Volubilis

Listen first. Wind moves through dry grass, and somewhere above you a stork clatters its beak like wooden castanets. Under your feet the paving stones are pale and uneven, worn smooth by centuries of sandals, hooves and, now, trainers. The air carries the green, slightly bitter smell of olive groves on the slopes below. This is Volubilis, and for a long time it was the edge of the Roman world.

Look around at the setting before the stones. The ruins sit on a gentle plateau in the foothills of the Zerhoun massif, with the fertile plain spreading out below. On a nearby hillside you can see the white houses of Moulay Idriss, a holy town that still matters to many Moroccans today. The local name, Oualili or Walili, is often linked to the oleander, the flowering shrub that grows along streams in this region. The Romans wrote the name as Volubilis.

The city is older than Rome's presence here. People were living on this site long before the legions arrived, and archaeologists have found traces of a settlement from the third century before Christ, or possibly earlier. By the time Rome took notice, this was a town of the Mauretanian kingdom, a Berber realm in northwest Africa. Some historians think it served as an important royal centre under King Juba the Second, though scholars still debate exactly what role it played.

The turning point came in the year 40. The Roman emperor Caligula had the Mauretanian king Ptolemy executed, and the kingdom rose in revolt. Rome put the rebellion down. Under the emperor Claudius, the region became a Roman province called Mauretania Tingitana, named after Tingis, the city we now call Tangier. Volubilis became one of its main inland towns — a frontier city, far from the sea and close to territory that Rome never fully controlled.

Now walk toward the tall arch at the end of the main street. This is the triumphal arch, raised in the early third century in honour of the emperor Caracalla and his mother, Julia Domna. Caracalla had given Roman citizenship to free people across the empire, and the townspeople wanted to show their gratitude. The inscription across the top is still there. The arch you see today was partly rebuilt by archaeologists in the twentieth century, using stones they found scattered on the ground.

From the arch, the main street runs straight through the town. The Romans called a street like this the decumanus maximus, the principal east-west road. Large houses lined both sides, with shops facing the street at the front. Many of these houses belonged to wealthy families, and their floors are the real surprise of this site. Here is something many visitors miss: much of the art at Volubilis is still lying where it was made, under the open sky.

These are the mosaics. Bend down and look closely, and you will see thousands of small cut stones in ochre, black, white and rust red. In the House of Orpheus, the musician from Greek myth plays his lyre while animals gather to listen. Elsewhere you can find the twelve labours of Hercules, dolphins, and a scene of the goddess Diana bathing with her nymphs. Each house is named by archaeologists after its best mosaic or most important find.

What made all this wealth possible? Olives. Across the site you will find the remains of olive presses, with heavy stone bases and channels for the oil. Dozens of them have been identified here, which tells you the scale of the trade. The town sent olive oil, grain and other goods out across the province. And the olive groves you can smell on the hillsides today grow on the same land that fed this Roman economy.

At the heart of the town stand the public buildings. The basilica was the law court and meeting hall, and its row of tall columns is the clearest outline on the skyline. Next to it is the Capitol, a temple to the three main Roman gods, and in front lies the forum, the open square where citizens gathered. Look up at the column tops. Storks often build their large, untidy nests there, adding a living layer to the old stone.

Rome did not stay forever. Toward the end of the third century, Roman troops withdrew from this inland part of the province and pulled back toward the coast. But the city did not empty overnight. People kept living here for centuries. Latin inscriptions show that a Christian, Latin-speaking community was still present long after the Roman soldiers had gone. The town shrank and changed, but it continued.

Then came another chapter, one that matters greatly in Moroccan history. In the late eighth century, a man named Idris, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, arrived here as a refugee from the east. Local Berber tribes welcomed him and recognised him as their leader. From this region he founded a dynasty that many see as the beginning of the Moroccan state. His tomb lies in the town of Moulay Idriss, the one you can see on the hill.

The ruins you see today have their own history of loss. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the sultan Moulay Ismail took stone and marble from here to build his great imperial city at Meknes. Later, the earthquake of 1755, the one that destroyed Lisbon, caused further damage. Serious excavation began in the early twentieth century. Some of the finest bronze statues found here are now in a museum in Rabat. In 1997, Volubilis was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Before you leave, stand still for a moment near the basilica and look out over the plain. The fields are green or gold, depending on the season. The light changes the colour of the stone from grey to honey. Think of the families who walked this same street, bought oil and bread here, and laid these patterned floors. As you walk back toward the gate, listen again for the storks — and notice how quiet a city can become.