Simitthus / Chemtou

Situated at 20 km away from Djendouba, the site lies in the north-west of Tunisia. It is renowned for its important marble-quarries yielding a material whose colours range from uniform yellow-orange, white-cream and a gamut of breccia. Much prized by the Romans, extracted from quarries owned by the Emperor, this marmor numidicum ornamented various monuments and travelled across the Empire. Simitthus was then a kind of " industrial " city with one part reserved for the quarrymen. However, like other Roman cities, Simitthus possessed the usual leisure monuments so typical of important cities, such as : the thermes, the theatre, the amphitheatre, the forum, the basilica, the aqueduct and the water equipments. So many structures whose remains are still visible and often in good repair ; besides, the site has a Numidian stratum noticeable under the Roman forum. In addition, dating from the pre-Roman period - the second century B.C. -, and crowning one of the three hills which dominate the city, is a sanctuary with architectural elements very much indicative of the greatness of the site during the Numidian epoch.
Apart from all these monuments, Chemtou site has yielded many artefacts now shown on the spot, subtly integrated into the vestiges near a beautiful section of the Roman road...!!