EL JEM (Thysdrus)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History & Occupation:

Thysdrus grew under Roman domination on the remains of an earlier Punic settlement and by the third century was extremely affluent and powerful as is evidenced by both the large number of high quality mosaics disovered in the locale and by the massive and impressive Second and Third century entertainment venues. Sadly, Thysdrus, for all its power, fell foul of the Emperor Maximinus Thrax for its support over the unfortunate Gordian and Thrax destroyed the city. Fromt that point on, Thysdrus fades from the history books.

Remains and Visit:

El Jem is famous for one thing: it's amphitheatre. They call it Africa's colosseum, and it deserves the title, for this massive 3rd century structure is equally impressive. What the books don't often mention is that this was the third amphitheatre the city had. The second, with the remains of the first beneath it, lies not far from the Colosseum, across the railway tracks. Unfortunately, like so much of El Jem, this is neglected, dirty and full of rubbish. Still, it is worth a visit (more so than the circus, which survives on the edge of town only as a vague shape.) Various areas of excavated villas lie among the backstreets, sealed off with wire fences, full of litter and overgrown. Indeed, apart from the great amphitheatre, the only part of Thysdrus that seems to be looked after at all is the excavated area that forms part of the grounds of the archaeological museum, including a reconstructed villa, with mosaic floors in situ, and many astounding mosaics preserved in the museum's rooms. In short, El Jem is worth a visit for the great 'colosseum' and the museum. Only a real die hard (like myself) would consider it worthwhile visiting the outskirts to find the many other ruins, as it will leave you feeling sad at the neglect.

Images:

Amphitheatre	Amphitheatre	Amphitheatre	Amphitheatre	Amphitheatre Tunnels
Amphitheatre	Early Amphitheatre	Early Amphitheatre	Villa	Museum excavations
Reconstructed Villa	Mosaic	Mosaic	Mosaic	Mosaic