Archaeological_site_of_Sbeitla

Archaeological site of Sbeitla

Archaeological site of Sbeitla

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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.

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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

Byzantine remains

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

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


References

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

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