Salakta سلقطة | |
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Town | |
 Salakta. | |
| Nickname: Sullecthum | |
  Salakta Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates:35°24′N11°03′E / 35.400°N 11.050°E /35.400; 11.050 | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Mahdia Governorate |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 3,477 |
| Time zone | UTC1 (CET) |
Salakta is a smallTunisian village situated by the sea.
Salakta has been occupied or ruled by many civilisations, including thePhoenicians,Byzantines,Romans, and MuslimOubéidines.[clarification needed] The attractions include a beach, catacombs, an ancient cemetery and a museum. It is in Salakta that the mosaics "Lion" (with huge proportions, and which is displayed in theBardo National Museum) was found.
Though not an established name in Tunisian tourism, Salakta is nevertheless one of the oldest historical sites in the country. Most of this is now under the sea, unfortunately.Its population swells from few hundreds to few thousands in summer when most of its people come back from Europe or from other Tunisian regions in order to spend summer.
Salakta is a village in theSahel, Tunisia located five kilometers fromKsour Essef. (35°24'N, 11°03'E) Its name is derived from the Latin Sullecthum ( "blessed place" ) because of the beauty of its beach.
The village is attached to the delegation of Ksour Essef in theMahdia Governorate, it had a population of 3,477 in 2004.[1]
The town was a port[2] exporting wheat, and later of olive oils, and wines.The fishing port was successively occupied by thePhoenicians, theByzantines, theRomans and then theArabs. The village was a privileged place for the Byzantines underJustinian who used it as a strategic point for their conquests.Belisarius's invasion of Africa began during theVandalic War in 533, not far from Salakta on theCaput Vada.
During the Second World War, both the French Army and the GermanAfrika Korps maintained a military base here.
Salakta is one of the oldest historical sites in the country. It features a small museum set within the site of the ancient site. However, the majority of the latter is under the sea.
One of the main mosaics of the Bardo National Museum, representing an African lion, was discovered in Salakta in 1958.[3] In Roman times, Salakta was an important commercial port under the name of Syllectum or Sullectum. One of the offices of the Place des Corporations inOstia bears the name of thenavicularii of Syllectum, and oilamphorae with the original mark A SYLL have been found in Ostia and Salakta, Archaeological evidence of a trade of active oil between Salakta and Rome.[4]
The beaches, the catacombs, an ancient cemetery, as well as the archaeological museum founded in 1980, are worth visiting. The museum shows excavation finds from the surrounding area, in particularterracotta as well as a large mosaic of a Berberlöwen. The mosaic has a height of about 3 meters and dates from the 3rd century. There arenecropolises of themegalithic culture in the surroundings.
Although Salakta is not particularly important for tourism from abroad, it is still one of the oldest historical sites in the country. Most of the ancient settlement is now below the sea level. The population of Salakta developed not least due to the tourism and attractiveness of the beaches of few hundred people to several thousand today.
Sullectum was theseat of abishopric during theRoman Empire[5] but this moved to near modern Mahdia in theMiddle Ages.[6] The ancientbishopric was re-established in name in the 20th century as atitular bishopric, with the currentbishop being Ulrich Boom ofWürzburg.[7][8]
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