The Judicial Basilica or House of Justice, was originally erected in the 1st century AD. Most of what remains (marble columns and some excellent paving fragments) dates from around AD 450, during the Byzantine period. Between these dates, the building changed function as Sabratha made the transition from a Roman to a Byzantine city.
Under the Romans, the basilica was broadly equivalent to a court and consisted of a large hall measuring 50m by 25m and surrounded by a portico. The Byzantines later converted it into a Byzantine church in which the main sanctuary was divided into a nave and aisles.
