Bulla Regia

Governorate: Jendouba

Situation and characteristics

Bulla Regia lies at the foot of Djebel Rebia (617m/2,024ft), in country which slopes gradually down to the Medjerda valley. It is one of the most important Roman sites in Tunisia, with the remains of baths, cisterns, temples, a theater, a forum and a series of handsome villas. To provide protection from the summer heat the houses were built with underground rooms - a method of construction which had proved itself in the troglodytic dwellings of southern Tunisia.

Some of the finest mosaics from Bulla Regia are now in the Bardo Museum in Tunis; a few, however, have been left in situ. History

The Phoenician town on this site was apparently captured by Masinissa about 150 B.C. After his death - as the "Regia" in its name indicates - it became the capital of one of the three Numidian kingdoms created by Rome. The process of Romanisation began in A.D. 50, and in the reign of Hadrian (117/118) Bulla Regia was raised to the status of a Roman colony. Thereafter its trade in olives and in corn made it one of the wealthiest towns in Roman Africa.

In 339 Augustine spent some time in the town, which had become the see of a bishop in 380, and inveighed against the townspeople's passion for the theater.

Two basilicas, of which remains survive, were built during the Byzantine period.

The decline of Bulla Regia began with the Arab invasion in the seventh century, and the town was finally abandoned in the late 12th century.

The first excavations were carried out by L. Carton at the beginning of the 20th century. Excavation of the site, by the Institut National d'Archéologie de Tunis and the Ecole Française de Rome, is continuing, and has brought to light further remains of both the Roman and the medieval periods.

Access

Bulla Regia, 60km/37mi south of Tabarka, is reached by way of GP 17 (Tabarka-Jendouba). 6km/4mi before Jendouba MC 59, signposted to Bou Salem, goes off on the left. The site lies on the left of this road, 7km/4.5mi northeast of Jendouba.