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Dougga
Dougga or Thugga or TBGG (Arabic: دقة, romanized: Duqqah; Tunisian Arabic: دڨة, romanized: ⓘ) was a Berber, Punic and Roman settlement near present-day Téboursouk in northern Tunisia. The current archaeological site covers 75 hectares (190 acres). UNESCO qualified Dougga as a World Heritage Site in 1997, believing that it represents "the best-preserved Roman small town in North Africa". The site, which lies in the middle of the countryside, has been protected from the encroachment of modern urbanization, in contrast, for example, to Carthage, which has been pillaged and rebuilt on numerous occasions. Dougga's size, its well-preserved monuments and its rich Numidian-Berber, Punic, ancient Roman, and Byzantine history make it exceptional. Amongst the most famous monuments at the site are a Libyco-Punic Mausoleum, the Capitol, the Roman theatre, and the temples of Saturn and of Juno Caelestis.
The Numidian name of the settlement was recorded in the Libyco-Berber alphabet as TBGG. The Punic name of the settlement is recorded as tbgg (𐤕𐤁𐤂𐤂) and tbgʿg (𐤕𐤁𐤂𐤏𐤂). The Root B GG in Phoenician means ("in the roof terrace"). Camps states that this may represent a borrowing of a Berber word derived from the root tbg ("to protect"). This evidently derives from the site's position atop an easily defensible plateau. The name was borrowed into Latin as Thugga. Once it was granted "free status", it was formally refounded and known as Municipium Septimium Aurelium Liberum Thugga; "Septimium" and "Aurelium" are references to the "new" town's "founders" (conditores), Septimius Severus and M. Aurelius Antoninus (i.e., Caracalla). For treatment of liberum, see below. Once Dougga received the status of a Roman colony, it was formally known as Colonia Licinia Septimia Aurelia Alexandriana Thuggensis.
In present-day Berber, it is known as either Dugga or Tugga. That was borrowed into Arabic: دڨة or دقة and Dougga is a French transcription of this Arabic name.
The archaeological site is located 4.6 km (2.9 mi) SSW of the modern town of Téboursouk on a plateau with an uninhibited view of the surrounding plains in the Oued Khalled. The site offers a high degree of natural protection, which helps to explain its early occupation. The slope on which Dougga is built rises to the north and is bordered in the east by the cliff known as Kef Dougga. Further to the east, the ridge of the Fossa Regia, a ditch and boundary made by the Romans after the destruction of Carthage, indicates Dougga's position as a point of contact between the Punic and Berber worlds.
Dougga's history is best known from the time of the Roman conquest, even though numerous pre-Roman monuments, including a necropolis, a mausoleum, and several temples have been discovered during archaeological digs. These monuments are an indication of the site's importance before the arrival of the Romans.
The city appears to have been founded in the 6th century BC. Some historians believe that Dougga is the city of Tocae (Ancient Greek: Τοκαί, Tokaí), which was captured by a lieutenant of Agathocles of Syracuse at the end of the 4th century BC; Diodorus of Sicily described Tocae as "a city of beautiful grandeur".
Dougga was in any case an early and important human settlement. Its urban character is evidenced by the presence of a necropolis with dolmens, the most ancient archaeological find at Dougga, a sanctuary dedicated to Ba'al Hammon, neo-Punic steles, a mausoleum, architectural fragments, and a temple dedicated to Masinissa, the remains of which were found during archaeological excavations. Even though our knowledge of the city before the Roman conquest remains very limited, recent archaeological finds have revolutionized the image that we had of this period.
The identification of the temple dedicated to Masinissa beneath the forum disproved Louis Poinssot's theory that the Numidian city stood on the plateau but that it was separate from the newer Roman settlement. The temple, which was erected in the tenth year of Micipsa's reign (139 BC), is 14 m × 6.3 m (46 ft × 21 ft) wide. It proves that the area around the forum was already built upon before the arrival of the Roman colonists. A building dating to the 2nd century BC has also been discovered nearby. Similarly, Dougga's mausoleum is not isolated but stands within an urban necropolis.
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Dougga
Dougga or Thugga or TBGG (Arabic: دقة, romanized: Duqqah; Tunisian Arabic: دڨة, romanized: ⓘ) was a Berber, Punic and Roman settlement near present-day Téboursouk in northern Tunisia. The current archaeological site covers 75 hectares (190 acres). UNESCO qualified Dougga as a World Heritage Site in 1997, believing that it represents "the best-preserved Roman small town in North Africa". The site, which lies in the middle of the countryside, has been protected from the encroachment of modern urbanization, in contrast, for example, to Carthage, which has been pillaged and rebuilt on numerous occasions. Dougga's size, its well-preserved monuments and its rich Numidian-Berber, Punic, ancient Roman, and Byzantine history make it exceptional. Amongst the most famous monuments at the site are a Libyco-Punic Mausoleum, the Capitol, the Roman theatre, and the temples of Saturn and of Juno Caelestis.
The Numidian name of the settlement was recorded in the Libyco-Berber alphabet as TBGG. The Punic name of the settlement is recorded as tbgg (𐤕𐤁𐤂𐤂) and tbgʿg (𐤕𐤁𐤂𐤏𐤂). The Root B GG in Phoenician means ("in the roof terrace"). Camps states that this may represent a borrowing of a Berber word derived from the root tbg ("to protect"). This evidently derives from the site's position atop an easily defensible plateau. The name was borrowed into Latin as Thugga. Once it was granted "free status", it was formally refounded and known as Municipium Septimium Aurelium Liberum Thugga; "Septimium" and "Aurelium" are references to the "new" town's "founders" (conditores), Septimius Severus and M. Aurelius Antoninus (i.e., Caracalla). For treatment of liberum, see below. Once Dougga received the status of a Roman colony, it was formally known as Colonia Licinia Septimia Aurelia Alexandriana Thuggensis.
In present-day Berber, it is known as either Dugga or Tugga. That was borrowed into Arabic: دڨة or دقة and Dougga is a French transcription of this Arabic name.
The archaeological site is located 4.6 km (2.9 mi) SSW of the modern town of Téboursouk on a plateau with an uninhibited view of the surrounding plains in the Oued Khalled. The site offers a high degree of natural protection, which helps to explain its early occupation. The slope on which Dougga is built rises to the north and is bordered in the east by the cliff known as Kef Dougga. Further to the east, the ridge of the Fossa Regia, a ditch and boundary made by the Romans after the destruction of Carthage, indicates Dougga's position as a point of contact between the Punic and Berber worlds.
Dougga's history is best known from the time of the Roman conquest, even though numerous pre-Roman monuments, including a necropolis, a mausoleum, and several temples have been discovered during archaeological digs. These monuments are an indication of the site's importance before the arrival of the Romans.
The city appears to have been founded in the 6th century BC. Some historians believe that Dougga is the city of Tocae (Ancient Greek: Τοκαί, Tokaí), which was captured by a lieutenant of Agathocles of Syracuse at the end of the 4th century BC; Diodorus of Sicily described Tocae as "a city of beautiful grandeur".
Dougga was in any case an early and important human settlement. Its urban character is evidenced by the presence of a necropolis with dolmens, the most ancient archaeological find at Dougga, a sanctuary dedicated to Ba'al Hammon, neo-Punic steles, a mausoleum, architectural fragments, and a temple dedicated to Masinissa, the remains of which were found during archaeological excavations. Even though our knowledge of the city before the Roman conquest remains very limited, recent archaeological finds have revolutionized the image that we had of this period.
The identification of the temple dedicated to Masinissa beneath the forum disproved Louis Poinssot's theory that the Numidian city stood on the plateau but that it was separate from the newer Roman settlement. The temple, which was erected in the tenth year of Micipsa's reign (139 BC), is 14 m × 6.3 m (46 ft × 21 ft) wide. It proves that the area around the forum was already built upon before the arrival of the Roman colonists. A building dating to the 2nd century BC has also been discovered nearby. Similarly, Dougga's mausoleum is not isolated but stands within an urban necropolis.
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