Dougga

The ruin of Dougga is very compact for a Roman city. Previous ruins that I’ve visited in Morocco, such as Vilubulus, were much larger and more spread out. From previous reading I’ve done on Dougga, I believe that the parts of the city unearthed in modern times don’t show the true extents of the settlement. Maybe this was due to a lack of wealth to build the stone buildings which withstand the test of time or maybe it was due to a lack of materials, although I doubt this with the prevalence of rocky outcroppings of limestone and dolomite in the area. The portions of Dougga that do remain tell the tale of a once vibrant community in the heart of what some have called the bread basket of the Roman Empire.

Calling Tunisia the bread basket of Rome brings with it quite a debate among archeologists. Reading on the subject I’ve done in the past shows there’s a great conflict between those who believe that Tunisia truly used to be a fruitful place and those who believe that any surplus of grain taken from Tunisia was actually at the expense of the Tunisians, leaving some to surely starve. From the materials I’ve seen on the subject, I tend to believe that Tunisia truly was once a very productive place that could feed an entire empire. Due to erosion, desertification, climate change, and constant use of the land over time, the Tunisia of today is much less fruitful than when it was in Roman hands. One article said that estimates range from 15-60% of the production capacity of wheat and other staple grains has been lost since Roman times. Couple that with an increased population and one can see how a country can go from surplus to near-deficit in short order.

The theater at Dougga is a typical Roman design including roof supports embedded in the stone floor. Originally, the entire theater would have been covered by a wooden and cloth roof providing a warm dry place in the winter and a cool dry place in the summer to relax and watch some good Roman drama. I couldn’t locate the places in the rear wall where beams would have rested, but I believe this was due to decay of the top sections of the wall over time. The theater itself was preserved so well, most likely, due to the collapse of the roof and, later, the area being covered with soil and plant matter.

Walking further into the site, the Forum and Capitol was the most striking structure, reminiscent of the structures serving the same purpose in Vilubulus in Morocco and in Rome itself. Evidence of recent disturbance of the Forum is obvious form the scaffolding holding up one section of the building. The walls also have large iron bolts and rods running diagonally to brace the building against a large gust of wind or an exceptionally heavy tourist who needs a place to lean against.

This was the first site that I’ve see with a Gymnasium so well intact. After some initial confusion due to my sunglasses, I successfully navigated the tunnels leading to the Gymnasium complex. It was fun to imagine myself in the steam room during the time of the Roman emperors from Africa. The mosaic work on the floor was also interesting. It was not nearly as complex as many of the mosaics present in rich villas and townhouses, but it was very functional and a typical roman design. Of course, the best mosaics reside in the Bardo Museum. That will be another day!

Farther along the road toward the east, the bath of the Cyclopes awaits. It was so named for the Cyclopes mosaic, now residing in Bardo, and the large one-eyed man who guarded over the site until a British expedition drove him off. Well, at least that’s what Lucas told me. Then again, maybe that was just a dream. Anyway, the site is interesting due to its layout and the clover-leave construction of one of the remaining roof elements. Both Dr. Hamdy and I were captivated for several seconds with the roof. Once an engineer, always an engineer!

I made a side trip away from the main group to arch honoring the first African emperor of Rome. The arch is no longer whole, the middle having fallen, but it is still an impressive structure that commemorates the once powerful African district of Rome.

The true highlight of the visit was the latrines next to the Cyclopes baths. We got several pictures of part of the group lounging on the multi-john. Later, once the group had moved farther on, one of the members of our group had me take some more true-to-life photos of the toilets. I will be interested to see what she decides to do with those photos! In Roman times, it must have been sociable to go to the bathroom in groups so as to talk about the important issues of the day. It gives a new meaning to bullshitting!

Our final stop in Dougga was at the Libyo-Punic monument to several dead guys. The structure is the best preserved at the entire ruins, still standing over fifty feet high with only minimal damage to the decoration at the top of the monument. At the monument, we took some pictures of a boy who was shepherding a flock of sheep and, no doubt, was also packing a sub machine gun under his baseball cap, as he was most likely part of the Dougga security forces. I’d hate to think of what heat those sheep were packing! He probably made about 5-7TD off of our visit – more money than maybe even his father makes in a day! It is important to pay money to the locals at such sites as Dougga. For these sites to be preserved, the local population must recognize that they are a source of income and will only remain that way as long as they remain intact as an archeological site. Looting of artifacts or stealing of structural elements will only serve to degrade the site and make the larger tour buses and groups skip over it in favor of better preserved sites. I hope that our small contribution to that boy will make a difference in the preservation of Dougga.

Dougga

As the name of the ruin, Dougga, suggests, this city was founded long before Rome’s takeover of Tunisia.  The city was situated high up on a hillside above the valleys, yet another indication of non-Roman origin.  From my readings, it appears Romans liked having their cities on flatter ground to allow for the standard Roman town plan.  The Romans adapted to the inclined townsite quite well.  As early as the fourth century BCE, people were describing Dougga as being “of impressive size.”  During the second century BC, it had become the seat of the Numidian king Massinissa, whose support of Rome during the Third Punic War gained the town much importance.  From the second century CE, under Roman administration, it enjoyed a period of great prosperity.  At the town’s peak, ten thousand people called Dougga home.  As an indication of Dougga’s importance, aerial photography has revealed no less than ten additional town sites within a ring of just six square kilometers of Dougga.

Later on, the Byzantines built huge fortifications, still very evident, around the town.  After their departure, the town fell into ruin but the local inhabitants continued to live among the fallen arcades and decaying buildings until the end of the nineteenth century when excavating archeologists forced them down the hill into the purpose-built down of Nouvelle Dougga.  Since excavation stopped, a few people have moved back into the ruins.  They are mostly vultures who wait to pick off tourists for an expensive trip around the ruins.  We did encounter one woman though who lived just outside the main ruins who had lived there for maybe 70 years.  She told Karim how she wasn’t married and didn’t want to be even at 76 years because guys were stinky and whatnot.  She talked his ear off with many comical stories.  Karim gave her the gift of a couple of Gabes pomegranates.  she seemed quite pleased.

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The theater is a very impressive and well preserved complex as can be seen from my pictures. We never found the perfect resonance point. Instead, it appears the place was designed so the sound would be about equal all the way across the stage. It certainly wasn’t a place to give a play in a whisper, but with only a slightly elevated voice, the entire theater could easily hear the production. At one point, the entire structure was covered by a wooden and, most likely, cloth roof, as is made evident through large anchor points in the floor of the theater. it appears that it would have been quite the impressive structure at its height. even now, it’d be a great place for a concert or a play.

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The gymnasium complex. There were hot, cold, steam, massage, and other such rooms, along with the typical roman physical fitness equipment. To get into the gymnasium, we had to walk through some tunnels running under the ruins of some houses.

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One of the guards of Dougga. We gave him a couple of dinar so we could take his picture. He seemed very shocked with the idea that someone would give him money. Karim told him who we were and what we were doing. The kid seemed very happy.

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A Libico-Punic mausoleum.

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Kellen in front of some cacti. The fruit is very tasty, however, very sharp. Lucas still had a thorn in his hand a month after getting stabbed by a sticker. It took him another month before he cut it out of his palm.

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