Dougga - Rediscovery and Future of The Site

Rediscovery and Future of The Site

The city appears to have experienced an early decline, as evidenced by the relatively poor remains from the Christian era. The Byzantine era saw the area around the forum transformed into a fort; several important buildings were destroyed in order to provide the necessary materials for its construction. Dougga was however never completely abandoned, and for a long time, it was the site of a village populated by the descendents of the city’s former inhabitants, as is evidenced by the small mosque situated in the Temple of August Piety and the small bath dating to the Aghlabid period on the southern flank of the forum.

The first Western visitors to have left eyewitness accounts of the ruins reached the site in the 17th century. This trend continued in the 18th century and at the start of the 19th century. The best-preserved monuments, including the mausoleum, were described and, at the end of this period, were the object of architectural studies.

The establishment of the French Protectorate in Tunisia in 1881 led to the creation of a national antiquities institute (Institut national du patrimoine), for which the excavation of the site at Dougga was a priority from 1901, parallel to the works carried out at Carthage. The works at Dougga concentrated at first on the area around the forum; other discoveries ensured that there was an almost constant series of digs ar the site until 1939. Alongside these excavations, work was conducted to restore the capitol, of which only the front and the base of the wall of the cella were still standing, and in particular between 1908 and 1910 to restore the mausoleum.

After independence, other buildings were excavated, including the Temple of Caracalla’s victory in Germany. During the same period, the last inhabitants of the site were evicted and relocated to a village located on the plain several kilometres from the antique site, which is named New Dougga. In 1991, the decision was taken to make the site into a national archaeological park. A cooperative scientific programme aims in particular to promote the study of the inscriptions at the site and the pagan temples. In 1997, Dougga was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Despite its importance and its exceptional state, Dougga remains off the beaten track for many tourists (the site receives around 50000 visitors per year). In order to make it more attractive, the construction of an on-site museum is being considered, while the Institut national du patrimoine has established a website presenting the site and the surrounding region. For the time being, visitors with sufficient time can appreciate Dougga, not only because of its many ruins, but also for its olive groves, which give the site a unique ambiance.