Dougga

Ancient city, North Africa. Located about 60 miles (100 km) west of present-day Tunis, Tun., it was an important regional city when the Romans assimilated it circa 200 CE. It is the best-preserved Roman site in Tunisia; its ruins include an arch in honour of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, a forum, baths, villas, an aqueduct, a theatre, and a temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. There is also a pre-Roman ruin of a 2nd-century-BCE mausoleum. Thugga was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.

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Dougga or Thugga is a Roman ruin in northern Tunisia located on a 65 hectare site.

Dougga was originally a fortified Berber village (the name Thugga meant "pastures"). Later, it served as the seat of the Numidian king Masinissa in the 2nd century BC. The Romans occupied the city in the late 2nd century BC.

Dougga declined under Byzantine, then Vandal, occupation. Because impressive Roman ruins remain, Dougga was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

A well-preserved theater was built around 168 AD, it is in such good condition until recently that it is used to stage concerts during the Dougga Festival held every summer.

It is a Roman Catholic titular see.

External links

• Thugga University of Freiburg (German)
• Dougga: Roman Ruins Lexicorient
• Dougga Site UNESCO World Heritage
• Dougga travel guide Tunisia.com
• Dougga information Dougga information
• Photo Dougga photo