Udna - in the footsteps of the Roman legionaries
Description:
A half-day excursion to Udna is ideal for those who would like to see the ancient Roman city, but are not ready for a long road and a long walk through the ruins. Udna is compact, it can be seen without haste for 1.5-2 hours, while all the interesting distinctive features of the Roman settlement here are perfectly preserved.
The Udna is a smaller but no less valuable jewel in the crown of the ancient Roman heritage of Tunisia. This is the newest archaeological park in the country, opened to the public in 1999. Udna was founded at the beginning of the I century as a place of settlement of veterans of the XIII Double Legion of the Roman Empire. Pliny described the city as the oldest Roman colony in Africa.
The Capitol and the amphitheater are two of the most important sights of Udna. The Capitol is recognized as one of the largest in the Roman province of Africa, its dimensions are 43 × 27 meters. From the site of the capitol there is a magnificent view of the surrounding area - once for this purpose were built as many as two floors of the foundation, a kind of catacombs of the temple. Here you can see the remains of the aqueduct, supplying the city with water, and cisterns for its collection and distribution.
The amphitheatre is the third largest in Tunisia, after Carthage and El Jem, and once held up to 16,000 spectators. The arena and the central gallery are perfectly preserved here, as well as underground chambers, where gladiators and wild animals were kept until the moment of the fight.
Very little has been preserved from the Large Public Therms, but among the interesting finds are the remains of a unique system of warm floors (hypocaust). The Romans certainly knew how to be comfortable.
The most interesting sights of the residential quarter of Udna are the villa and baths of the well-to-do Labery family. Three valuable mosaics were discovered in the villa, now displayed in the Bardo Museum and replaced with copies in Udn. The total area of the house is neither more nor less, 1600 square meters.
And finally, but not least - the Baths of Cupids, interesting mosaics depicting these plump Gods of love, fishing fish, and a public toilet for 9 seats. Here you will learn about the amazing subtleties of sending natural needs according to the version of the ancient Romans.