An Archaeological Study Tour

Tunisia
May 14 – 30, 2009
Led by Professor Pedar W. Foss


Tunisia is a land with a rich cultural heritage. From the earliest Phoenician colonists to the arrival of Islam, Tunisia has continually absorbed a diverse succession of “foreign” cultures onto its native Berber population. According to Roman legend, the Phoenicians were the first colonists to arrive in Tunisia, founding the city of Carthage in 814 BC. Carthage became one of the leading cities in North Africa and soon came into conflict with Rome over control of the western Mediterranean. The two powers fought three wars (the Punic Wars), which ended in the destruction of Carthage and her absorption into the Roman province of Africa. The city of Carthage was refounded as a Roman colony sometime in the late second or early first century BC. The first Roman emperor, Augustus, rebuilt the city, which quickly regained her lost prestige and power. Carthage grew into one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean, and the Roman province of Africa became a major supplier of food and luxury items to the city of Rome and the empire as a whole. With the Vandalic occupation in AD 439 and the Byzantine reconquest in AD 533, the stature of Carthage and the province fell considerably. The last major conquest by outside forces came just before AD 700, when Carthage fell to the Arabs, who moved their center to what is now Tunis, and thus began the era of Islam.

This study tour will visit the major archaeological and historical sites in Tunisia. Comfortably based in Tunis for four days, we will have time to explore the northeastern part of the country, including a full day at the vast site of ancient Carthage. The tour will then head west, where we will spend two nights in an ex-colonial hill resort surrounded by pine and cork forests while we visit the Roman city of Dougga and the unique underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia. Traveling south, we enter the more remote areas, including the fascinating town of Tataouine and Matmata’s , uniques for its underground houses. We will end our adventure exploring the ancient cities along the coast and Kairouan, an Islamic pilgrimage center renowned for its magnificent Great Mosque and bustling medina.

Thursday, Friday, May 14 & 15: TUNIS: Depart New York in the evening on Air France. Midday arrival in Tunis and transfer to the newly renovated Tunisia Palace Hotel. Friday evening Professor Foss will meet with the group for an orientation lecture and dinner.
Meals: Dinner

Saturday, May 16: TUNIS: The entire day will be spent at the site of Carthage, where Professor Foss has excavated. Touring begins on the Byrsa Hill with its museum and Punic houses. The day continues with the Tophet (Punic burial ground), the  ancient harbors and ship sheds, and the Punic fortifications in the “Quartier Magon.” Time permitting, we will also visit the American military cemetery for North Africa, which is just outside the site.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Sunday, May 17: TUNIS: Touring of Carthage continues today with the Roman and Early Christian Museum at Dermech, the Antonie Baths, Roman villas, theater, odeon, amphitheater and the early Christian pilgrimage church at Damous el Karita. We then drive to the picturesque 17th-century village of Sidi Bou Said, located on a promontory overlooking Carthage. We will visit the small museum dedicated to traditional musical instruments.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Monday, May 18: TUNIS: Today we drive south of Tunis to the well-preserved Roman town of Thuburbo Majus. Here we see the forum as well as peristyle houses with well-preserved mosaics. We will continue to Zaghouan, with its monumental nymphaeum at the source of the 90-km aqueduct that supplied Carthage with water. We will follow the aqueduct, stopping briefly at the site of Oudna/Uthina, to its Carthage terminus in the massive cistern complex at Le Malgra. This evening we will attend a typical dinner show in the medina.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, Wednesday, May 19 & 20: TUNIS: Touring begins at the Bardo Museum, containing the most important antiquities from the entire country. Noteworthy are the spectacular Roman mosaics, Punic stelae and jewelry. Returning to Tunis, we explore the colorful medina and souks. Wednesday we will visit the Punic town of Kerkouane and the ancient quarries at El Haouaria.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Thursday, May 21: AIN DRAHAM: Returning to the countryside and passing through Testour, an Andalusian town, we stop briefly at the Byzantine fortress of Ain Tounga and then spend the day at the magnificent hilltop site of Dougga, which flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The glory of Imperial Rome is evoked by its temples, baths, theater, roads and arches. Our drive continues through the pine and cork forests to a typical mountain hunting lodge, Hotel La Forêt, for the night.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, May 22: AIN DRAHAM: Today’s tour highlights the Numidians, local tribes allied to (or in conflict with) Carthage and Rome from the 4th to 1st centuries BC. At Bulla Regia we explore baths, the forum, a theater and temples, as well as three underground villas housing beautiful mosaic-tiled floors. At Chemtou we visit the tombs of the Numidian kings and a superb museum. Nearby are quarries from which the Romans extracted the yellow marble used throughout the Mediterranean.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, May 23: GAFSA: We drive to Makhtar, where in the semidesert terrain we find the remains of an imperial outpost with a splendid triumphal arch erected by Trajan, as well as prehistoric dolmen tombs. Continuing to Sbeitla (Sufetula), the gleaming triple temple complex overlooking the Roman forum provides a backdrop to one of the largest Roman sites in Tunisia, as well as important early Christian basilicas. Lastly, we inspect a Roman tower-mausoleum at Kasserine (Cillium), which carries the longest poetic epitaph in the Roman world, and overnight at the Gafsa Palace Hotel in the oasis of Gafsa.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sunday, May 24: TATOUINE: After a brief visit to the Roman pools and museum at Gafsa, we drive south via Gabes and stop at Matmata to visit the famous Berber troglodyte houses. In the afternoon we continue to the ancient city of Gightis. Sangho Hotel. 
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, May 25: TATOUINE: Today’s touring takes us into the desert, stopping first at Tatouine’s lively Monday market. The remainder of the day is spent visiting the fortified granaries and villages in the region, including Ksar Ouled Soltane, one of the best-preserved ksour in Tunisia.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, May 26: SOUSSE: After visiting the Dar Jallouli Museum and having lunch in Sfax, we return to Imperial Rome with our next stop at El Jem (Thysdrus) to view the splendid amphitheater, which could hold 30,000 people. Though smaller than the Coliseum in Rome, it is in a better state of preservation. We will reach our deluxe hotel, Mercure Diar El Andalous, set amid lovely gardens and a sandy beach, in time for dinner.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Wednesday, May 27: SOUSSE: A short drive takes us to Kairouan, once the Muslem capital of North Africa and still a repository of Islamic culture. We will visit the 9th-century Sidi Okba Mosque, with its columned prayer room, and the Mosque of the Berber, whose decorative tiling and carved ceilings rival those of the Alhambra. After a stop at the colorful souks of Kairouan, we return to Sousse. 
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Thursday, May 28: TUNIS: The full morning will be at leisure. After lunch on our own, we will visit the medina and citadel in the old walled city of Sousse as well as the museum, rich in unique mosaics and sculptures. We then return to Tunis and the Tunisia Palace Hotel. 
Meals: Breakfast

Friday, Saturday, May 29 & 30: TUNIS: Touring ends with a visit to the Punic settlement of Utica and its small museum. The afternoon will be at leisure to finish our shopping or wander in the souk. We will have our gala final dinner at Dar Essaraya, a restored traditional house. Saturday we transfer to the Tunis airport and our Air France flight to New York.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner