House of Asinius Rufinus (Maison d'Asinius Rufinus)
Dates
mid 2nd century CE
Garden Description
The house of Asinius Rufinus (Approx. 835 m²) is located in the center of the city. Towards the south its façade extends along an open area partially excavated and is interpreted as the possible forum of the city. The house contains a mosaic pavement of Hercules and an inscription located in the main entrance hall with the honorific cursus of M. Asinius Rufinus, who was consul between 184 and 185. Rufinus most likely changed the older house (from Tiberian times) to this new one opened towards the South. Therefore the data attributed to this phase of the house comes from the second half of the II century AD, during the reign of Commodus.
The house's incomplete excavation includes a small entrance and several shops opening onto a non-excavated street oriented towards the North. The various rooms of the house were laid out around a complete peristyle: the triclinium and two apartments in the south, an apartment on the east, two unpaved spaces on the north and a lararium (XIX) on the northwest. A staircase indicates that the house had an upper level.
The low wall of four porticos spanned the viridarium of the peristyle (13.65 x 10.70 m), which curves to form an apse in front of the triclinium (IV) located on the south. In the viridarium there was a cistern. Access to the viridarium and cistern was provided under the north portico, between the 6th and 7th column. If the low wall had been stuccoed and painted as the columns were, there are currently no traces of painting on the viridarium side of it. Mortar channels along the north and the west of the garden collected the water from the roof and brought it to one of the cisterns located in the southwest corner of the garden. The soil of the garden has not been examined.
Adjacent to the east apartment is a light well with an earthen floor, which can be regarded as a small garden (IX). A large window in room VIII opened into this garden (IX).
Plans
Bibliography
- Bullo, S., Ghedini, F., Amplissimae atque ornatissimae domus: l'edilizia residenziale nelle città della Tunisia romana, Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 2003, pp. 12-14. (worldcat)
- Gozlan, S., Jeddi, N., Blanc-Bijon, V., Bourgeois, A., Recherches archéologiques franco-tunisiennes à Acholla. II - Les mosaïques des maisons du quartier central et les mosaïques éparses (Collection de l'EFR), Rome, INAA – EFR, 2001, p. 19-28, plan Pl. II. (worldcat)
- Rebuffat, R., Maisons à péristyle d'Afrique du Nord, Répertoire de plans publiés, II, MEFRA, tome 86, 1974-1, p.454. (worldcat)
Keywords
- domusAAT:300005506
- peristyle housesAAT:300005452
- larariaAAT:300400600
- triclinia (rooms)AAT:300004359
- viridarium