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Other religious buildings  In the eastern sections of the town, lies a church built on the grounds of a former temple. Usually disregarded by historians and guides it is still worth a stop, mainly because of the unusual fresh blue colour of its columns. The church is not huge, but has an apse and baptismal fountain, resembling what is found at Sbeïtla (it is shown on the intro page to Thuburbo Majus).  Very little remains of the Temple of Caelestis, originally the Carthaginian goddess Tanit, except the gate and a Punic column. The temple had originally a U-shape, but little can be seen of this now through the grass. According to Roman accounts, this was a place where children were sacrificed from time to time (see the Tophet at Carthage). The Sanctuary of Baalat (a Punic goddess, not to be confused with Baal), is really small, but the platform, the flight of steps and two columns have survived into our times. There are more temples around Thuburbo Majus, than the three depicted here, some even of greater importance in its days. The Temple of Saturn, next to the southeastern triumphal arch has a nice setting, but very little is to be seen at the spot.The same goes for the Temple of Peace, off the Forum.There was a temple dedicated to the healing god, Aesculapius, in the eastern corner of the Palaestra of Petronii. This place has been taken over by vegetation.If you want to see every known site of a temple, there is one more along the road towards the western triumphal arch. This is dedicated to Ceres. It was quite large, with a courtyard of 30 times 30 metres. At a later stage it was transformed into a church.
 © Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved By: Tore Kjeilen. |
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