DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0116
with the Romans. From the appearance of the fragments this
was a work of great beauty, and was ornamented with colon-
nades, like other well-known examples in Italy and elsewhere.
It is lamentable to add that an inexcusable concession of the
stones in this district, for the purposes of the Tunisian railway
completed some fifteen years ago, was followed by a destruction
of numerous monuments, as well as of a number of inscribed
stones which might have thrown some light on the early history
of this royal city. According to M. Tissot,1 who made careful
investigations of the site in recent years, Bulla Regia appears
to have long preserved its Punico-Libyan character, and coins
discovered here bearing the crescent and the disc indicate the
worship of Baal joined to that of the great goddess of the
Carthaginians, Tanith or Virgo Cselestis.
The Numidian marble referred to by Pliny in his mention
of Thabraka came from the quarries at Simittu (Chemtou), one
day's journey west of Bulla Regia. Trajan's interest in the
town and its beautiful products was marked by the erection
of a colossal bridge over the Medjerda, two arches of which and
the remains of a quay are still standing. Two hundred feet
distant are the ruins of a much older bridge, carrying us back
to the time of the Numidian kings. An immense slab of giallo-
antico marble lying in an adjoining meadow bears an inscription
relating to Trajan's monumental structures.2 The date of its
erection is A.D. 112, when the Emperor was Consul for the
sixth time, being the same year in which the stately column
was raised in the Forum at Rome in honour of his Dacian
victory.
CAESAR DIVI
VAE F NERVA
AIANVS OPTIMVS
G • GERM • DACIC PONT
X TRjB POT • XVI IMP VI
COS VI P • P
TEM NOVVM A FVNDAMENTIS
ERA MILITVM SVORVM • ET
PECVNIA SVA
ROVINCIAE AFRICAE FECIT
1 C. Tissot, Le Bassin du Bagrada et la Voie Romaine de Carthage a Rlippone
par Bulla Regia. Paris, Imp. Nat. 1881.
2 C. Tissot, ibid.
was a work of great beauty, and was ornamented with colon-
nades, like other well-known examples in Italy and elsewhere.
It is lamentable to add that an inexcusable concession of the
stones in this district, for the purposes of the Tunisian railway
completed some fifteen years ago, was followed by a destruction
of numerous monuments, as well as of a number of inscribed
stones which might have thrown some light on the early history
of this royal city. According to M. Tissot,1 who made careful
investigations of the site in recent years, Bulla Regia appears
to have long preserved its Punico-Libyan character, and coins
discovered here bearing the crescent and the disc indicate the
worship of Baal joined to that of the great goddess of the
Carthaginians, Tanith or Virgo Cselestis.
The Numidian marble referred to by Pliny in his mention
of Thabraka came from the quarries at Simittu (Chemtou), one
day's journey west of Bulla Regia. Trajan's interest in the
town and its beautiful products was marked by the erection
of a colossal bridge over the Medjerda, two arches of which and
the remains of a quay are still standing. Two hundred feet
distant are the ruins of a much older bridge, carrying us back
to the time of the Numidian kings. An immense slab of giallo-
antico marble lying in an adjoining meadow bears an inscription
relating to Trajan's monumental structures.2 The date of its
erection is A.D. 112, when the Emperor was Consul for the
sixth time, being the same year in which the stately column
was raised in the Forum at Rome in honour of his Dacian
victory.
CAESAR DIVI
VAE F NERVA
AIANVS OPTIMVS
G • GERM • DACIC PONT
X TRjB POT • XVI IMP VI
COS VI P • P
TEM NOVVM A FVNDAMENTIS
ERA MILITVM SVORVM • ET
PECVNIA SVA
ROVINCIAE AFRICAE FECIT
1 C. Tissot, Le Bassin du Bagrada et la Voie Romaine de Carthage a Rlippone
par Bulla Regia. Paris, Imp. Nat. 1881.
2 C. Tissot, ibid.