As you're returning from the port, detour northwest past the Severan Basilica to the Market, one of the most unusual and attractive of the Leptis monuments. In its two reconstructed octagonal halls (approximately 20m in diameter) stalls were set up to sell the bounty of Leptis farmers and merchants. The northern hall is believed to have been the section for fabrics; next to it is a copy of a stone measuring tablet from the 3rd century AD.
The top length equates to a Roman (or Punic) arm (51.5cm), the middle was a Roman (or Alexandrine) foot (29.5cm), while the bottom length was known as the Greek (or Ptolemaic) arm (52.5cm). The other hall was reserved for trading in fruit and vegetables. There were more stalls in the colonnaded portico that surrounded the perimeter.
