coins were said to date from
the end of the third century (between 294 and 333 AD).
The God Serapis Seated on the Throne
Isis & Serapis
Large stone quern, with two wooden handles: heavy-duty
mill for grinding large quantities of grain. Animals may have been used to turn
the stone round. The top stone is unusually large, indicating that the mill
may have been used to grind hard seeds and grains to produce finer flour. See
Qasr Alhaj and the Museum of Lybia for other types of stone
mills.
