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Archaeological site of Sbeitla

Coordinates: 35°14′25″N 9°7′11″E / 35.24028°N 9.11972°E / 35.24028; 9.11972
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Archaeological site of Sbeitla
Capitoline Hill of Sufetula
Archaeological site of Sbeitla is located in Tunisia
Archaeological site of Sbeitla
Shown within Tunisia
LocationSbeitla, Tunisia
Coordinates35°14′25″N 9°7′11″E / 35.24028°N 9.11972°E / 35.24028; 9.11972
Site notes
Excavation dates1906-1921[1]

The archaeological site of Sbeitla is an archaeological site in Sbeitla, in north-central Tunisia. It represents the Roman ruins of Sufetula,[2] and contains the best preserved Roman forum temples in Tunisia. It was excavated and restored between 1906 and 1921.

History

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The city was founded, if not already in existence, during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. Sufetula was the theatre of the great confrontation between Byzantines and Arabs in 647,[1] setting the stage for the later Muslim conquest of the diocese of Sufetula and further conquests in southern Europe.

Main sights

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Roman remains

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Roman bath with fish mosaic

Byzantine remains

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The majority of the Byzantine buildings stand on the foundations and incorporate elements of earlier Roman ones. They include:

  • The Basilica of Bellator (late 4th or early 5th century), named for a local bishop[3] and including
    • The Chapel of Jucundus, which served as a baptistery and was named for an early 5th-century bishop buried there[3]
  • The Basilica of Vitalis (5th-6th century), named for its founding presbyter. A basin predating the church and decorated by a fish mosaic was found under the floor of its nave.[3][4]
  • The Church of Servus (5th century), named for its presbyter[3]
  • The Church of Saints Gervase, Protase, and Tryphon

In Art and Literature

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An engraving of a painting by Charles Bentley entitled Ruins of Sbeitlah, the ancient Sufetula, Tunis was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book ,1838 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, as Death of the Lion among the Ruins of Sbeitlah.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b SUFETULA (Sbeitla) Tunisia., A. ENNABLI
  2. ^ Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Tunisian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, December 15, 2010
  3. ^ a b c d J. Patout Burns, Robin M. Jensen, Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of Its Practices and Beliefs, p. 149 ff. Eerdmans 2014, ISBN 9780802869319 [1]
  4. ^ "Mosaic floor in the pool of the Basilica of St. Vitalis. Sufetula (Modern Sbeitla, Tunisia)".
  5. ^ Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1837). "picture". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838. Fisher, Son & Co.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1837). "poetical illustration". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838. Fisher, Son & Co.