Dugga is the ruins of an ancient city that has experienced several ancient eras succeeding each other. The city is about 4 hours drive from Hammamet and south-east of Carthage. Historians estimate that Dugga was built before AD by the Berber tribe (Dugga means "pasture" in their language). A few hundred years after its foundation, Dugga became the capital of the Numidian state ruled by Massinis. In the 2nd century BC, the city was captured by the Roman army. After the Romans, the city was under the subjugation of the Byzantine Empire. After the Roman Empire collapsed, the city was invaded by the Vandals, destroying it badly. Therefore, the city was able to avoid restructuring and reached us in an almost unchanged form, unlike major cities such as Carthage and Tunis.
Most of the most prominent buildings were erected between the 2nd century BC and the 3rd century AD. The most famous of these is the theatre (168 BC), which hosts international festivals in the summer. In the ruins of Roman villas mosaics on floors and walls have been preserved, in gardens and courtyards the bases of fountains remain. The columns of the temples of Saturn, Juno Celeste (goddess Tanit in Punic mythology) and Juno Celeste (goddess Tanit in Punic mythology) have been preserved from Roman rule. Not far from the temple of Saturn is the Capitol. There are two more temples on it - of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology) and the goddess Minerva. There used to be a statue of Jupiter on this site, but it has barely survived to this day, apart from the foundation stones.
Although not all of Dugia has been excavated, the site is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
