“When Septimius Severus was crowned emperor in 193 CE, he developed his home town into a shining example of Roman urban planning and architecture. Leptis Magna became the third most important Roman city in Africa (after Carthage and Alexandria) thanks to the wealth and power of its famous son.

The city’s gems include this theatre, which was dug into a low hill previously used as a cemetery. It was one of the earliest theatres to incorporate additional stands, built from natural stone and concrete. The portico leads to a Porticus post scaenam, comprised of colonnades, a garden, and a temple. Libya’s civil war has made the city of Leptis Magna vulnerable to war damage and looting.”