Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura (south)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura (south)
limes Limes Tripolitanus
(back line)
section Djebel Dahar
Dating (occupancy) 3rd or 4th century
up to 5th or 6th year
Type Barrage
size Length: around 300 m
Construction Stone, pending sand and rubble
State of preservation partially preserved rubble wall
Geographical location 33 ° 0 ′ 32.8 "  N , 10 ° 9 ′ 45.6"  E
height 395  m
Previous Chenini-Clausura
(rear Limes line) (southeast)
Subsequently Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura
(rear Limes line) (north)
Backwards Talalati Fort (east)
Upstream Small fort Bir Mahalla
(rear Limes line) (west)
The Limes Tripolitanus with the Clausura

Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura (Süd) , English Clausura of Wadi Skiffa south , is the modern name of a small Roman barrage that is used for security and surveillance tasks on the rear Limes Tripolitanus , a deep system of forts and military posts, in the Roman province of Africa proconsularis , later Tripolitania , was responsible. The short, straight line of fortification belonged to the large barrier belt that was supposed to defend the fertile coastal land of the province from attackers from the desert region and at the same time control the trade in goods for Rome. In addition, the shepherd nomads from the desert areas were prevented from coming into confrontation with the agricultural production sites in the east of the country, particularly the Djeffara plain, which are important for Rome, through unauthorized border crossings . The debris wall of the barrage, partially still visible in the terrain, secured a pass road between the ridges of the Dahar mountain range in southern Tunisia , Tataouine governorate .

location

The Clausura is located at the upper end of a dry valley that runs downhill to the west about three kilometers south and parallel to the larger Wadi Skiffa. As on many passes over the Dahar ridge that were already in use in antiquity, a modern road leads through the mountain range of the Djebel Demmer. This route crosses the desert road C211 at the foot of the mountains and leads to the lower reaches of the Wadi bel Recheb to the small fort Tisavar , which was built on the former outer border of the Roman Empire. Travelers from the Reich could also follow the dry valley. This bent in its further course to the northwest and emptied into the upper reaches of the Wadi bel Recheb. Here was the small fort Bir Mahalla , from where the route also led to Tisavar or other places along the border or into the Eastern Sand Sea , a foothill of the Sahara .

Research history

The Clausura Wadi Skiffa South was accidentally discovered and examined by the British archaeologist David Mattingly in 1982 as part of the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey carried out between 1979 and 1989 . The central part of the barrage in particular was severely damaged by the erosion within the wadi, which has been ongoing since Roman times, but also by modern plant terraces. The last major intervention, which took place without archaeological support in this section, the structure suffered between 2010 and 2014 during the two-lane expansion of the route, which until then had only been a desert slope through the Clausura.

Building history

The ostraca from the Gholaia / Bu Njem border fort in Libya , dating back to the third century AD, confirm the involvement of a regular garrison in routine police duties and the surveillance of civilians. With the Clausurae of Zraia and Skiffa the Limes section of Talalati was to be secured. The military leadership had divided the Limes Tripolitanus into several areas, which were commanded by section commanders. The barrages installed at Djebel Demmer formed a unit with the small fort Benia bel Recheb to the north , which was in line with the dams. At the Clausura Skiffa South, a small unit of Roman soldiers controlled the movement of goods and secured the densely populated area of ​​the province in the east against unauthorized border crossings. The Talalati fort, built in AD 263, was located in the eastern valley of the Dahar to secure the rear border . In the building inscription found there, this border section is referred to as Limes Tripolitanus .

The construction of the barrage is similar to that used on the Skiffa-Clausura to the north. This can be seen, among other things, in the construction of the wall made of rubble stones, which is accompanied by larger blocks that look like "curbs". Although the middle part of the "Skiffa-Clausura Süd" is only very poorly preserved, the remains on the southern and northern slopes, which rise steeply towards the end points, have been well preserved. The structure can be traced at its end in the southeast up to a height of around 410 meters, then it drops down to around 395 meters and rises again to around 410 meters in the northwest. In the sections that can best be documented, the heaped up wall of the 300 meter long barrage was preserved in 1982 between 3 and 3.50 meters wide and a maximum of 0.50 meters high. Mattingly could not find any traces of towers or gates during his investigation. There is of course the possibility that these have left no traces on the surface of the valley floor.

Chronological order

So far, no specific age can be determined for this clausura. A field inspection in the immediate vicinity of the ground monument by Mattingly did not produce any datable material. For the archaeologist, this was not a particular surprise, given the poor state of preservation of the complex. The French archaeologist Pol Trousset assumed the period of origin for the Clausura system on Djebel Demmer to be the third century AD, while Mattingly advocated the fourth century. Regardless of the exact time at which the Clausurae on Djebel Demmer was created, it is certain that these structures were part of border security until the late Roman period. There is an open discussion as to whether at least parts of the old border barriers in this section were reoccupied after the reconquest of North Africa by the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I (527-565).

literature

  • David Mattingly , Barri Jones : A New 'Clausura' in Western Tripolitania. Wadi Skiffa South. In: Libyan Studies. Annual Report of the Society for Libyan Studies . 17: 87-96 (1986).

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. ↑ Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura at 33 ° 2 '16.89 "  N , 10 ° 9' 12.82"  E
  3. ↑ fortlet Tisavar at 33 ° 0 '30.97 "  N , 9 ° 36' 58.38"  O
  4. ↑ Bir Mahalla small fort at 33 ° 3 ′ 21 ″  N , 10 ° 0 ′ 27 ″  E
  5. ^ A b David Mattingly , Barri Jones : A New 'Clausura' in Western Tripolitania. Wadi Skiffa South. In: Libyan Studies. Annual Report of the Society for Libyan Studies . 17 (1986), pp. 87-96; here: p. 95.
  6. ↑ Robert Marichal: Les ostraka de Bu Njem . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1979), pp. 436-437.
  7. ↑ Hédi Ben Ouezdou, Pol Trousset: Aménagements hydrauliques dans le Sud-Est tunisien . In: Contrôle et distribution de l'eau dans le Maghreb antique et médiéval . (= Collection de l'École française de Rome 426) École française de Rome, Rome 2009, ISBN 978-2-7283-0797-5 , pp. 1−18; here: p. 12 (footnote 28).
  8. ↑ fortlet Benia bel Recheb at 33 ° 11 '38.2 "  N , 10 ° 10' 32.9"  O
  9. ^ A b Pol Trousset : Recherches sur le limes Tripolitanus, du Chott el-Djerid à la frontière tuniso-libyenne. (Etudes d'Antiquites africaines). Éditions du Center national de la recherche scientifique, Paris 1974, ISBN 2-222-01589-8 . P. 96.
  10. ↑ Kastell Talalati at 32 ° 59 '13.29 "  N , 10 ° 20' 38.75"  O
  11. ↑ CIL 8, 22765 .
  12. ↑ a b c d David Mattingly , Barri Jones : A New 'Clausura' in Western Tripolitania. Wadi Skiffa South. In: Libyan Studies. Annual Report of the Society for Libyan Studies . 17 (1986), pp. 87-96; P. 91.
  13. ↑ Wadi-Skiffa-Clausura (south) - southeastern end point, at 33 ° 0 ′ 29.46 "  N , 10 ° 9" 49.6 "  E ; Wadi Skiffa-Clausura (South) - northwest end point at 33 ° 0 '37.83 "  N , 10 ° 9' 41.5"  O
  14. ^ A b David J. Mattingly : Tripolitania. Batsford, London 2005, ISBN 0-203-48101-1 , p. 189.
  15. ^ Pol Trousset: Note on un type d'ouvrage linéaire de la frontière d'Afrique, dans Actes du Ie colloque international sur l'histoire et l'archéologie de l'Afrique du Nord . (Perpignan, April 14-18, 1981), Paris 1984. pp. 383-398.