ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF DOUGGA

This is one of the most beautiful Roman sites in Tunisia. Set against a beautiful backdrop, many of the remains are well preserved.

The tour begins with the stone-cut theater, which housed over 2,000 spectators in 25 rows of tiers. Remains of columns and a back wall, in good condition, frame it. Behind the theater, the remains of a temple dedicated to Saturn. To the west was the village, with the forum and the original compass rose, a dial listing the 12 winds blowing over the region - the only complete one in the Roman world. The best-preserved monument is the capitol, dedicated to the triad Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, built in 166, where the 6 grooved columns are almost intact. They precede the main hall. The capitol is one of the most remarkable monuments in Roman Africa. Continuing along the forum, you come to the temple of Juno Cælestis, built in the early ^3rd century. To the south of the forum, you come to the Licinian baths, dating from the same period. Admire a 12-column hall, mosaic floors and the entire complex of thermal baths: palaestra for combat sports, changing rooms, steam rooms and several rooms ranging from hot to cold. Next to the baths is the House of Dionysus and Ulysses, with its superb decorations, including a mosaic of Ulysses charmed by mermaids (transferred to the Bardo). Heading east again, you come to the House of Trifolium (the clover), a ^3rd-century brothel. Nearby are private baths, the Cyclops baths, in poor condition. Here you'll find a latrine: an arched stone bench pierced with holes. The name comes from a mosaic discovered here.

To the east is the Arch of Septimius Severus, the first African emperor. Dating from 205 AD, and in a poor state of preservation, it celebrates Dougga's accession to the rank of municipe. Further south, don't miss one of the few monuments to pre-Roman civilization in Tunisia, the Libyan-Punic mausoleum. Dating from the ^2nd century BC, it was dedicated to the Numidian prince Ataban. The monument, with a total height of 21 m, is decorated with Greek-inspired motifs (pilasters with Aeolian capitals, Ionic columns) and Egyptian motifs (sphinxes). The mausoleum was damaged in the ^19th century by the British, who stole the tombstone. A product of a dual culture, Libyan and Punic, the mausoleum's inscriptions in both languages have made it possible to decipher the Libyan alphabet.