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The civic district of Sala (Chellah – Rabat, Morocco): shaping and perceiving monuments under the Roman Empire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2022

Stefano Camporeale ,
Niccolò Mugnai  and
Rossella Pansini
Stefano Camporeale
Affiliation:
University of Siena, Italy
Niccolò Mugnai*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Rossella Pansini
Affiliation:
University of Siena, Italy
*
*University of Oxford, Faculty of Classics, Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies, 66 St. Giles’, Oxford OX1 3LU, UK. Email: niccolo.mugnai@classics.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article investigates the development of urbanism and architecture at the site of Sala (Chellah), from the end of the first century BC to the latter half of the second century AD. By looking at the transformations in the town's civic centre from the Mauretanian to Roman imperial period, the aim is to assess how the layout and function of public spaces and buildings were reshaped to respond to new ideas of monumentality. A range of research methodologies are applied to address this question, including architectural, archival, and archaeological analyses, as well as the use of 3D digital modelling. The case study of Sala is of particular importance, as it shows how certain pre-Roman monuments were kept in use within new public contexts, and how imperial-style, urban and architectural features were introduced in the town as part of trends that can be recognized across North Africa and the Roman Empire more broadly.

الحي المدني في سالا (شالة - الرباط ، المغرب ): تشكيل وإدراك للصروح الأثرية في عهد الإمبراطورية الرومانية

ستيفانو كامبوريال ، نيكولو موغناي ، روسيلا بانسيني

تبحث هذه الورقة في تطور العمران والعمارة في موقع سالا (شالة )، من نهاية القرن الأول قبل الميلاد إلى النصف الثاني من القرن الثاني الميلادي . و ذلك من خلال النظر في التحولات التي جرت على المركز المدني للمدينة من العصر الموريتاني إلى فترة الإمبراطورية الرومانية، و الهدف هو تقييم الكيفية التي أعيد بها تشكيل مخطط و وظيفة الأماكن والمباني العامة و قد طبقت مجموعة من منهجيات البحث لمعالجة هذا السؤال، بما في ذلك التحليلات المعمارية والأرشيفية .(monumentality) للاستجابة للأفكار الجديدة للصروح الضخمة والأثرية، بالإضافة إلى استخدام النماذج الرقمية ثلاثية الأبعاد. تعتبر دراسة الحالة بمدينة سالا ذات أهمية خاصة، حيث توضح كيف أنه تم الاحتفاظ ببعض المعالم الأثرية التي تعود إلى ما قبل الرومان في سياقات عامة جديدة، وكيف تم إدخال الطراز الإمبراطوري بسماته المعمارية والحضرية في المدينة كجزء من النزعات التي يمكن التعرف عليها في شمال إفريقيا والإمبراطورية الرومانية على نطاق أوسع .

Keywords

Sala (Chellah)Mauretania Tingitanaurbanismarchitecturemonumentality
Type
Articles
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 53 , November 2022 , pp. 97 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies 2022.

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