House of Neptune (Maison de Neptune)
Location
Location Description
The city occupies the slopes of a hill in a fertile grain producing area about 50 kilometers to the south of Tunis. Originally a settlement of mercenary soldiers after the fall of Carthage, it was raised to a municipium by Hadrian (117-138), and to a colony during the rein of Commodus (177-192). The chief public buildings and the most beautiful homes date from this period. After the crisis of the Empire during the third century, Thuburbo saw a rebirth in the fourth century; but as imperial authority declined the city became a mere village.
Garden
House of Neptune (Maison de Neptune)
Keywords
- domusAAT:300005506
- peristyle housesAAT:300005452
- cisterns (plumbing components)AAT:300052558
- semicircular basin
Garden Description
The house was laid out around a peristyle garden (IV-VIII), with four porticos supported by twelve columns. A low wall separated the porticos from the garden (Plan view, Fig. 1). A semicircular basin extended into the garden between the second and the third columns on the SE side. The cistern opening in the garden is adjacent to the middle column on the SE side. A large reception room (XVII) had a view of the basin and the garden.
Plans
Dates
Early 3rd century CE
Bibliography
- Alexander, Margaret A., Corpus des Mosaïques de Tunisie, Thuburbo Majus, Les mosaïques de la région du Forum, V. II, fasc.1, INA, Tunis, 1980, pp. 141-61, plan 20-30. (worldcat)
- Ben Abed-Ben Khader, A., Corpus des Mosaïques de Tunisie, Thuburbo Majus, Les mosaïques de la région Ouest, V. II, fasc.3, INA, Tunis, 1987.(worldcat)
- Bullo, S., Ghedini, F., Amplissimae atque ornatissimae domus: l'edilizia residenziale nelle città della Tunisia romana, Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 2003, pp. 240-242. (worldcat)