Archaeological site of Sbeitla

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Archaeological site of Sbeitla
Sbeitla Temples of the Gods.jpg
Capitoline Hill of Sufetula
Tunisia adm location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Tunisia
Location Sbeitla, Tunisia
Coordinates 35°14′25″N9°7′11″E / 35.24028°N 9.11972°E / 35.24028; 9.11972
History
Founded67 AD
Abandoned647 AD
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.

Contents

History

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

Roman remains

Roman bath with fish mosaic Sbeitla Bath with the Fish.jpg
Roman bath with fish mosaic

Byzantine remains

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

In Art and Literature

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 Wikisource-logo.svg Death of the Lion among the Ruins of Sbeitlah . [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 SUFETULA (Sbeitla) Tunisia., A. ENNABLI
  2. Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Tunisian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, December 15, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 J. Patout Burns, Robin M. Jensen, Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of Its Practices and Beliefs, p. 149 ff. Eerdmans 2014, ISBN   9780802869319
  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.