The anonymous sanctuary, Dar Lachheb

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

THUGGA (Dougga) Tunisia
THUGGA (Dougga) Tunisia (Pleiades)

Plan of Thugga (Maurin, L., d’après le relevé général de Cl. Poinssot, Les ruines de Dougga, 1959, pl. h. t.)

Location Description

Annexed in 46 B.C., the Romanization of the city of Thugga that was probably a residence of the Numidian kings, was gradual but profound. It became Municipium Thuggense in 205, and was raised to the rank of a Colonia Licinia Septima Aurelia Alexandriana Thuggensesin in 261 under Gallien. Numerous buildings of this city overlooking the valley of the Ouadi Khaled, have been uncovered among them the Capitol dedicated to the Capitoline Triad in 166-67, the theater on the top of the plateau constructed under Antonius Pius, the Temple of Mercury, Fortune, Augustan Piety, Liber Pater, Concordia, Frugifer, Pluto, Saturn and the Temple of Caelestis which stands in the middle of a an olive grove. In the residential areas stands the Licinian Baths with their Palestrae and the Cyclops Baths and the Triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus set astride a street leading down the hill. Two building inscriptions (CIL VIII, 26606 and CIL VIII, 26607), dated to AD 166-169 mention a theater with a basilica, porticoes, and xystis.

Garden

The anonymous sanctuary, Dar Lachheb

Keywords

Garden Description

The anonymous sanctuary, called Dar Lachheb (184-187 CE), located about fifty meters below the forum, is of African type. In line with the entrance to the complex, a large cella with an apse opens onto the northern gallery of the triplex porticus that frames the courtyard. The courtyard consists of four symmetrical, rectangular spaces of equal dimensions, probably planted and enclosed by solid stone balustrades. The enclosure of areas of greenery in the worship space is similar to the sanctuary of Minerva 2

Maps

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of the anonymous sanctuary, Dar Lachheb (From Aounallah, S., Golvin J.-C. (dir.) 2016, p. 440, fig. 86)

Dates

184-187 CE

Bibliography

Aounallah, S., Maurin, L., "Remarques sur la topographie rurale et urbaine du pagus et de la ciuitas de Thugga (Dougga, Tunisie)", in Hommes, cultures et paysages de l'Antiquité à la période moderne : Mélanges offerts à Jean Peyras, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2013. (worldcat)
Aounallah, S., Golvin, J.-C. (Dir.), Ben Rhomdane, H., Brouquier-Reddé, V., Chehidi, M.A., Ghaki, M., Khanoussi, M., Maurin, L., Saint-Amans, S., Dougga, Études d'architecture religieuse 2. Les sanctuaires du forum, du centre de l'agglomération et de la Grande rue courbe (Mémoires, 42), Bordeaux : Ausonius Éditions, 2016, p. 440, fig. 86. (worldcat)
Brouquier-Reddé, V., Chehidi, M.A., Ghaki M., Khanoussi M., Maurin L., Saint-Amans S., Dougga, Études d'architecture religieuse 2. Les sanctuaires du forum, du centre de l'agglomération et de la Grande rue courbe (Mémoires, 42), Bordeaux : Ausonius Éditions, 2016 pp. 393-476, fig. 29-32, 86. (worldcat)
Malek, A.-A., "Le jardin dans les sanctuaires du Maghreb romain, premières approches", in Du culte aux sanctuaires : l’architecture religieuse dans l’Afrique romaine et byzantine, Brouquier Reddé, V., Baratte, Fr., Rocca E. (dir.), Paris, de Boccard, coll. Orient et Méditerranée, 2018, pp. 213-230, 364, pl. 14. (worldcat)

Publication Date

21 Apr 2021