𐤀𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔,𐤏𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔 | |
 Ruins at Althiburos | |
  Shown within Tunisia | |
| Coordinates | 35°52′24″N8°47′13″E / 35.873444°N 8.786861°E /35.873444; 8.786861 |
|---|---|
| Type | Settlement |
Althiburos (Punic:𐤏𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔, ʿltbrš[1] or𐤀𐤋𐤕𐤁𐤓𐤔, ʼltbrš[2]) was an ancientBerber,Carthaginian, andRoman settlement in what is now theDahmani Delegation of theKef Governorate ofTunisia.[3][4] During the reign of emperorHadrian, it became a municipality with Italian rights. It was theseat of aChristian bishop from the 4th to 7th centuries. The settlement was destroyed during theMuslim invasions and the area's population center moved toEbba Ksour on the plain. This left Althiburos's ruins largely intact; they were rediscovered by travelers in the 18th century.
The ruins of Althiburos are located nearFej El Tamar on the Ouartane Plateau about 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of the town ofMedeina.[5] In antiquity, it was part of the border ofNumidia at theconfluence of theOum-el-Abid and theMedeineRivers.[6]
Althiburos was an ancientNumidian city at the confluence of two local rivers when it passed intoPunic influence and then control. It formed part of the road linkingCarthage toTheveste.
After thePunic Wars ended inRoman victory, Althiburos formed part ofAfrica. It retained a local Punic-style dual magistracy undersufetes well into the early empire, although at one point the city conceived a regional innovation and installed three executives at once.[7] In the 2nd century, under the emperorHadrian, it was grantedmunicipal status and Italian rights under the nameMunicipium Aelium Hadrianum Augustum Althiburitanum.[8] fromEmperorHadrian (117-138).[9] It was prosperous in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
It was theseat of aChristian bishop from the 4th to 7th centuries. The settlement was destroyed during theMuslim 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.
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 theforum, amain street and a monumental door to a bay, with an inscription dedicated toHadrian.[10][11] APunic inscription found at the site is now at theLouvre Museum inParis.
Under theaegis of theNational Heritage Institute of Tunisia,Spanish andItalian teams have been conductingexcavation projects since 2006-2007.[12]
The main sites are:
TheRoman Theatre is located on top of a hill. Remains partially buried remain in the middle of scattered blocks only a series of 19 arcades of which only go beyond the top, surmounted by five arcades of the first floor. René Cagnat and Henri Saladin at the end of the 19th century gave the following dimensions for this theater: 60 meters (200 ft) indiameter and 35 meters (115 ft) inwidth. The archaeological activities carried out since 2007 have as objective the survey of the ruins and the reconstruction of the theater.[13][14]
However a remarkable Spanish-Tunisian project has provided a new and radically different perspective on early Numidian society and urbanisation.[15]
Deep trenches in two areas have exposed a six metre deep sequence of pre Roman buildings and occupation levels that have been well dated using radiocarbon. Three broad phases of first millennium BC occupation have been identified, Early Numidian being tenth to eight centuries BC, Middle Numidian being 7th to 5th century BC, and Late Numidian being 4th to 7th century BC.
There is evidence for agriculture right from the beginning with the cultivation of a range of cereals, legumes and viticulture with the addition of the olive by the late 8th century. There is also firm evidence for ironworking by the 8th century, contradicting the presumed primacy of Phoenician technology. It is clear from the crop package that cultivation was already well established many centuries ahead of the wider dissemination of Phoenician sites in Africa.
The Roman city was also the seat of an ancientbishopric which existed until the end of the 7th century.[16][17] The diocese was reestablished in 1933 as atitular episcopal see. Known bishops include:
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| Israel | |
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| Lebanon | |
| Libya | |
| Malta | |
| Morocco | |
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| Tunisia | |
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