Ghirza: South Mausoleum

Ghirza, southern necropolis, tomb NN. Photo Marco Prins.

Ghirza: Roman town in Libya, one of the main archaeological sites of the country.

General	North-A	South A	Gh 82
	North-B	South C
	North-C	South F
	North D-G	South G
		South NN

Here is a photo of another monument, which may be Mausoleum B, D, E, or F. It looks much like the middle tier of Mausoleum A, which can be seen in the distance: four round columns surrounding a square core.

Like Mausoleum G, now in Tripoli, the spandrels of this monument are decorated with vines and grapes and sun flowers. To the right, we can discern a date palm with a harvester climbing in it, and a nice bird.

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No doubt, hunters and farmers were shown elsewhere on the monument.

An interesting aspect of the art of Ghirza is that we do not see figs and olives, or almonds and pulses, although we know that they were produced on the wadi's alluvium. Obviously, hunting and the cultivation of dates and cereals were more prestigious.

The Museum of the Jamahirjia displays more reliefs from the South Cemetery, which belong to Mausoleums B, D, E, or F. The common themes are repeated: fish, hyenas with a ram's head, and date palms. The one to the right has a charming man climbing in it.

General	North-A	South A	Gh 82
	North-B	South C
	North-C	South F
	North D-G	South G
		South NN