Uthina (Oudhna)
Uthina · Oudhna · Uthena · Colonia Iulia Aurelia Uthina
Numidian to Early Islamic (2nd c BCE–9th c CE; peak 2nd–4th c)·Numidian / Roman / Byzantine / Early Islamic·🇹🇳 Ben Arous Governorate, Tunisia
About
About Uthina (Oudhna)
Veteran colony of Augustus for Legio XIII, Uthina (Oudhna) 90 ha 30 km south of Tunis preserves Tunisia's second-largest amphitheatre (half-buried 113×90 m, 16,000 seats rival El Jem model), 1.5 km aqueduct from Zaghouan, Capitol (2nd c tetrastyle), twin forums, Licinian Baths (3,500 m² hypocaust still soot-black), and 7 Byzantine churches. Hadrian promoted to colonia. Park opened 2015 as Tunisia's largest archaeological park with reconstructed seating. Cisterns like Uthina supply show Roman hydraulic mastery bypassed by Arab dam downstream. Sheep plain now, city visible from Tunis highway.
Why it mattersSecond-largest Tunisian amphitheatre and exemplary veteran colonia illustrating Augustan settlement policy south of Carthage.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Hadrian rebuilt Capitol so monumentally for modest city
- 02Aqueduct source sharing with Carthage Zaghouan line
Theories
- 01Veteran land-lot model 90 ha centuriation (Carton)
- 02Amphitheatre rock-cut method as Punic quarry reuse (Ben Hassen)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Numidian hill; colonia Iulia for veterans after 27 BCE; monumental phase under Hadrian 130s CE
- Period
- Numidian to Early Islamic (2nd c BCE–9th c CE; peak 2nd–4th c)
- Culture
- Numidian / Roman / Byzantine / Early Islamic
- Builders
- Augustan veterans / Hadrianic engineers
- Purpose
- Military veteran settlement fixing veteran loyalty and controlling Medjerda plain approach to Carthage
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Numidian hill; colonia Iulia for veterans after 27 BCE; monumental phase under Hadrian 130s CE
Initial construction
c. 1106 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
36.6092° N · 10.1667° E · 150 m · 3 mapped features
Amphitheatre
amphitheatre113×90 m half rock-cut, 16,000 seats, 50% buried
36.6105° N · 10.1675° ECapitol
templeTetrastyle capitolium with cella
36.6090° N · 10.1660° EAqueduct and Cisterns
aqueductZaghouan-fed line 1.5 km and vaulted reservoirs
36.6085° N · 10.1680° E
Gallery