DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0054
24 Roman Africa
to make Cordova one of the wonders of the Western world,
and to which the sumptuous beauty of Pisa is chiefly due. El-
Bekri, the Arab writer of the eleventh century, says : ' Marble
at Carthage is so abundant that, if all the inhabitants of Africa
were to assemble to carry away the blocks, they could not
accomplish the task ;' and speaking of the columns of the
amphitheatre he quaintly adds : ' Two men could sit on one of
the capitals cross-legged with plenty of room for a table in
the middle. The shafts are fluted, white as snow, and shining
like crystal.' And now of all this monumental grandeur not
one stone remains on another. But it is some satisfaction to
know that, if the later Carthage with its wealth of marble and
mosaic no longer exists, yet the paved streets of the Punic
metropolis still await the spade of the explorer some forty feet
below the present surface. The few sculptures and mosaics
appertaining to Roman Carthage that may be seen in the local
museum, as well as those deposited some years ago by the late
Mr. Davis in the British Museum, represent only a small portion
of discovered remains. The majority have served to enrich
many private collections. Among the mosaics recovered by
Mr. Davis is one which represents some dwelling-houses ap-
parently built against or near the city walls. This mosaic,
which is of the fourth century, is a portion of a large compo-
sition representing a hunting scene, the figures being nearly
half life-size. Judging from the appearance of the roofs and
the general scale, these houses could not have been less than
seven stories high. We know that buildings in Rome were
erected of an enormous height before the time of the Empire,
that during the reign of Augustus a law was promulgated by
the Senate which restricted the height of buildings in the streets
of Rome to 60 feet, and that subsequently in Trajan's time
a limit of 70 feet was allowed, without regard to the widths
of the streets. It is quite possible that the Augustan law
prevailed in the rebuilding of Carthage, which was commenced
during his reign, and that the Senate was powerless to impose
restrictions in later times, when building ground within the city
walls was of abnormal value.1
1 Appianus, the Greek historian, who flourished in the time of Hadrian, says
that the streets of Roman Carthage were narrow and irregular, and that they were
paved with large flat stones. He also adds that some of the houses were six stories
to make Cordova one of the wonders of the Western world,
and to which the sumptuous beauty of Pisa is chiefly due. El-
Bekri, the Arab writer of the eleventh century, says : ' Marble
at Carthage is so abundant that, if all the inhabitants of Africa
were to assemble to carry away the blocks, they could not
accomplish the task ;' and speaking of the columns of the
amphitheatre he quaintly adds : ' Two men could sit on one of
the capitals cross-legged with plenty of room for a table in
the middle. The shafts are fluted, white as snow, and shining
like crystal.' And now of all this monumental grandeur not
one stone remains on another. But it is some satisfaction to
know that, if the later Carthage with its wealth of marble and
mosaic no longer exists, yet the paved streets of the Punic
metropolis still await the spade of the explorer some forty feet
below the present surface. The few sculptures and mosaics
appertaining to Roman Carthage that may be seen in the local
museum, as well as those deposited some years ago by the late
Mr. Davis in the British Museum, represent only a small portion
of discovered remains. The majority have served to enrich
many private collections. Among the mosaics recovered by
Mr. Davis is one which represents some dwelling-houses ap-
parently built against or near the city walls. This mosaic,
which is of the fourth century, is a portion of a large compo-
sition representing a hunting scene, the figures being nearly
half life-size. Judging from the appearance of the roofs and
the general scale, these houses could not have been less than
seven stories high. We know that buildings in Rome were
erected of an enormous height before the time of the Empire,
that during the reign of Augustus a law was promulgated by
the Senate which restricted the height of buildings in the streets
of Rome to 60 feet, and that subsequently in Trajan's time
a limit of 70 feet was allowed, without regard to the widths
of the streets. It is quite possible that the Augustan law
prevailed in the rebuilding of Carthage, which was commenced
during his reign, and that the Senate was powerless to impose
restrictions in later times, when building ground within the city
walls was of abnormal value.1
1 Appianus, the Greek historian, who flourished in the time of Hadrian, says
that the streets of Roman Carthage were narrow and irregular, and that they were
paved with large flat stones. He also adds that some of the houses were six stories