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some 800 meters from the point where the two main
colonnaded streets intersect, or 200 meters from the
Mausoleum, you will find the remains of the Western City
Gate, consisting only of the foundations. The gate was
flanked by circular towers, which straddled the
Decumanus. Another 400 meters from the Western Gate
there are the remains of a Triple Arched Gateway, which
marked the extension of the city's boundary in the
latter half of the 2nd century although it was built
from black basalt; much of the decoration was of white
limestone.
Qanat or underground aqueduct, cut into the limestone
which brought drinking water to the city from at-Turab
spring 12km to the east. Known locally as Qanawat al-Fr'aoun
or 'Pharaoh's aqueduct' because it was thought that only
the Pharaoh, the great black magician, was capable of
such a wondrous feat, it is a remarkable example of
Roman engineering. |
