Leptis Magna: The Roman City That Libya Has Left Mostly Alone

There is an argument that Leptis Magna is the most important unvisited Roman city in the world. By unvisited, this is not hyperbole: in the peak years before Libya’s 2011 revolution, fewer than 50,000 tourists saw the site annually. By comparison, Pompeii receives around 3 million visitors a year. The comparison is instructive because on any objective measure of scale and completeness – forum, theatre, amphitheatre, circus, harbour, Severan basilica, Hadrianic Baths – Leptis Magna matches Pompeii and in some respects exceeds it. The Severan basilica alone, with its 8-metre marble columns still standing, is among the largest and most ornate civic buildings constructed anywhere in the Roman world.

The reason fewer than 50,000 people saw it annually is straightforward: Libya has never been an easy tourist destination, and since 2011 it has been a dangerous one. This is not a caveat buried in the middle of a normal travel guide – it is the central fact about the site and must be addressed directly.

Security and Access

Libya has been in civil conflict and political fragmentation since the 2011 revolution. As of 2026, the country has two competing governments and multiple armed factions controlling different territories. Leptis Magna is 130 kilometres east of Tripoli in territory that has been under varying degrees of control since the conflict began. Several specialist tour operators – Wild Frontiers, Untamed Borders, and Bestway Tours have historically offered Libya trips – have run group tours to the site when security conditions permitted, working through whichever Tripoli-based administration controlled the western region and coordinating with local security contacts. Independent travel to Libya is not advisable for most foreign nationals under current conditions.

The UK Foreign Office and US State Department maintain active travel advisories for Libya; consult them before making any arrangements. This is a site worth visiting when access becomes genuinely safe. What follows describes the site itself, for when that day comes.

The City

Leptis Magna began as a Phoenician trading post, probably in the 7th century BCE, before becoming one of the three great cities of Roman North Africa alongside Carthage and Sabratha. Its peak came under Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor from 193 to 211 CE, who was born here. The building programme Severus initiated produced the Severan Forum and Basilica – structures so large and ornate that even in their current state of partial ruin they dominate the site.

The Theatre, built in the 1st century CE and partly restored by Italian colonial archaeologists in the 1920s, seated 10,000 spectators. The stage wall (scaena frons) with its three storeys of columns conveys what a major Roman public entertainment venue actually looked like when complete. The Italian restoration was archaeologically aggressive by modern standards but makes the scale comprehensible.

The Hadrianic Baths (built 126-127 CE) are among the best-preserved Roman bath complexes outside of Rome. The frigidarium (cold room) is 100 metres long. Standing inside it recalibrates your sense of what Roman public investment in civic infrastructure actually looked like.

The Arch of Septimius Severus (203 CE), at the main intersection of the city, has carved reliefs on all four sides depicting the emperor’s military campaigns. The carving quality was exceptionally high; sand abrasion and neglect have degraded much of it, but the surviving sections show why this was considered among the finest Roman narrative relief of its period.

What Has Happened to the Site

The Italian colonial administration restored and re-erected significant elements in the 1920s and 1930s. UNESCO designated the site in 1982. During the Gaddafi period, maintenance was inconsistent. Since 2011, the site has been largely unattended. Some stone has been removed, some mosaic damaged. Recent reports from the few visitors and observers who have accessed the area suggest the major structures remain substantially intact, which speaks to the extraordinary quality of the original Roman construction.

Sabratha

50 kilometres west of Tripoli, Sabratha is Libya’s second major Roman city and typically paired with Leptis Magna on specialist tour itineraries. Its theatre – also restored by Italian archaeologists – is the best-preserved Roman theatre in Africa, with the stage wall substantially intact to its third storey. The visual impact of the theatre against the Mediterranean behind it is striking in a way that photographs suggest but don’t fully capture.

Practical Approach

If access becomes feasible: book through a licensed specialist operator. Confirm current visa requirements and entry procedures (Libya has required foreign nationals to enter with a sponsor or recognised operator). Get the current UK/US travel advisory status before any planning, and insist on detailed security protocols from any operator you consider using.