House of Venus (Maison de Venus)

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

2nd-3rd century CE

Garden Description

This richly decorated house is located to the east of the forum. A portico on four sides enclosed a court (ca 6.6x11.5m) that may have been planted in the early period of the house (Plan view, Fig.1). An oecus-triclinium with the famous fish mosaics opened off the north side of the portico. A large rectangular basin (4.67x2.93 m) oriented northeast-southwest was placed on the axis of the triclinium, which opened on the north side of the portico. A semicircular basin was attached to the large basin on the side facing the triclinium, but the two basins do not appear to be connected. Both basins were built above ground. The base of the large basin was found in situ; the sides consisted of six monolithic pillars (5 of which were found), into which were fitted six limestone plaques (only one was found) 1.63m high, and carved with trellis designs.

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of the House of Venus.

Credit: (Picard, G. Ch., Bourgeois, A., 1977, Plan. I)

Bibliography

Bullo, S., Ghedini, F., Amplissimae atque ornatissimae domus: l'edilizia residenziale nelle città della Tunisia romana, Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 2003, p. 171-173. (worldcat)
Picard, G. Ch., Bourgeois, A., "La Maison de Vénus.", in Recherches Archéologiques Franco-Tunisiennes à Mactar, Sratigraphie et étude des pavements, I, 1977, EFR, Rome, pp. 213-220, Plan I. (worldcat)

Mactaris on Gardens of the Roman Empire

House of Venus (Maison de Venus)

Dates

Garden Description

Plans

Bibliography

Keywords