Mactaris

Place Description

The city of Mactaris that had belonged to the kingdom of the Massylii was elevated to the rank of colony under Marcus Aurelius. The city was located on an important road between the steppes of the south and the rich plains of the north. The site occupies a plateau, which rises nine hundred meters above the valley of the Wadi Saboun in the central massif of the High Tell.

Archaeological investigations brought to light the amphitheater, two forums, the temple of Liber Pater, on which was erected a Christian church, and the Neo-Punic sanctuary converted into a Christian building. Also found were the temples of Apollo and Diana, several public baths that have not been completely excavated among them the great baths to the southeast and their palestra, and the northern baths. Along the periphery of the site a pyramidal mausoleum and the mausoleum of the Julii were discovered, both built on a grand scale.

Places

• Mactaris Pleiades: 324774
• Mactar (deserted settlement) TGN: 5003670

Explore the places containing this place:

• Africa Proconsularis