The Sanctuary of Thinissut is an archaeological site in Tunisia, first excavated in the early 20th century. It is in the present-day locality of Bir Bouregba in the Cap Bon region, about five kilometers from the town of Hammamet and sixty kilometers southeast of the capital, Tunis.
Although the excavated site is primarily dated to the early Imperial period, it is considered characteristic of Punic places of worship. The site demonstrates continuity in worship sites up to the Roman era, including the late period, and illustrates the syncretic religious movement at work. It was originally dedicated to the worship of Ba'al Hammon and his consort Tanit. However, the later honored deities include Saturn, Caelestis, Ceres, and other Hellenistic deities.
The uncovered building is a highly complex structure used for a considerable period, from the Punic era to Late antiquity. As a result, the site presents itself as an extra-urban sanctuary with a succession of courtyards and porticoes. This characteristic presents a significant challenge to the interpretation of the site, with one of the most challenging tasks being to interpret the site's history and its successive developments. The site has significantly contributed to the debate on the original characteristics of North African and Semitic worship places.
The excavations yielded a remarkable collection of terracotta statues, now housed in the Bardo National Museum and the Nabeul Museum. The pieces found in scattered fragments have mostly been restored and testify to the art of coroplathes. The collection of discovered terracottas is unparalleled in the Phoenician-Punic sphere in the 21st century.
In the early 20th century the military conducted excavations, and the site appears to have been destroyed, as noted by the Director of Antiquities of Tunisia as early as 1960. However, the details recorded during the early excavations, which were highly exceptional at the time, allow for a reexamination of the site in light of recent analyses and new research directions.
Location The site is about sixty kilometers southeast of Tunis, two kilometers northeast of Bir Bouregba, and one kilometer northeast of Siagu. The archaeological site overlooks the Oued Faouara by twenty to thirty meters on its left bank, on a hillock.
The site overlooks the Gulf of Hammamet, and the establishment of a sanctuary here is likely linked to the exceptional landscape.
History
Ancient history The site of Bir Bouregba was occupied by the Punic city of Tanesmat, also known as Tnsmt in the Phoenician language and Thinissut in Latin, which was founded in the 5th century BC. The city was governed by two shophets, a well-established feature in Punic institutions, including those of Carthage. There is still a debate about the accurate location of the city, especially since there was another ancient city named Siagu less than two kilometers away. The Roman presence on the site is attested from the early 1st century, although it was a peregrine city and the details of municipal life are difficult to ascertain without a precise location.The Sanctuary of Thinissut is an extra-urban sanctuary dedicated to Ba'al Hammon and Tanit. The type of extra-urban sanctuary marked a boundary. Although primarily dated to the early Roman Empire, it is considered by Serge Lancel and Edward Lipinski to be "one of the most representative examples of Punic religion."
It was used for an extended period, as evidenced by the discovery of coins from the 2nd and 4th centuries. It underwent expansion and transformation over its long history. No evidence of a cult before that of Ba'al and Tanit was uncovered during the excavations.
The initial architectural design, comprising a vast courtyard with porticoes and a shrine, is believed to have been constructed before the fall of Carthage in 146 BC. In the mid-2nd century BC, a renovation project, commemorated by a notable Punic inscription, resulted in the reduction of the courtyard's area and the construction of two shrines.
The Punic sanctuary underwent significant remodeling between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, with the expansion of existing structures and the integration of new deities into the local pantheon. The site's elements underwent substantial remodeling, particularly the two shrines, with one intended to house statues and the other, the smaller one, becoming an altar. The addition of two rooms allowed for the isolation of the sacred heart of the Punic sanctuary, the most sacred space, which then contained the cellae of the Roman arrangement.
Worshippers offered the sanctuary steles, altars, or statues according to their social status. The construction was offered by the entire community according to the Neo-Punic dedication found. The main center of cult life was the courtyard, which also contained the earliest statues. The site's arrangement and the statues' placement during the Punic period, when the two shrines were built, remains uncertain. One hypothesis suggests that the site was globally arranged in one phase, while another proposes that the statues were placed progressively according to the generosity of the worshippers.
A small room was added later, and in the final phase, a cistern dedicated to Saturn was installed on the site in the 2nd century by L. Pompeius Honoratus, inscribed in the Carthaginian tribe.Inscription AE 1908, 00161 archive = ILAfr 00309 = ILPBardo 00192 = D 09291 = Saturne-01, p 99 = LBIRNA 00366 = AE 1911, +00084.
The site continued to be used as a place of worship until the full Christian era, as evidenced by the discovery of a coin of Justinian next to the heart of the sanctuary and the presence of Christian oil lamps.
Rediscovery and excavations In 1908, Captain Cassaigne excavated the site after the fortuitous discovery of Roman lamps and ceramics, which suggested the presence of an ancient site in a mountainous region northeast of Bir Bouregba.
The subsequent excavations uncovered a Neo-Punic inscription mentioning the institution of shophets and Libyan elements. Additionally, three Latin inscriptions were uncovered, one from the 2nd century, which pertained to the dedication of a cistern to Saturn. In his report, Captain Cassaigne meticulously recorded the locations of the discovered terracotta statues, a practice that diverged from the more summary approach commonly employed in early 20th-century excavations.
The items were promptly transported to the Bardo Museum, where they were later exhibited. This museum, in turn, showcased "thirteen of the most intriguing terracotta statues", as Alfred Merlin noted in his 1910 work. The Punic inscription was initially placed in the Bardo Museum but subsequently transferred to the Nabeul Museum.
No researcher has returned to the site since, with the Director of Antiquities of Tunisia stating as early as 1960 that field research was futile. Attempts to find the remains of the cult complex and the city have failed.
Description of the sanctuary
Spaces excavated by the archaeologist
The sanctuary's layout is derived from the field notes taken by Captain Cassaigne, who identified seven spaces in the last state of the site and used a numbering system for convenience, as cited in the most recent works and due to the lack of new excavations.
The first area contained three rooms in a row. The first oneThe numbering of the rooms follows the publication by . had a white mosaic floor with a scale pattern and was preceded by a terrace with a leontocéphale statue on a pedestal. Other fragmented statues were uncovered, including a female statue standing on a lion with a Latin inscription. The room decor was dated to the end of the 1st century BC. The second room had a pavement of brick concrete and yielded two sphinxes. Alexandre Lézine considered the first two rooms would be the "last phase of the building's construction". The third room is considered to be of a later date by Merlin and yielded materials for a closed space, including a two-spouted lamp and a suspension element, along with Punic coins.
Space No. 4 on the floor plan, the "core of the sanctuary", was a large courtyard paved with brick and equipped with a portico, possibly vaulted in the Roman period. It had a compartment with sacrificial remains in its northwest corner. Two shrines of unequal preservation were noted. The first had steps, Roman oil lamps, and fragmented leontocéphale statues discovered nearby. The second, larger shrine was divided into two unequal spaces. The larger space contained the statue of Ba'al Hammon on his throne, a female statue wearing a polos, a larger sphinx, and an inscription naming a certain L. Pompeius Honoratus. According to Hédi Dridi and Meriem Sebaï, the second space of this aedicula was dedicated to statuettes and cult objects. Outside, low walls were subsequently constructed, where a nursing female statue was discovered. This statue, dated by Lorenza Bullo to the late 3rd century BC, suggests continued cult use during the Roman period, as evidenced by the presence of Roman oil lamps discovered nearby. A very fragmentary standing Athena was found on a pedestal, as well as a significant Punic inscription. A fragmented seated female statue was found south of this shrine. The same courtyard yielded the remains of at least two other leontocéphale female statues. Sacrifices and associated rites took place in this space, including the deposition of animal bones, the use of lamps on the altar, and the use of water from a nearby cistern.
A later cistern, as identified by Merlin, was situated to the south of this extensive courtyard (No. 6 on his floor plan). During the process of clearing the collapsed vault, he discovered Roman ceramics, Christian-themed oil lamps, and inscription fragments. The high-quality construction, as observed by Dridi and Sebaï, suggests a late build.
Similarly, Courtyard No. 5 also had porticos, although the remains of these are less impressive. A ruined shrine occupied the middle of the courtyard, the portico gallery was approximately two meters wide, and the pillars were placed three meters apart. The space was initially united with Courtyard No. 4. The entrance corridor on the southern part of the courtyard yielded votive stelae. The materials found were sparse, although a coin dated to the reign of Justinian provides some dating elements. No statues were found here. The space was used as a depository for stelae during the Roman period.
Enclosure No. 7, measuring approximately 14 meters by 8.20 meters, yielded the base of a statue placed in an outdoor setting. Additionally, the enclosure contained approximately thirty votive stelae with inscriptions in Punic, Neo-Punic, and Latin, which were dated by paleographers to a period between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. It is believed that this space was added to the cult complex no later than the end of the 1st century BC. Lipinski and Lancel consider this space to be a "field of sacrificial urns", a view shared by Cecilia Rossignoli, who believes it was used to bury sacrificial remains. However, Dridi and Sebaï challenge this interpretation, proposing that it was instead a favissa or a room dedicated to a cult. A statue base was discovered in this place.
Additionally, various objects, including fragments of stelae and ceramics, were found outside the stricto sensu sanctuary. A deposit of sacrificial urns was discovered in Room No. 1. These urns, aligned in a row, contained the ashes of small animals.
Confusion due to prolonged use
The sanctuary's confusing layout is the result of changes made "over several centuries."