(11 Jul 2020) LEAD IN:
Tocra, 70 kilometres (45 miles) east of Benghazi, has been home to multiple civilizations through the millennia, from the Ptolemies to the Ottomans.
Local people have preserved the ruins of the city, including the Byzantine era public baths.
STORY-LINE:
Ancient ruins offer a window into the past in Tocra on the eastern side of Libya's coast.
Inscriptions carved into the stone in Ancient Greek confirm one of the civilisations which controlled this historic site.
These crumbling buildings were once Byzantine Baths, a crucial part of any city back then. Visiting public baths was as much a social event as it was an opportunity to wash.
"The Byzantine baths are considered one of the most important buildings in Greek cities and Roman cities," explains Saleh Al-Arifi, Head of Tocra Archaeological Department.
"The Byzantine baths in Tocra are the most important facilities in the ancient city. Byzantine baths are usually divided into three rooms. The dressing room, which has the cold-water baths, the warm water room and the hot water room."
Tocra has been home to many different peoples over the ages.
It was a point of contact between the east and west of the African continent, and its convenient location on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, close to Europe made it a place of settlement for many ancient civilizations.
It was under the Ptolemies' control between 322 BC and 96 BC, before the Roman Empire took control over it.
Tocra was rebuilt by the Greeks in the late seventh century BC who gave it its current name.
In 645 AD the Ottoman Empire conquered the city.
The Byzantine baths were just one part of this ancient settlement.
"In the beginning it was attached to a range of buildings, including a gym, inside the city, and these buildings are all located on the main street of the city, the Cardo street," says Al-Arifi.
The city contains a large number of ancient monuments, the most famous of which are the city walls, which include 31 towers and three main gates, the Italian-Turkish castle, and Greek cemeteries.
The city also contains a number of churches.
In 2017, the Antiquities Authority in Tocra cleaned and restored the walls of the Byzantine baths, which were partially collapsed and damaged due to natural erosion.
Saving the ruins has happened against the background of Libya's recent civil war and following instability.
"We, as people interested in the archaeology in the city of Tocra throughout the period of events (civil war) and in the absence of the Libyan state and in the absence of capabilities, have managed to preserve the ancient city in Tocra, preserving it from degradation of the walls and also preserving it from acts of vandalism, looting and thefts, we have also preserved its monuments of great historical value, such as the Byzantine baths," says Khalil Al-Barghathi, a local historian.
Animal grazing and construction around the site have also been prevented, both of which could damage the ruins.
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