Mizda Castle

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Mizda Castle
limes Limes Tripolitanus
front Limes line
section Limes Tentheitanus
Dating (occupancy) Ending 2nd century
to the end of the 4th / beginning of the 5th century
Type unknown
Construction probably stone
State of preservation only suspected facility
place Mitzda
Geographical location 31 ° 26 ′ 41.8 "  N , 12 ° 58 ′ 48.7"  E
height 470  m
Previous Fort Gheriat el-Garbia (southeast) ,
small fort Gheriat esh-Shergia (southeast)
Subsequently Small fort Gasr Wames (northwest)
Backwards Medina Ragda (northwest)
The presumed fort (center) in the Limes Tripolitanus network

The Mizda Fort is a presumed, archeologically unsecured military camp of the Roman army . The fortification crew should have taken on security and surveillance tasks on the Limes Tentheitanus , a section of the Limes Tripolitanus in the province of Africa proconsularis , later Tripolitania . The border fortifications formed a deep system of forts and military posts. The remains of the building are located under the old center of the oasis city Mizda , Munizip al-Jabal al-Gharbi , around 150 km south of the state capital Tripoli in Libya .

location

The presumed fort was located in the plain of the Upper Sofeggin, a semi-desert, which is characterized by gravel and scree fields ( Hammada ). The Wadi Sofeggin is the most important and largest dry valley in Tripolitania and, with its many tributaries, forms a ramified river system. It extends from the highlands of Jabal Nafusa near az-Zintan , near which the important Thenteos fort is to be found, down to the south. Here begins a mighty steep step, partly criss-crossed by wide dry valleys, which ultimately slopes down to Fessan . At this stage, Wadi Sofeggin runs in a crescent-shaped arc along the south and south-east sides of the Nafusa and Garian mountain ranges as far as the coastal plain and to Misrata . The dry valleys lead the rainwater, which sometimes comes from the Nafusa Mountains, to the south of the mountainous region and enable the oases to form there.

Since the 3rd century AD at the latest, an important Roman border road led down from az-Zintan to Mizda, about 120 kilometers to the southeast. Several milestones ( miliaria ) from the reign of Emperor Caracalla (211-217) were found along this road, dating back to the year 216 AD. The road may have been laid out during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211).

At Mizda, whose ancient name is unknown, the north-south route from Tripoli (Oea) connected via Garian to the southeastern fort Gheriat el-Garbia and further over the Roman imperial border into Fessan. Amazingly, in contrast to the connection through the Upper Sofeggin to the north, no milestones have been discovered on the route between Mizda and Gheriat el-Garbia. It is possible that the road to Gheriat el-Garbia, which was previously unrecognizable from an archaeological point of view, was just an unmarked sand track.

Research history and findings

Despite all efforts, it has not yet been possible to archaeologically secure the fort. However, experts assume that a garrison was established here during the middle or second half of the second century. In some cases, even earlier founding is postulated.

In Mizda no concrete remains of any Roman building could be identified. There are also no epigraphic testimonies that speak for a garrison site and that clearly come from Mitzda. During the Italian occupation from 1912, the rulers at that time built a fort south of the old town, in whose walls ancient spoilage was built. Among other things, a civil epitaph was found. More important, however, is a building inscription that comes either directly from Mizda or from the greater area of ​​Upper Sofeggin:

Iulius Sever [us] Masinthanis filius [...] at
ammunitionem tunc paren [...] mu-
mi eius renovavit Gaudentius [...] m-
atoribus qua voluntati orna [...] it
C [...] ND [...] vivat ONMRVV [...] IEM
PVSHMAR dis permit (t) entibus fili
eius [dev] oti posteri FRVNIS CAN
TVRE V BONA FATORONO

Translation: "Julius Severus, son of Masinthanus [...], renewed the fortification at that time [...] his parents [...] Gaudentius once more [...] with the consent he gave [...] ] he lives [...] with [...] trust in the gods, his sons, the devoted descendants [...] "

What is certain, however, is that the Romans settled in Mitzda. In the years 1963–1964, the archaeologist Antonino Di Vita examined graves on the northern edge of the village that were covered by tombstones. He dated the findings on the basis of the found pottery to the Roman era.

A reference to the Roman military is a stone block decorated in relief, which was discovered in 1949 near the Italian fort. The depiction shows several people, including an armed camel rider, who is moving towards a tower-like structure, possibly a small fort. Perhaps this stone block, which probably dates to the first half of the third century, was originally placed over the entrance to a building. Other, perhaps Roman, spoils can be found in today's buildings in Mizda.

In autumn 2009 and spring 2010 extensive field inspections took place in Mizda, which the archaeologist Florian Schimmer and members of the excavation team researching at the Gheriat el-Garbia fort at that time carried out. The finds consisted exclusively of ceramics, including in particular North African red slip goods and cooking utensils. The red slip pottery, which can be safely dated, came from the first half of the third century as well as from the late Roman period and extended into the fifth century. The cooking pottery shows strong similarities with Tripolitan pieces from other sites and can be dated to the late second and third centuries. The field inspections support the thesis of archaeologist David Mattingly that the presumed fort lies under the old town area of ​​Mizda. If the fort was there, the camp village, the vicus , extended at least 250 meters to the northeast.

The border section between az-Zintan and Mizda is secured under its historical name as Limes Tentheitanus . As reported by the Notitia dignitatum , a late Roman state handbook , the Limes Tentheitanus still existed in administrative terms in the late fourth and perhaps even in the early fifth century AD. A continuation of the presumed fort of Mitzda up to this time would therefore not be ruled out.

literature

  • David Mattingly : Tripolitania . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 1994, ISBN 0-472-10658-9 , p. 97; E-book with identical content: ISBN 0-203-48101-1 ; the number of pages in the e-book is different for technical reasons.
  • Florian Schimmer: New evidence for a Roman fort and 'vicus' at Mizda (Tripolitania) . In: Libyan Studies 43, 2012, pp. 33–39.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Michael Mackensen : forts and military posts of the late 2nd and 3rd centuries on the "Limes Tripolitanus" . In: Der Limes 2 (2010), pp. 20–24; here: p. 22.
  2. ↑ Olwen Hackett , David Smith : Ghirza. A Libyan settlement in the Roman period. Department of Antiquities, Tripoli 1984, p. 33.
  3. ↑ Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania: IRT 964 (with photo) ; Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania: IRT 964 (with photo) , accessed February 11, 2015
  4. ↑ a b Florian Schimmer : New evidence for a Roman fort and 'vicus' at Mizda (Tripolitania) . In: Libyan Studies 43, 2012, pp. 33–39, here: p. 33.
  5. ↑ Michael Mackensen : Gasr Wames, a burgus-like small fortress of the middle 3rd century on the Tripolitan limes Tentheitanus (Libya) . In: Germania 87, 2009 (2011), pp. 75-104, here: pp. 80-82.
  6. ↑ Tripoli at 32 ° 53 '0 "  N , 13 ° 10' 0 '  O .
  7. ↑ Garian at 32 ° 10 '6.85 "  N , 13 ° 0' 59.72"  O .
  8. ^ A b Michael Mackensen: The Severan vexillation fort Myd (---) / Gheriat el-Garbia on the 'limes Tripolitanus' (Libya) - report on the 2009 campaign . In: Communications of the German Archaeological Institute Rome , 116, 2010, pp. 363–458, here: p. 377.
  9. ↑ Michael Mackensen : Gasr Wames, a burgus-like small fortress of the middle 3rd century on the Tripolitan limes Tentheitanus (Libya) . In: Germania 87, 2009 (2011), pp. 75-104, here: p. 80.
  10. ↑ a b c Florian Schimmer: New evidence for a Roman fort and 'vicus' at Mizda (Tripolitania) . In: Libyan Studies 43, 2012, pp. 33–39, here: p. 34.
  11. ↑ Italian Fort at 31 ° 26 '27.35 "  N , 12 ° 58' 48.67"  O .
  12. ↑ Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania: IRT 883 (with photo) , accessed on February 21, 2015
  13. ↑ Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania: IRT 884 (with photo) , accessed on February 21, 2015
  14. ^ Antonino Di Vita: La villa 'Gara delle Nereidi' presso Tagiura. Un contributo alla storia del mosaico romano ed altri scavi e scoperte in Tripolitania. (= Supplements to Libya Antiqua 2), Department of Antiquities, Tripoli 1966, p. 111.
  15. ↑ Florian Schimmer: New evidence for a Roman fort and 'vicus' at Mizda (Tripolitania) . In: Libyan Studies 43, 2012, pp. 33–39, here: p. 35.
  16. ^ David Mattingly : Tripolitania . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 1994, ISBN 0-472-10658-9 , p. 97.
  17. ^ Ginette Di Vita-Évrard: Regio tripolitana. A reappraisal . In: David J. Mattingly DJ Buck (Ed.): Town and Country in Roman Tripolitania. Papers in Honor of Olwen Hackett. (=  Society for Libyan Studies occasional papers 2), BAR, Oxford 1985, ISBN 0-86054-350-1 , pp. 143-163; here: p. 151.
  18. ^ Richard Goodchild : Libyan studies. Select papers of the late . London 1976, ISBN 0-236-17680-3 , p. 28; the Notitia dignitatum calls this Limes section Limes Tentheitanus or Limes Tenthettanus .