Salakta

Last updated
Salakta
سلقطة
Town
Tunisie Site Salakta.jpg
Salakta.
Nickname: 
Sullecthum
Tunisia adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Salakta
Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 35°24′N11°03′E / 35.400°N 11.050°E / 35.400; 11.050
Country Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
Governorate Mahdia Governorate
Population
 (2004)
  Total3,477
Time zone UTC1 (CET)

Salakta is a small Tunisian village situated by the sea.

Contents

Salakta has been occupied or ruled by many civilisations, including the Phoenicians, Byzantines, Romans, and Muslim Oubéidines.[ 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 the Bardo 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.

Description

Salakta is a village in the Sahel, Tunisia located five kilometers from Ksour 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 the Mahdia Governorate, it had a population of 3,477 in 2004. [1]

History

Roman Ruins at Salakta Tunisie Site Salakta.jpg
Roman Ruins at Salakta

The town was a port [2] exporting wheat, and later of olive oils, and wines. The fishing port was successively occupied by the Phoenicians, the Byzantines, the Romans and then the Arabs. The village was a privileged place for the Byzantines under Justinian who used it as a strategic point for their conquests. Belisarius's invasion of Africa began during the Vandalic War in 533, not far from Salakta on the Caput Vada.

During the Second World War, both the French Army and the German Afrika Korps maintained a military base here.

Archaeological remains

Archaeological Museum of Salakta Tunisie Musee Salakta.jpg
Archaeological Museum of Salakta

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 in Ostia bears the name of the navicularii of Syllectum, and oil amphorae 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]

Tourism

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 particular terracotta 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 are necropolises of the megalithic 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.

Bishopric

Sullectum was the seat of a bishopric during the Roman Empire [5] but this moved to near modern Mahdia in the Middle Ages. [6] The ancient bishopric was re-established in name in the 20th century as a titular bishopric, with the current bishop being Ulrich Boom of Würzburg. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hersonissos</span> Municipality in Greece

Hersonissos, also transliterated as Chersonissos and Hersónisos, is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. The town is about 25 kilometers east of Heraklion and west of Agios Nikolaos. What is usually called Hersonissos is in fact its peninsula and harbour. It is part of the Heraklion regional unit. It is situated 25 km from the Heraklion airport and 27 km from the Heraklion port. The seat of the local government unit is the village of Gournes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahel, Tunisia</span> Area of central eastern Tunisia

The Tunisian Sahel or more precisely the Central East Tunisia is an area of central eastern Tunisia and one of the six Tunisian regions. It stretches along the eastern shore, from Hammamet in the north to Mahdia in the south, including the governorates of Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax and Sousse. Its name derives from the Arabic word sāḥil (ساحل), meaning "shore" or "coast". The region's economy is based especially on tourism and it contains the second-biggest airport in Tunisia: Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sousse</span> City in Sousse Governorate, Tunisia

Sousse or Soussa is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located 140 km (87 mi) south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. Its economy is based on transport equipment, processed food, olive oil, textiles, and tourism. It is home to the Université de Sousse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabratha</span> City in Libya

Sabratha, in the Zawiya District of Libya, was the westernmost of the ancient "three cities" of Roman Tripolis, alongside Oea and Leptis Magna. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha wa Sorman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 70 km (43 mi) west of modern Tripoli. The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahdia</span> Place in Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia

Mahdia is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadrumetum</span> Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage

Hadrumetum, also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined. In the early modern period, it was the village of Hammeim, now part of Sousse, Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzacena</span> Roman province located in modern-day Tunisia

Byzacena was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherchell</span> Town in Tipaza, Algeria

Cherchell is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, 89 kilometers (55 mi) west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahdia Governorate</span> Governorate of Tunisia

Mahdia Governorate is in central-eastern Tunisia, named after its largest town and administrative centre. It comprises an area of coastal relative lowland, but extends further inland than its coastal length. It is one of the twenty-four governorates (provinces). It covers an area of 2,966 km², and has a population of 410,812. Four other governorates are its neighbours - clockwise from south, Sfax, Kairouan, Sousse and Monastir Governorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Althiburos</span> Ancient Berber, Carthaginian, and Roman settlement

Althiburos was an ancient Berber, Carthaginian, and Roman settlement in what is now the Dahmani Delegation of the Kef Governorate of Tunisia. During the reign of emperor Hadrian, it became a municipality with Italian rights. It was the seat of a 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 on the plain. This left Althiburos's ruins largely intact; they were rediscovered by travelers in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardo National Museum (Tunis)</span> National museum in Tunis, Tunisia

The Bardo National Museum is a museum of Tunis, Tunisia, located in the suburbs of Le Bardo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dor, Israel</span> Place in Haifa, Israel

Dor is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Zikhron Ya'akov, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 465. It was named after the ancient Phoenician city of Dor, which was inhabited by the tribe of Manasseh in the Israelite period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamta Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Lamta, Tunisia

The Lamta Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum located in Lamta, Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salakta Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeology museum in Salakta, Tunisia

The Salakta Archaeological Museum is a Tunisian archaeological museum, located in Salakta. Established in 1980, it includes archaeological works from the ancient Sullectum, especially terra cotta, a mosaic pavement representing a gigantic African lion, and amphorae from other sites in the Sahel, Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sousse Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Governorate of Sousse, Tunisia

The Sousse Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum located in Sousse, Sousse Governorate, Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carthage National Museum</span> National museum in Carthage, Tunisia

Carthage National Museum is a national museum in Byrsa, Tunisia. Along with the Bardo National Museum, it is one of the two main local archaeological museums in the region. The edifice sits atop Byrsa Hill, in the heart of the city of Carthage. Founded in 1875, it houses many archaeological items from the Punic era and other periods.

Ksour Essef or Ksour Essaf is a town and commune in the Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia, on the coast of the Sahel, about 200 km south of Tunis. As of 2014 it had a population of 36,274.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ksour Essef cuirass</span> Ancient Greek cuirass at the Bardo National Museum

The Ksour Essef cuirass is an ancient triple-disc cuirass found in a Punic tomb in 1909 not far from Ksour Essef, Tunisia.

The Mahdia Museum is a museum in Tunisia specialising in Tunisian archaeology and heritage. It is located in the city of Mahdia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dzemda</span>

Dzemda is a locality in Tunisia.

References

  1. 2004 Census (National Institute of Statistics) .
  2. Peter Garnsey, Keith Hopkins, C. R. Whittaker, Trade in the Ancient Economy (University of California Press, 1983) p. 149.
  3. African Antiquities, vol. 38–39, ed. National Center for Scientific Research, Paris, 2002, p. 13.
  4. Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni, Maria Letizia Caldelli and Fausto Zevi, Latin Epigraphy, ed. Armand Colin, Paris, 2006, ( ISBN   2200217749), pp. 229 and 257.
  5. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN   978-88-209-9070-1), p. 961
  6. J.P. Mesnage, L'Afrique chrétienne, Paris 1912, p. 114
  7. Apostolische succession – Titularsitze
  8. Salakta at gcatholic.org

35°24′N11°03′E / 35.400°N 11.050°E / 35.400; 11.050