Dougga

Governorate: Siliana

Altitude: 520-600m/1,710-1,970ft

Thugga is the best preserved Roman city in Africa. In a setting of great scenic beauty, surrounded by pastureland and olive-groves, the remains are prominently situated on a plateau on the edge of the Monts de Téboursouk, steeply scarped on the north side but sloping gently down on the south side to the valley of the Oued Khalled. Nearby is the spring of Ain Mizeh, which is still in use.

The town, which in Roman times was not walled, occupied an area of some 25 hectares/62.5 acres. It was not laid out on any definite plan, and - in contrast to most Roman towns with their regular street grid - was a labyrinth of paved streets suitable only for pedestrians. A theatrical festival is held here annually in June. History

The choice of site, on a steeply sloping hillside (hence the town's name, from tukka, a sheer rock), suggests that this, like Sicca Veneria and Bulla Regia, was a Numidian foundation. In the second century B.C. the settlement was enlarged by the Numidian king Masinissa to form a royal residence. The remains of megalithic walls, a temple of Baal, dolmen tombs and a Numidian mausoleum date from this period.

Around 105 B.C. the first Romans settled round the town, which according to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (first century B.C.) was already "large and handsome".

In 46 B.C. Caesar incorporated the town in the province of Africa Nova. The Numidian settlement on the hill remained, while the Romans settled in the plain below. In the course of time the two settlements amalgamated, and in A.D. 205 the town was raised to the status of a municipium and all its free citizens were granted Roman citizenship. In 261, when Thugga was renamed Colonia Licinia, the city was at the peak of its development. From this period date most of its magnificent public buildings, financed by wealthy Roman landowners, as well as the many private houses of which remains survive.

Decline set in at the end of the third century. Under Byzantine rule the town was fortified, using stone from ancient buildings. At some later period it was abandoned. Later still refugees from Andalusia settled in the area and re-established the cultivation of olives.

The site was rediscovered in the 17th century. Excavation began in 1899 and is still continuing.

Access

GP 5 (Tunis-Béja). At Medjez el Bab, 60km/37mi from Tunis, GP 5 branches off on the left and runs southwest via Testour and Téboursouk to Le Kef. Some 50km/31mi down this road, soon after the turning for Téboursouk, a narrow road on the right (signposted) runs 7km/4.5mi north to the site of Dougga (ancient Thugga).