Amphitheatre of Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna – a UNESCO World Heritage site it is one of the best preserved – having been covered for centuries in desert sand - and extensive examples of a great Roman city. Since the lifting of sanctions against Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya, Western tourists are starting to visit this largely empty site. Excavated mainly by Italian and British archaeologists, the site is neglected compared to European sites, with looting a problem to this day. The local population takes little interest in this history on their doorstep under the current regime. The site lies 78 miles east of the modern capital of Libya, Tripoli ( Roman Oea) on the old Roman coastal road of Decumanus running from Alexandria in Egypt to Carthage.