It was Sunday, so I and my two Angolan friends decided to visit the world famous Roman ruins of Dougga. Normally the taxis from the hotels are expensive so we hired a taxi from outside.
99% of people speak French, so we had a hard time in making the taxi driver understand that we have to go to Dougga.
The roads are too good, so no problem in driving. The 2 hrs 30 minutes drive along the Tunisian country side gives an everlasting memory.
The vineyards, beautiful mountains, lush greenery, mountain roads, busy small towns and villages are simply mind blowing. On the way we came across a World War II cemetery where hundreds of soldiers buried.
Dougga is one of the world famous Roman sites well preserved in Africa. The place is so calm and is situated on a mountainside overlooking the valley. There’s a small village situated few kilometers away, other than that it’s a barren land with some wheat fields.
From this place we can have a 360 degree view of the complete valley and mountains, may be they have constructed in such a way to spot the enemy from long distance.
The Security guys told as that the Roman ruins spread over 60 hectares still 80% had to be excavated. Dougga is a tiny ancient Numidian village way back from 140 B.C.
Romans captured this place in 2 B.C, and then Dougga developed into a beautiful and typical Roman Town.
AMPHITHEATRE: The entrance is through a big amphitheatre cut on the hillside. It’s an open air venue for entertainment and performances with central performance space surrounded by ascending seats for thousands of spectators.
It’s like our present day stadium and condition is so good, even today it’s used for concerts at Dougga summer festival.
We claimed the amphitheater and entered the city ruins. It’s really amazing to see, so much of building had survived for centuries without much damages. Roofs of all buildings are gone but walls, pillars, beautiful statues, arch, floors are still preserved well.
You won’t believe l the mosaic or the flooring tiles and their colors are still perfectly preserved. Some of the important buildings well preserved are.
THE CAPITAL : The capital building is most impressive of the Roman remains situated in the centre of the city. It must be more than 20m height and still stands tall as 2014 years before. The roofs are also well preserved. The front part has six big pillars.
We can see this building in most of the Tunisian currencies. TEMPLES: There were more than 10 temples built all over the city. The capital itself was the main temple in the city dedicated to Jupiter. Apart from that there are temples for mercury, Minerva, Juno caelestis, Pluto, Saturn, Caracalla, August piety etc.
We can’t able to trace out some of the temples and the purposes. These temples were built by different rulers.
LICINIAN BATH: This is a well preserved bathing site with long underground tunnel for the slaves working at the bath. It has several windows facing the beautiful valley. Cyclopses is another bath located on the other side.
THE LIBIAN PUNIC MAUSOLEUM: This is a tall structure with pyramid shape at the top built by the Numidians who lived there before the arrival of Romans.
It can be easily distinguished form other roman structures in the city.
TRIUMPHAL ARCHES: Sepitimus severus and Alexander serverus are two different arches situated on the edge of the city. It looks like the entrance and exit of the city.
The first one is severely damaged whereas the other preserved well with the arches.
STREETS AND HOUSES: The city streets are paved with rocks and stones. There are plenty of houses in excellent condition all over the Dougga city. These houses have access to the centre part of the house which is opened at the top to get sunlight and the rooms are all on the sides.
There are also double stored buildings with pillar still intact. Then the most amazing things are that the mosaic floors are still preserved in excellent conditions and even the designs and colors are still there.
Apart from that, impressive cisterns, aqueducts, city markets (typically like our markets with stalls on both sides), sewage lines, Numidian Walls, are also well preserved. A cistern is tank to store water and aqueducts are canals to carry water to different parts of the city.
Another interesting is the arrangement of 6 communal toilets, with constant flowing of water underneath to wash away the waste.
Nearby Male private part is carved in the rock pointing the way to the luxurious brothel houses. Ancient Romans might have been very broad minded.
ROMAN SCULPTURES: The statues left behind shows the amazing skills of the Roman carvers. Most of the beautiful sculptures are taken to Bardo museum in Tunis. Still lot of damaged statues left in the city ruins.
The half a day trip to the Roman city will not be enough to cover the whole ruins, we need at least 3 days to visit all the ruins and to know about the Romans living.
Dougga was not only the most incredible Roman site we have ever seen but also one of the most interesting. I could still see the mosaic designs and colours still preserved without any damage. It’s extraordinary how much of Dougga has stood the test of time.
Then Dougga was abandoned and deserted when the Vandal invaded the city in 450 AD. Few kilometers away now only a tiny village is there, apart from that it’s all ruins.
Added some photos for the readers..........
