Presence in Shelt of the Roman Empire began from the 1st century and lasted to the 5th. Although the Romans retracted from Mauritania Tingitania in the 3rd century, they had a limited presence in some of the cities including Shelt. The new name of the city became Sala Colonia which was used in Roman literature by the different chroniclers.

 

 

 

Just like Volubilis, Sala Colonia was on the southern edge of the Roman Empire. Its protection consisted of a trench at the Limes recognizable today on satellite imagery.

Some of the Steles found at the forum described attacks by the local tribes or by wild animals like elephants praising the heroes who had saved and protected the city.

Sala Colonia was redesigned according to the criteria of a Roman city with the Axes of Decumanus Maximus and Cardo intersecting at the Forum. And All the necessary infrastructure was built on top of Mauretanian buildings. The important Mauretanian building that is intact today is the temple. This pushes us to think about religious freedom in Sala Colonia and the transformation in the lifestyles of the local ancient Amazighs. Historical literature talks about the building of the Capitol for the triad of the Roman gods Jupiter, June, and Minerva by a Mauritanian nobleman. This also is subject to the archaeologists interpretation as it is thought that the commissioner’s intention was to gain Roman citizenship benefits for him and for his city.

The city remained small and its function remained defensive. Its size is presumed medium and the mosaics and sculptures discovered in it are not as impressive unlike Volubilis for example.

 

Artifacts excavated from the site of Sala Colonia and exhibited in the Museum of history and civilizations.