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Chemtou

El Kef, Tunisia

Chemtou

Barely 16 km separate Chemtou from Bulla Régia. Here as there, we are in the heart of the country numide.
The ancient Simitthu was best known for its yellow and pink marble quarries, the famous gialo numidicum, which was used to decorate all the prestigious buildings (temples, palaces, rich houses, etc.) throughout the ancient Mediterranean area. And the exploitation of this wealth has spawned the emergence then the blossoming of a city whose monuments (villas, judicial basilica, theater, aqueduct, bridge, etc.) remain today, which constitute today the visible part of a heritage whose essential remains to be discovered.
The site consists of two main parts: the quarry, with its industrial facilities, manpower and military garrison, and the city of Simitthu.
The development of the site and a site museum during a vast excavation campaign undertaken as part of the Tunisian-German cooperation have not only highlighted the role played by the "Numidian marble" in the past, but also enlightened the Numidian civilization with the help of discoveries made in situ and which show a degree of material and intellectual progress, of refinement and spiritual elevation little known until then and which are demonstrated with perfect mastery in the museum.
Adjoining the museum, the installations of an early twentieth century marble factory have been preserved, enhanced and classified as the first elements of an "industrial archeology" to be promoted in Tunisia.

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