Le chevalier C. Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus : sa carrière et son retour à Simitthus accompagné de sa famille

Latin epitaph recently discovered in Sidi Assem in the hinterland of colonia Simitthus reveals the name and the equestrian career of C. Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus. The onomastic approach makes it possible to know his two sons attested for a long time in this city. The onomastic sequence of the first (?) Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus brought up among the Costoboques (CIL VIII, 14667) was made possible through the epitaph of the father. The second, C. Sallustius Forensis Dignianus, bears the agnomen Costobius (CIL VIII, 25679). The most important contribution of this new epitaph is nevertheless elsewhere. Thanks to his career, we know that he had moved to Lower Moesia as a tribune of the prima legio italica based in Nouae and not as an employee in the marble quarries as assumed by the polish scholar J. Kolendo in 1978. This new datum, which I situate chronologically at the end of the reign of Trajan and the reign of Hadrian, is capable of changing our perception of the Costoboci who were only seen through the filter of Greco-Latin authors giving an image of hostiles and repellents. The date 170-171 AD, commonly accepted by all historians as being the first entry of the Costoboci in history can therefore only be appropriate at the beginning of the great hostilities against Rome. After a long journey of three stages, C. Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus returned to his hometown Simitthus with his family to end his life there and have his final resting place.Une épitaphe latine récemment découverte à Sidi Assem dans l’arrière-pays de la colonia Simitthus révèle le nom et la carrière équestre de C. Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus. L’approche onomastique permet de connaître ses deux fils attestés de longue date dans cette ville. La séquence onomastique du premier ( ?) Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus élevé chez les Costoboques (CIL VIII, 14667) a été rendue possible à travers l’épitaphe du père. Le second, C. Sallustius Forensis Dignianus, porte l’agnomen Costobius (CIL VIII, 25679). L’apport le plus important de cette nouvelle épitaphe est néanmoins ailleurs. Grâce à son cursus, nous savons qu’il s’était déplacé jusqu’en Mésie inférieure en tant que tribun de la prima legio italica basée à Nouae en Mésie inférieure et non comme employé dans les carrières de marbre comme le supposait le savant polonais J. Kolendo en 1978. Cette nouvelle donnée, que je situe chronologiquement vers la fin du règne de Trajan et le règne d’Hadrien, est à même de changer notre perception des Costoboques qui n’étaient vus qu’à travers le filtre des auteurs gréco-latins donnant une image d’hostiles et de répulsifs. La date 170-171 ap. J.-C, communément admise par tous les historiens comme étant la première entrée des Costoboques dans l’histoire ne peut convenir donc qu’au début des grandes hostilités contre Rome. Après un long périple de trois étapes,  C. Sallustius Forensis Sextilianus a regagné sa ville natale Simitthus en compagnie de sa famille pour y finir sa vie et y avoir sa dernière demeure

Urban transformation in the Central Medjerda Valley (north-west Tunisia) in late antiquity and the middle ages: a regional approach

ecent scholarship on North African cities has done much to dispel earlier assumptions about late antique collapse and demonstrate significant continuity into the Byzantine and medieval periods. Yet urban changes did not affect North Africa evenly. Far less is known about the differing regional trajectories that shaped urban transformation and the extent to which pre-Roman and Roman micro-regions continued to share meaningful characteristics in subsequent periods. This article provides a preliminary exploration of regional change from the fourth to the eleventh century focused on a zone in the Central Medjerda Valley (Tunisia) containing the well-known sites of Bulla Regia and Chimtou. We place these towns in their wider historical and geographical setting and interrogate urban change by looking at investment in public buildings and spaces, religious buildings and housing, and ceramic networks. The process of comparison identifies new commonalities (and differences) between the sites of this stretch of the Medjerda River and provides a framework for understanding the many transformations of North African cities over the long late antiquity

Simitthus / Chimtou, Tunesien. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2016 bis 2018

The ancient town of Simitthus (today Chimtou, Tunisia), known for its important quarries of yellow Numidian marble (giallo antico), has been the object of archaeological research conducted jointly by the Tunisian National Heritage Institute and the German Archaeological Institute in Rome since 1965. This report presents a short overview on the activities at Chimtou in 2016–2018, which were primarily dedicated to publishing the results of the excavations conducted in the 1980s accompanied by measures of capacity building and site management

Isotopic evidence for human mobility in late antique Bulla Regia (Tunisia)

This paper represents the first isotopic study on late antique human mobility in North Africa, using the urban site of Bulla Regia in Tunisia as a case study. We also present the first values for bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in northern Tunisia, analysing 63 plant and snail samples, as well as a simple method for the pre-processing of plants in the field to facilitate their export. Bulla Regia was a prominent Roman and late antique town situated on an important axis of transport and communication in North Africa and is therefore an ideal site to explore mobility in the region during this time period. Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OCarb) isotopic analysis of 22 late antique individuals from a Christian church and cemetery identified at least seven or eight non-locals, while comparative analysis of five Roman individuals from a funerary enclosure on the same site classified all but one of them as potential locals. Most non-local individuals exhibit 87Sr/86Sr values that match various areas of northern Tunisia, which supports regional mobility rather than long-distance migration, although when combined with the oxygen results, inter-regional mobility from an area with a warmer climate may be hypothesised for some individuals. Examination of the spatial distribution of non-local individuals in their cemetery setting reveals that they were privileged individuals, thus they may reflect the mobility of wealthier town-dwellers in late antiquity, particularly perhaps along the Carthage-Hippo route

Bulla Regia II : Excavations in the Christian cemetery

This paper reports the preliminary results from three seasons of excavations in the Christian cemetery by the Tunisian-British Bulla Regia Archaeological Project. In 2017-2019, excavations in, and around, the Late Antique church in the western cemetery uncovered a complex funerary landscape with a variety of different tomb types, including mosaic caisson tombs, simple masonry tombs, amphora tombs, and earthen graves and multiple funerary mensae. The mosaics, inscriptions and finds (ceramics, glass, coins) studied in 2022 support a fourth to seventh century date for the main period of use of the cemetery

La Missione Archeologica Tuniso-Italiana a Numluli: l’attività di ricerca del 2022

The first excavation campaign of the Tunisian-Italian INP-Uniss Archaeological Mission in Numluli has just ended and we already want to illustrate preliminarily here the research activity carried out last September in the site of the municipium. The excavation areas opened in the forum in front of the Capitolium and in an early Christian basilica on the western edge of the settlement have given remarkable results of which we are proposing here a first synthetic examination, together with the study of the inscriptions of the Roman town which is the other important line of the research.Si è da poco conclusa la prima campagna di scavo della Missione Archeologica Tuniso-Italiana INP-Uniss a Numluli e si vuole già illustrare qui preliminarmente l’attività di ricerca svolta nello scorso mese di settembre nel sito del municipium. Le aree di scavo aperte nella piazza del foro di fronte al Capitolium e in una basilica paleocristiana ai margini occidentali dell’abitato hanno dato notevoli risultati dei quali viene qui proposto un primo sintetico esame, insieme allo studio delle iscrizioni della città romana che costituisce l’altro importante filone della ricerca

Les nundinae dans les grands domaines en Afrique du Nord à l'époque romaine

Chaouali Moheddine. Les nundinae dans les grands domaines en Afrique du Nord à l'époque romaine. In: Antiquités africaines, 38-39,2002. pp. 375-386

Le culte de Mars Auguste à Mustis et Simitthus (Tunisie)

Je propose ici l’édition de deux dédicaces inédites au dieu Mars Auguste en Afrique proconsulaire (Tunisie). La première datant du règne de Trajan ou d’Hadrien a été découverte à Mustis. Elle fait connaitre le nom complet d’un flamen perpetuus et s’ajoute au déjà riche panthéon de la ville. La seconde datant du règne de Septime Sévère a été découverte à Fej Hsine dans l’arrière-pays de Simitthus. Son apport est considérable quant à la titulature impériale, les martelages, les curies municipales et leurs activités évergétiques. L’attestation de la divinité guerrière Mars Auguste dans cette colonie julienne était liée à une assez forte présence militaire dont la mission était d’assurer la police dans les fameuses carrières de marbre numidique.Two unpublished dedications to the god Mars Augustus in Africa Proconsularis (Tunisia) are here examined. The first one was from the reign of Trajan or Hadrian which was discovered in Mustis. It shows the full name of a flamen perpetuus and is added to the already rich pantheon of the city. The second one a dedication from the reign of Septimius Severus was discovered in Fej Hsine in the hinterland of Simitthus. It concerns the imperial titulature, the hammerings, the municipal curies and their evergetism activities. The attestation of the god of war Mars Augustus in this Julian colony was linked to a rather strong military presence whose mission was to ensure the police in the famous marble quarries

Cornelia Fortunata, flaminique du culte impérial à Mustis (Tunisie)

The analysis of an unpublished epigraphic document discovered on the archaeological site of Mustis helps to highlight the existence of a Julio-Claudian empress’ cult and the loyalty and gratitude of the Mustitans to the same dynasty.L’analyse d’un document épigraphique inédit découvert sur le site archéologique de Mustis a permis de mettre en exergue l’existence d’un culte, assuré par une flaminique, d’une impératrice de la dynastie julio-claudienne attestant du loyalisme et de la gratitude des Mustitains envers cette même dynastie.Chaouali Moheddine. Cornelia Fortunata, flaminique du culte impérial à Mustis (Tunisie). In: Antiquités africaines, 51,2015. pp. 213-218

Deux hommages en l’honneur de deux chevaliers en Afrique Proconsulaire : Caecilius Secundus et L. Sempronius Ianuarius

Deux inscriptions latines récemment découvertes en Tunisie font connaître deux chevaliers. La première, totalement inédite, de Bisica Lucana, se rapporte à Caecilius Secundus qui a fait une carrière militaire sans avoir suivi un parcours complet. La deuxième – ayant déjà fait l’objet d’une étude succincte – se rapporte à L. Sempronius Ianuarius qui a été procurateur de la ratio patrimonii en Afrique Proconsulaire. J’écarterai ainsi l’une des hypothèses déjà avancées selon laquelle il serait procurateur ducénaire à Rome.Two Latin inscriptions recently discovered in Tunisia pertain to two equestrian officers. The first, totally unpublished from Bisica Lucana, refers to Caecilius Secundus who had an abbreviated military career commending just one unit. The second – having already been the subject of a brief study – relates to L. Sempronius Ianuarius who was procurator of the ratio patrimonii in Africa Proconsularis. I thus reject previous according to which he was ducenarian procurator in Rome.تكشف نقيشتان لاتينيتان تم اكتشافهما مؤخرا بتونس عن أسماء لفارسان جــدد أما النقيشة الأولى غير المنشورة والمكتشفة ببيزيكا لوكانا فهي تتعلق بكــايكلوس سكوندوس الذي كان لديه مهمة عسكرية فقط دون أتباعه المسار العادي للفرسان. أمـا النقيشة الثانية, بعد أن كانت موضوع دراسة موجزة, فهي تتعلق بلوكيوس سامبرونيوس بانواريوس الذي كان وكيلا مكلفا بالإرث في إفريقيا البروقنصلية. سأتراجع بالتالي عن احدى الفرضيات التي قدمتها سابقا التي مفادها انه كان وكيلا للإمبراطور بروما