House of Neptune (Maison de Neptune)

Province

Africa Proconsularis
Africa proconsularis (Pleiades)

Province Description

The history of Roman Africa begins in 146 BC with the destruction of Carthage and the establishment of the province of Africa in the most fertile part of the Carthaginian Empire. The new province covered about 5000 square miles (17,172 square kilometers) of the northern part of modern Tunisia. A praetor governed the area from his headquarters at Utica. The Romans inherited a thriving agriculture developed by the Carthaginians. The climate was hospitable. Wheat and barley were the most important cereals; wine and olive oil were also produced and there were various fruit trees.

Location

THUBURBO MAIUS (Henchir Kasbat), Tunisia
THUBURBO MAIUS (Henchir Kasbat), Tunisia (Pleiades)

Plan of Thuburbo Maius; CMT, Thuburbo Majus — Plan of Thuburbo Maius (CMT, Thuburbo Majus)

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

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.

Maps

Plans

Fig.1: Plan of the House of Neptune (CMT, Thuburbo Majus, V. II, fasc.1, plan 20-30)

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)

Publication Date

21 Apr 2021