The Nymphaeum in Zaghouan is of a typical Roman construction. The central chamber — where the water springs forth, contained twelve niches in the walls where twelve statues representing the twelve months of the year once stood. Even after the decay and collapse of the aqueduct to Tunis, the town of Zaghouan was supplied with free plentiful fresh, cool water still being piped to community fountains by means of the original Roman pipe system.
Several years ago, the water authority came through town, capped off all of the old fountains, and diverted the water from the spring into the Tunisian national water infrastructure system. Now the citizens of Zaghouan must get their water from the central pipes just like everyone else in the country. I suppose that’s the price of progress.
Pits were dug around the perimeter of the center chamber for unknown reasons. Anne decided to climb down one of the excavated holes. On the way up, a rock gave way. She fell back down into the pit, skinning her knee in the process. In total, the hole was around eight feet deep.