Fifty kilometres from the city of Tunis and very close to Hammamet (in the Yasmine Hammamet area) there is a former Roman settlement dating back to the 2-3th centuries AD. Now this ancient city is located in the archaeological zone Sidi Djedidi and is open for visits.
This city was very developed. On its territory archaeologists found Roman villas with colourful mosaics, which at that time was available only to the nobility, thermae and other stone buildings. Also excavated was an ancient Roman road that ran from Carthage itself. According to these buildings can be judged that through the settlement was a trade route from Hammamet, or this city itself was a major trading place.
Historians, studying even more ancient surviving foundations, suggest that on the site of this city was once a Phoenician settlement, founded in the I century AD. When this territory was captured by Roman troops, the Phoenician houses were gradually rebuilt and stone houses were built in their place, which have survived to this day. The Romans built a temple and even a small amphitheatre in this settlement. In the 14th century, all the buildings were looted and then destroyed by Catalan pirates. Since then the town has been practically deserted and no buildings have been rebuilt.
Next to the remains of buildings in the Sidi Djedidi area there are burials from the 2-3th centuries AD. History buffs will surely be interested in the ancient tombs, as well as the catacombs, some of which have survived to this day almost intact.
In the archaeological area you can walk through the ruins of ancient streets, looking at the remains of Roman villas, walls and columns decorated with mosaics.
