Founded in the 3rd century BC, Volubilis began as the capital of Mauritania before becoming an important Roman town, and, later, the capital of Idriss I who is buried at nearby Moulay Idriss.
Today Volubilis is mostly noted for its Roman history as the empire’s most remote outpost, and main administrative centre for this region of Africa, even though Roman rule here only lasted about 200 years. The site was in fact only finally abandoned in about the 18th century. The Romans left some impressive buildings, but sadly many of them were looted to provide building materials for Moulay Ismail’s palaces at nearby Meknes.
The Triumphal Arch is still there at the end of the main street, though it only looks out onto fields now. Next to the Arch is the house of Euphebus which is worth stopping at, as are the houses of Orpheus and Dionysus. There is also an impressive olive press. The walls and columns of the Basilica are still standing, giving you a good frame around which to imagine how impressive the original building must have been. Most of the important finds from the site are now at the archaeological museum in Rabat, although there are about 30 good mosaics still in situ.
