Chellah (Sala Colonia)
Sala · Sala Colonia · Chellah Necropolis · Shallah
Roman to Merinid (1st c CE to 14th c)·Roman / Mauretanian / Merinid Islamic·🇲🇦 Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco
About
About Chellah (Sala Colonia)
Roman port town of Sala Colonia (1st c CE) on Bou Regreg estuary overlain by Almohad necropolis and majestic Merinid fortified necropolis (1339 CE Abu al-Hasan) with 8 m ochre walls, decorated gates, zakiya shrine, and royal tombs incorporating Roman spolia – columns, capitals, inscriptions embedded in Islamic masonry. Inside walls: decumanus maximus 80 m, forum, Capitol remains, baths, nymphaeum, and stork nests on minaret. 14th-c medrasa zakiya foundations over Roman. Declared necropolis after Merinid plague 1348. UNESCO buffer for Rabat. Oranges and cats within walls.
Why it mattersPalimpsest demonstrating 1,300-year reuse with Antique spolia deliberately displayed as legitimization.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Sala Colonia is actually Chellah or nearby ruins – Ptolemy coordinates ambiguous
- 02Merinid reuse as ideological appropriation vs practical
Theories
- 01Spolia as legitimation for Merinid lineage (Lintz)
- 02Roman port silt matches Utica alluviation pattern
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Roman 1st c CE (Sala Colonia) on earlier Carthaginian/Mauretanian; Merinid necropolis 1339 CE
- Period
- Roman to Merinid (1st c CE to 14th c)
- Culture
- Roman / Mauretanian / Merinid Islamic
- Builders
- Roman / Merinid Sultan Abu al-Hasan
- Purpose
- Port for Sala river; later dynastic necropolis reusing Antiquity
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Roman 1st c CE (Sala Colonia) on earlier Carthaginian/Mauretanian; Merinid necropolis 1339 CE
Initial construction
c. 1637 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
34.0075° N · 6.8222° W · 35 m · 3 mapped features
Merinid Gate (Bab Zaer)
gate1339 Almohid-inspired decorated gate with tile and Kufic inscription
34.0072° N · 6.8215° WRoman Decumanus
street80 m paved decumanus with drain, flanked by forum and capitol
34.0078° N · 6.8225° WRoyal Tombs (Merinid)
necropolisTombs of Abu al-Hasan and family with carved stelae
34.0070° N · 6.8228° W