Hippo Diarrhytus (Bizerte)
Hippo Diarrhytus · Hippo Zarytus · Hippo Acra · Bizerte
Phoenician to Late Antique (8th c. BCE–7th c. CE)·Phoenician / Numidian / Roman·🇹🇳 Bizerte Governorate, Bizerte lagoon, old fishing port and Henchir Chaara, Tunisia
About
About Hippo Diarrhytus (Bizerte)
Phoenician foundation (Hippo Acra) on islet in Bizerte channel, later Roman colonia. No monumental remains visible — harbour silted and built over — but sondages under Kasbah revealed Punic amphora and opus signinum. Ancient Port catalogue suggests present fishing port overlies Phoenician cothon; lagoon quay at Henchir Chaara (Lake Bizerte south) possible double harbour. Strategic narrows controlling Hippo–Utica route. Texts by Diodorus and Dio.
Why it mattersPhoenician stratiographic window under living city; double harbour hypothesis with Lake Bizerte.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Harbour mole location — fishing port vs lagoon
- 02Punic stratum depth
Theories
- 01Coldstream Phoenician network model
- 02Lafenestre harbour reuse
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Phoenician 8th c. BCE (Hippo Acra); Roman colonia under Caesar/Augustus
- Period
- Phoenician to Late Antique (8th c. BCE–7th c. CE)
- Culture
- Phoenician / Numidian / Roman
- Builders
- Phoenician
- Purpose
- Straits port controlling Lake Bizerte–Mediterranean channel
- Excavation
- Unexcavated
8th c. BCE
Phoenician emporion
46 BCE
Caesarian colonia
193 CE
Septimius harbour works
On the ground
Structures & features
37.2744° N · 9.8739° E · 8 m · 2 mapped features
Fishing Port Cothon (inferred)
harbour80×60 m presumed Punic cothon under present fishing harbour
37.2755° N · 9.8745° EHenchir Chaara Lagoon Quay
quayCut-stone quay fragment on Lake Bizerte south shore
37.1910° N · 9.8420° E
Gallery