Dougga - Mausoleum of Ateban

The Mausoleum of Ateban in Dougga, in the valley, is the only surviving Numidian/Punic structure in Tunisia. (Another was recently discovered at Sabratha in Libya.) The monument was almost completely destroyed in 1842, when the British consul in Tunis extracted from it a bilingual inscription on the facade. It was rebuilt by a French archeologist in 1910. The three-story monument, 21m/69ft high, was built about the middle of the A.D. second century for Ateban, a contemporary of Masinissa, son of Jepmatath and grandson of Palu. The bilingual inscription in Punic and Numidian (now in the British Museum) made it possible to decipher the Libyan script devised by the Numidians - an early form of the Tifinagh script which is still used by the Touareg of the Sahara. The form of the monument with its relief decoration shows Hellenistic and Egyptian influences. A six-stepped substructure supports a square plinth with pilasters topped by Aeolic capitals at the corners. The tomb chamber was entered through two windows which were closed by stone panels. Above this are three steps bearing the second story, which is articulated by fluted Ionic semi-columns. A further three steps lead up to the third story, at the corners of which stood equestrian statues. The final stage is a pyramidal roof. From here a road runs past the House of Gorgo to the Baths of Licinius.