Althiburos
𐤀𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔, 𐤏𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔 | |
 Ruins at Althiburos | |
  Shown within Tunisia | |
| Coordinates | 35°52′24″N 8°47′13″E / 35.873444°N 8.786861°E |
|---|---|
| Type | Settlement |
Althiburos (
Ebba Ksour
on the plain. This left Althiburos's ruins largely intact; they were rediscovered by travelers in the 18th century.
Location
The ruins of Althiburos are located near
Medeina.[5] In antiquity, it was part of the border of Numidia at the confluence of the Oum-el-Abid and the Medeine Rivers.[6]
History
Althiburos was an ancient
.After the
It was prosperous in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.It was the
Christian bishop from the 4th to 7th centuries. The settlement was destroyed during the Muslim invasions and the area's population center moved to Ebba Ksour (Dahmani
) on the plain. This left Althiburos's ruins largely intact; they were rediscovered by travelers in the 18th century.
Archaeology
Apart from travel stories that describe it, the site has seen few archaeological excavations. Excavations begun in 1908, interrupted and resumed in 1912, reveal part of the
Louvre Museum in Paris
.
Under the
excavation projects since 2006-2007.[12]
The main sites are:
- Capitolium and Forum (44.6 by 37.15 meters (146.3 ft × 121.9 ft)) on a paved esplanade (23.35 by 30.8 meters (76.6 ft × 101.0 ft)) surrounded by a porch with 10 x 12 columns.
- A statue of Minerva and one of Juno in marble were found.
- A triumphal arch is mostly in ruins, but the façade is partly conserved. It was excavated in 1912 and dated between 185 and 191.
- There is a second temple (dedicated to an unknown god or gods) on the opposite side of the Forum, of which only the podium and some
- The house of the Muses, with outstanding mosaics.
- The house of the Peixos scene, on the other side of the river Oued Oum El Abid, with mosaics representing scenes of fish.
- Triumphal arch of the 4th or 5th century
- House of Asclepius, named after a mosaic, had functions that could not be determined, but it is quite original. The mosaics are of great quality
- House of the sixteen bases, by the sixteen figures that appear in six stones of the base that seem to show Punicinfluence.
- Theater, dam, Mausoleums, the main one of Ksar Ben Hannoun, to the west with a cell of 3.2 by 2.5 meters (10.5 ft × 8.2 ft) and an inscription.
- The Roman Road to Tebessa.
Theater
The
width. The archaeological activities carried out since 2007 have as objective the survey of the ruins and the reconstruction of the theater.[13][14]
Bishopric
The Roman city was also the seat of an ancient
bishopric which existed until the end of the 7th century.[15][16] The diocese was reestablished in 1933 as a titular episcopal see
. Known bishops include:
- Victor Donatist/Maximentius bishop)
- Basilius fl. 397-418 (Catholic bishop)
- Augustalis (Donatist Bishop and rival at the Council of Carthage to basilius)
- Vindemius (Catholic bishop) fl. 484 at the Council of Huneric
- Gerald Emmett Carter (1 Dec 1961 – Feb 17 1964)
- Karl Borromäus Flügel (7 Sep 1968 – 1 Jun 2004)
- Gerald Thomas Walsh (28 Jun 2004 –)
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Ghaki (2015), p. 66.
- ^ KAI 159 line 1
- ^ Mongi Ennaïfer, « La cité d'Althiburos et l'édifice des Asclepieia », Bibliothèque archéologique, vol. 1, éd. Institut national d'archéologie et d'art, Tunis, 1976
- ^ "Web d'una excavació arqueològica a Althiburos (2007)". Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
- ^ Richard Stillwell, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (Princeton University Press, 14 Mar. 2017) p44.
- ^ Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister, Stillwell, Richard, MacDonald, William L., McAlister, Marian Holland, Ed., ALTHIBUROS, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites.
- JSTOR 41857007.
- ^ Alfred Merlin, « Fouilles à Althiburos (Medeina) », CRAI, vol. 56, no 6, (1912), p.420
- ^ A. Merlin, “Forum et maisons d'Althiburos,” Notes et Documents, VI (1913).
- ^ "Epigraphik Datenbank".
- ^ Alfred Merlin, « Fouilles à Althiburos (Medeina) », CRAI, vol. 56, no 6, 1912, p. 418.
- ^ "Tunisie. La cité d'Althiburos sort de terre".
- ^ René Cagnat & Henri Saladin, « Voyage en Tunisie », Tour du monde, éd. Hachette, Paris, 1887, n° 1, p. 242.
- ^ Jean-Claude Lachaux, Théâtres et amphithéâtres d'Afrique proconsulaire, éd. Édisud, Aix-en-Provence, 1969, p. 33.
- ^ Altiburus at catholic-hierarchy.org.
- ^ Titular Episcopal See of Altiburus at GCatholic.org.
Bibliography
- Ghaki, Mansour (2015), "Toponymie et Onomastique Libyques: L'Apport de l'Écriture Punique/Néopunique" (PDF), La Lingua nella Vita e la Vita della Lingua: Itinerari e Percorsi degli Studi Berberi, Studi Africanistici: Quaderni di Studi Berberi e Libico-Berberi, Naples: Unior, pp. 65–71, ISSN 2283-5636, archived from the original(PDF) on 2020-04-28, retrieved 2018-11-02. (in French)