Bulla Regia is one of the most archaeologically important Roman towns in North Africa, located approximately 8km northeast of Jendouba, on the edge of Tunisia’s fertile Great Plains. It is a city shaped by Numidian, Punic, Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic influences. Bulla Regia flourished due to its rich agricultural wealth, strategic location, and integration into the Mediterranean trade network. Today, the site is renowned for its unique underground villas, which were built by the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD as a means to escape the fierce heat of the Tunisian sun and are decorated with mosaics.
Bulla Regia originated as a Numidian city influenced by Carthage. In 202 BCE, the Roman general Scipio Africanus captured the town, and it later became a royal residence for the Numidian king Massinissa. After the fall of Carthage, Bulla Regia was annexed to Africa Nova in 46 BCE following the defeat of Juba I. Under Roman rule, the city flourished, receiving municipal privileges from Julius Caesar and later becoming a colony under Hadrian, officially named Colonia Aelia Hadriana Augusta Bulla Regia.
Bulla Regia’s prosperity came from the fertile Great Plains, which supported wealthy elites who rose to equestrian and senatorial ranks. Bulla Regia was richly adorned with monuments, statues, and mosaics, while its streets, drainage systems, and public spaces reflected the Roman urban planning tradition. Notably, its private houses featured underground rooms, which were adapted to the hot climate. Many of these houses survive with their mosaics in situ, protected by the earth above them.
In late antiquity, Bulla Regia prospered under Vandal and Byzantine rule, as shown by coin hoards, fortified structures, and churches. Christianity was established, with bishops noted as early as the 3rd century, and St. Augustine preached there in 399. The presence of churches, cemeteries, and mosaics indicates a vibrant community that lasted into the 7th century AD. However, the city declined due to “ruralization,” with limited finds from the Islamic period. Bulla Regia was fully abandoned by the late 12th century, after which Jendouba became the new regional centre.
The site also includes temples, baths, a fort and a market square, but it is the houses which are the main attraction. Each of the villas has been named after the mosaics that were found within them. Some of these beautiful mosaics are still in situ, while others have been moved to museums such as the Bardo in Tunis.
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The East Temple and the colossal Memmian Baths.Although they have suffered from earthquake damage over the years, these ruins reveal the sheer scale of the baths, which included changing rooms, a gymnasium, and the frigidarium.Apse in the Memmian Baths decorated with a shell mosaic.Inscription (ILAfr 454) on a statue base praising Julia Memmia “because of the extraordinary magnificence of her work, the baths, by which she beautified her native city and contributed to the health of the citizens”. Dated 3rd century AD.The Memmian Baths were named after Julia Memmia, daughter of local Roman consul Gaius Memmius Fidus Julius Albius, as she paid for their construction. Julia dedicated the baths to the wife of Septimius Severus, the first African Roman emperor who ruled the Roman Empire in AD 193–211.The west-east main artery that connected the Memmian Baths to the theatre.The Augusteum lining the west-east main artery. It was a large, closed building constructed to the glory of Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta, with various rooms arranged around a garden.The Augusteum was 85 m long and 65 m wide. It had a semicircular library, exedra square, a cella and baths.The Temple of Isis, built in the 1st century AD and repaired in the second half of the 2nd century AD.The Temple of Isis is rectangular in shape and was built on a podium and bordered to the west by a Numidian wall. A staircase of seven steps gives access to a cella preceded by a pronaos. A row of six columns flanks the temple on the east and west sides.Dedication to Isis (AE 2005,1690) in front of the podium of the Temple of Isis by P. Aelius Privatus and his wife, Cocceia Bassa. Dated AD 131 – 170. Isidi Aug(ustae) sac(rum) / P(ublius) Aelius Priva/tus et Cocceia / Bassa uxor eius / aram ex vot(o) / liben(te)s animo / posuer(unt) et / ded(icaverunt)The Roman Theatre, built during the co-rule of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (AD 161–169).The theatre stands at the eastern end of the town, close to the forum, and features a 4th-century CE bear mosaic on the pavement of the orchestra.Fourth-century AD bear mosaic on the pavement of the theatre’s orchestra.The main north-south artery connecting the Roman Theatre to the Forum.The Market in the Forum, a rectangular courtyard with paving, surrounded by porticoes and accessed through three doors. There were a total of 12 shops, with six situated in the northern area and six located in the southern area. It was built in the 3rd century AD over earlier remains dated to 150-50 BC.The Basilica in the Forum. The public building featured an apse at both ends and was constructed on a platform accessed by a staircase with four steps.The Temple of Apollo, located within the Forum and to the north of the Capitol, was likely built during the reign of Emperor Tiberius in AD 34-35. Excavations have yielded significant artefacts, including a large statue of Apollo now displayed at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.Measuring 26.5m in length and 24m in width, this building, dedicated to Apollo, the city’s protecting deity, features an African-Roman type plan with an open-air courtyard and worship rooms where the various deities were venerated.The paved street leading to the residential area featuring underground houses designed to provide relief from the intense summer heat.The House of the Hunt, a wealthy Roman residence named after the partial hunting scene mosaic, is one of the most striking. The sixteen columns of reddish stone resting on stone bases were dug from the luxurious marble quarries of Simitthus (modern-day Chemtou).Each room of the House of the Hunt had light entering through a light shaft or the open patio. It also had a separate double toilet and bathroom (unusual at the time) as well as private baths.The underground peristyle of the lower floor of the House of the Hunt featuring Corinthian columns.The House of the New Hunt. It had rooms arranged around a peristyle that rested partly on cisterns. An above-ground hunting mosaic, from which the house derives its name, has been left in situ, depicting the owner and his servants on a hunt.In-situ mosaic from the House of the New Hunt depicting the owner and his servants on a hunt. The scene is surrounded by a beautiful, inhabited scroll frame, which includes animals (hare, wild boar, dog, gazelle).The subterranean five-column hall of the House of the New Hunt has a geometric floor mosaic.The House of the New Hunt.In-situ mosaic in the House of Amphitrite depicting Venus being carried ashore by a pair of Ichthyocentaurs (fish-tailed centaurs) following her birth from the sea foam.Mosaic floor depicting a female character in the corridor of the House of Amphitrite. Dated to the 3rd century AD.The residential area has a complex of five houses with underground features.The House of Fishing with columns dug from the luxurious marble quarries of Simitthus (Chemtou).The house, the earliest of the villas, features a separate double toilet and bathroom, along with private baths. It also includes an underground colonnaded courtyard. A small room contains a fishing-themed mosaic.The subterranean House of Treasure. The house was so named due to the hoard of 7th-century AD Byzantine coins that archaeologists uncovered here in 1942. The large dining room is decorated with a geometrically patterned mosaic; next door is a bedroom.
Sbeitla is a small town located in west-central Tunisia, near the modern city of Kasserine, and is home to the ancient Roman town of Sufetula. Initially established as a municipium, a self-governing city with partial Roman citizenship, it was later elevated to the status of a Roman colony within the province of Africa Proconsularis. By the 3rd century AD, Christianity had established a strong presence in the area, and many of the churches visible today date back to this period, especially after the city became part of the newly created province of Byzacena. The ruins of Sufetula are remarkably well-preserved and include an impressive forum, public baths, several churches, and a unique Capitolium complex composed of three separate temples dedicated to Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva.
Although the early history of Sufetula is not well-documented, it is generally believed to have been founded in the 1st century AD, possibly under Emperor Vespasian. The city’s name may derive from the term ‘sufetes’, a Punic title used for magistrates in Carthaginian towns. Sufetula rose to prominence as a Roman colonia during the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, and later became an important Christian centre under Byzantine rule. Inscriptions suggest that the city remained prosperous well after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, thanks largely to its thriving agricultural economy, particularly olive oil production.
The town played a significant role in the history of Roman Africa and later became the site of a heroic struggle for dominance between Christians and Muslims in the region. During this period, Byzantine Africa played a crucial role in supplying Constantinople with corn and olive oil. Although Emperor Heraclius had successfully repelled the Sassanid Persian Empire in the east, a new challenge arose from the Arabian Peninsula, where the tribes had united under the banner of Islam.
Aerial view of Sufetula (Sbeïtla). Drawing by Jean-Claude Golvin. jeanclaudegolvin.com
In 647 AD, Sufetula was conquered by Muslim forces led by Abdullah ibn Sa‘ad during the early Islamic expansion into North Africa. Although the city never regained its former Roman and Byzantine stature, the Islamic conquest marked the beginning of the region’s gradual Arabization and Islamization. Sufetula’s importance waned thereafter, as newer urban centres emerged under Islamic rule.
Because no modern settlement was built directly over ancient Sufetula, the Roman city plan remains exceptionally well-preserved, particularly the Forum, which is considered one of the best-preserved in the Roman world. This rectangular-walled enclosure measures approximately 72 by 60 meters (238 by 197 feet) with a monumental gateway at the centre of one side, and smaller entrances on the remaining three. Opposite the main entrance stand three imposing temples, believed to be dedicated (from right to left) to Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva. Opposite this gate, across the vast, almost square Forum, stand three massive temples that are believed to be dedicated (from right to left) to Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva.
The entrance gateway was dedicated to Antoninus Pius, as recorded in an inscription in the frieze, though the lettering is heavily eroded and only partially legible today.
……IVI • HADRIANI • ANTONINI
. . . DIVI • NERVAE • PRONEP . . . . R
. . INO . . . PONT MAX • T . .II • P • P
Beyond the Forum, visitors can explore numerous well-preserved structures that reflect the city’s rich history and vitality. These include public baths, a basilica, and a Byzantine church. The presence of Christian monuments, such as chapels and baptisteries, underscores Sufetula’s importance in the early Christian era. Additionally, remnants of homes, paved streets, and water systems offer a rare and vivid glimpse into daily life in a Roman provincial city.
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The Arch of Diocletian, built between AD 285 and 305.The Arch of Diocletian formed part of the old walls to the south of the site. It was likely built to commemorate either the Decennalia of Diocletian in AD 293 or his triumph with Maximian in AD 303-304. It is one of the best-preserved Roman triumphal arches in North Africa.The Roman Theatre, built in the 2nd century AD, had a seating capacity for over 3,500 spectators.The Roman Theatre.View of the Arch of Antoninus Pius and the Temples of the Roman Forum.The paved road leading to the Forum.The Arch of Antoninus Pius leading to the Forum and Capitolium. This gateway was built in the style of a triumphal arch and formed part of the ancient walls. It can be dated to AD 138–61 thanks to an inscription which refers to the Emperor Antonius Pius and his two adopted sons, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.At the heart of the city lies the forum, a rectangular walled plaza (72 × 60 meters) that served as the civic and religious centre. Accessed through a monumental gateway dedicated to Antoninus Pius, it is one of the best-preserved forums in the Roman world.The Forum, paved with huge stone slabs, was surrounded by porticoes on three sides and the Capitoline temples on the fourth.Dominating one end of the Forum is the Capitolium, a raised platform with three separate temples dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, an unusual arrangement compared to the single-temple Capitoliums of most Roman cities. Their high staircases, columned façades, and carved pediments remain strikingly intact.The central temple dedicated to Jupiter, accessible only by steps from the side, was the most opulent of the three temples, although the temple of Minerva has more elegant columns.Dedication to Venus Genetrix in the Forum. ILAfr 120 Veneri / Genetri/ci Aug(ustae) sac(rum) / C(aius) Caecili/us Maximi/nus IIvir fe/citIn the 6th century AD, the Forum was fortified by the Byzantines, who blocked the porticoes and passages between the temples.View of the Capitolium from the back.The Basilica of Servus, a Byzantine-era church built on a platform that was placed over the city’s main road, the decumanus maximus. Archaeologists believe that it was the Donatist cathedral of Sufetula.The Basilica of Vitalis, built in the 5th or early 6th century AD. It is a Byzantine church known for its well-preserved baptistery.The Basilica of Vitalis was a large structure, measuring about 50 meters long and 25 meters wide, and was accessible through four side doors.The richly decorated baptistery of the Basilica of Vitalis features a cross, florets, and a laurel garland.A basin near the Basilica of Vitalis decorated with a mosaic with Christian symbols.
The Public Baths. The complex included frigidaria (cold rooms), tepidaria (warm rooms), and caldaria (hot rooms), along with hypocaust heating systems and water channels.The Public Baths with with hypocaust heating system.The room dedicated to exercise and decorated with a geometric mosaic.A basin in a private bath complex with a mosaic of fish and crustaceans.A large cistern that supplied water to the city, probably supplemented by an underground canal.A stone-paved street.
Overview of the northern part of the ruins of Sufetula, looking towards the Forum.An olive press for the production of olive oil, built after the abandonment of the city (perhaps 7th century AD), on top of the former main street of Sufetula.Sufetula is located in the interior of Central Tunisia, a region which was a great producer of olive oil at the time of the Roman Empire.The foundations of a fountain dating from the 4th century AD.The House of the Four Seasons, named after a mosaic depicting the Four Seasons, which was once part of the house but is now in the Bardo Museum in Tunis.The House of the Four Seasons is notable for its size and for being a primarily residential area, particularly in the Byzantine period, when it was enlarged by incorporating adjacent structures.An unidentified temple.The unexcavated Roman amphitheatre.Roman bridge over the Oued (River) Sbeitla.
following hadrian photography 