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Macellum

Macellum / © Foto: Haupt and Binder, Universes in Universe

The Macellum of Gerasa

The Macellum was built as a food market in the first half of the 2nd century AD as part of the fundamental transformation of the urban area on the southern Cardo. It corresponds to the usual scheme of such Roman functional buildings and was used in various ways from the beginning of the second quarter of the 2nd century until the 8th century, being modified several times for different purposes.

The access to the Macellum from the Cardo is emphasized by higher columns. The four central columns are 10 m high, those to the left about 7.20 m.

Fountains were added to the two outer corners of the ca. 50 m wide facade on the Cardo. A Greek inscription on the northeastern fountain (right side) honors Julia Domna, the second wife of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, who came from Syria, and is therefore dated to his reign 193 - 211. In the photo above you can see the southeast corner with the remains of the fountain there.

The entrance to the Macellum behind the high porticoes on the Cardo consists of three gateways about 4.85 m high with stepped frames and a vestibule about 10 m wide and over 8 m deep. On either side of this entrance area there were four two-story shops. From the vestibule, doors lead into the adjacent tabernae as well as to small chambers next to the two eastern exedra (the southern of which was later rebuilt).

Aerial view, detail from Orthophoto of Jerash, Royal Geographic Center of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The original two-story Macellum had an almost square floor area of about 50 x 50 meters. The octagonal courtyard, paved with limestone slabs, was surrounded by a peristyle with 24 Corinthian columns similar to those on the Cardo. On the rear (western) side, a rectangular vestibule with doors on the left and right served as the rear entrance. The southeastern of the four exedrae (on the photo below left) was later converted into two rooms and used as a stable (more on this below). The tabernae with simple barrel vaults in two rows on each side of the courtyard have also been converted and reused over time.

View in direction southeast. The walls of the Macellum are made of hewn limestone blocks, probably from a nearby quarry. The soft stone is rich in clay and has a yellowish hue. Most of the walls were covered with marble panels or plastered with white and red painted stucco.

The octagonal fountain in the center of the courtyard consisted of a basin in the shape of a cross with a small shrine in the center. It was dismantled in the Byzantine period, and its parts were discovered at various places in the courtyard.

In the southwestern exedra (on the photo in the background) a cylindrical limestone block with a pipe hole and the traces of a spout was found. It belongs to the well in the center of the courtyard, which is also evidenced by the fact that its lower fracture fits exactly on the central well base.

A Greek inscription on this block, dated 125 - 127 AD, pays tribute to Tiberius Iulius Iulianus Alexandras, the praetor (court magistrate) and Roman governor of the province of Arabia, who probably initiated the construction of the Macellum of Gerasa. His name also appears in a second, almost identical inscription on a pedestal found in the southern peristyle.

In the southwestern exedra are preserved stone supports of macellum mensae, the sales tables on which merchants offered their goods and which stood in each of the four semicircular niches. The table bases depicted here are decorated with high reliefs of a lion, a deer and a wild boar.

Transformation into an industrial complex

The first alterations or renovations took place in the late 2nd or early 3rd century. In the late 5th and 6th centuries, a time of prosperity for the city with a strong increase in construction activity, not only the Roman building plan of the Macellum but also its function were significantly changed. The previous market hall was enlarged by the addition of a new row of tabernae on the south side and transformed into a workshop complex that was no longer open to the public.

In the late Byzantine period, an officina tinctoria (dye house) worked in the rooms on the northern and western sides. A kiln with various vessels was discovered there. In one of the outer tabernae on the southern side a small lime kiln was installed. There were storage rooms in the whole complex.

The southeastern exedra (just to the left of the main entrance) was demolished and replaced by two rooms used as stables. There is no indication of what animals were housed there, but it is known that in ancient times animal products such as urine and milk were used for textile dyeing.

Tabernae on the southeastern side of the Macellum.

Destroyed in the 7th century
The building complex was apparently abandoned before its destruction in the first decades of the 7th century. This could have occurred during the conquest of Gerasa by the Sassanids in 614 or as a result of the earthquake of 631/632. The Macellum was not completely abandoned, however, and there is evidence of isolated activity there in early Islamic times.

(© Text by Universes in Universe from information in different sources, including Uscatescu, Marot and Uscatescu, Martín-Bueno)

Location:

The Macellum of Gerasa
Jerash Archeological City
Location on map


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Web guide for cultural travellers - a wealth of information and photos.

Contemporary art, archaeology, art history, architecture, cultural heritage.

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