Banasa

Sidi Ali Bou Jenoun / Iulia Valentia Banasa

Morocco · Sidi Kacem

Ancient cityUnknown
Approximate period600 BCE — 1,200 CEFrom approximately the 6th century BC onward; Mauretanian, Roman and later phases of use See on the map ↓

In brief

The settlement on the Sebou River was a production center before becoming a Roman colony. Excavations have uncovered pottery kilns, drying areas and important bronze documents concerning Roman citizenship.

What was found?

  • 1Tabula Banasitana

    The bronze tablet bears official documents concerning the admission of a family from the Zegrenses community to Roman citizenship. It directly documents citizenship procedures and relations between the imperial administration and local families.

  • 2Bronze military diplomas

    These written documents found during excavations provide information about service in the Roman army and the associated rights. They are tangible witnesses to Banasa's military and legal connections.

  • 3Pre-Roman pottery kilns

    The kilns concentrated in the layers beneath Roman buildings show that the settlement had previously been an important pottery center. They reveal that the production tradition did not begin with the Roman colony.

  • 4Residential and bath mosaics

    Mosaic pavements were found in peristyle houses and public baths. They document the decoration of residences and communal spaces.

What does it point to?

At Banasa, local craft production and the Roman urban and legal order can be traced in overlapping layers. The bronze documents make people's status visible, while the kilns reveal the city's older economic foundations.

What did it teach us?

  1. They showed that substantial pottery production existed before the Roman colony was founded.
  2. They documented that Roman citizenship could be granted to local families through an application and an imperial decision.
  3. They revealed that mosaics decorated both private houses and public baths.

Images

Tabla de Banasa (Tabula Banasitana) - Museo Arqueológico de Rabat
Laci3 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Banasa dimiata
USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Mauretanian and Roman
First modern dig
1933
Coordinates
34.6019°, -6.1154°

Sources

  1. persee.fr
  2. rabatsites.ma
  3. isaw.nyu.edu
  4. ircam.ma
  5. École française de Rome / Persée — Tabula Banasitana ve vatandaşlık
  6. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres / Persée — Banasa askerî diploması
  7. Antiquités africaines / Persée — Banasa préromaine

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