Archaeologists have recorded in their search that the remains of the earliest Phoenicians settlements at Sabrata have been founded beneth the Roman town in the area between Forum and the Sea. Excavations have shown that an intermittently occupied Phoenicians trading-post had been established there by the sixth century B.C.; other trading posts were founded at about the same time at Leptis (Phoenician Lpgy) and Oea (Phoenician Ui'at, the modern Tripoli) and possible also at Charax (?El-MedeinaSultan) and Macomades-Euphranta (Sirt).

However, archaeologists say that all they know is that Sabrata came next to Leptis Magna in significance. After the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C., the town fell into the hands of the Numidians. But when the Numidians fell, Sabrata was annexed to the Roman province of Africa. In his book "The antiquities of Tripolitania" Mr. Haynes reports that under the Romans, Sabrata flourished most extensively during the first and the second centuries A.D.


The growth took tow phases: the first is shown by the town square and the basilica attached thereto and the public forum (which later on underwent great changes), and the second phase is illustrated by the addition of the large quarter of the easter side. He also says that the most of the remains of Sabratha date back to the rule of the Roman Emperors, namly, Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius (138-180 A.D.). Sabratha was a prosperous town during the third century A.D. It was well known for its ivory trade. The ivory was brought from central Africa Via Ghadames and Fezzan. Tripolitania itself was rich in ostriches, whose egg and feather were highly prized. The opportunity of exploiting the trade in these luxuries is not likely to have escaped the Phoenicians for long. In (455 A.D.) Sabratha was occupied by the Vandals who pillaged it and left it in decay. "Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, occupied it in 633 A.D., and fortified it. He built a magnificent Church, the mosaie floor of which is incorporated in the town museum. New houses were built and streets were constructed over the debris of the old town ". The Byzantine ruled Sabratha until the Arab conquest and who used the town as a military post after their triumph over the Byzantine armies, but the commercial activities of Sabratha were transferred to Tripoli. Mr. D.E.L. Haynes in his narration of the antiquities says that the excavation work undertaken (in 1923 and then resumed in 1930, during Italian colonization), has disclosed almost half of the ancient town with its original streets, houses and public squares. The Roman Theater of the town, which has been carefully reconstructed, clearly shows the facade of a most impressive polace. It stands there extolling the grandeur of an art in that ancient city of Sabratha.

The principal building material used at Sabrata was of an extremely friable sandstone ridge. The museum contains an extensive collection of small objects of everyday use founded in the houses; pottery, glass, bronze utensil etc.