Archaeological Museum (Sousse)

The Archaeological Museum of the city of Sousse in Tunisia is one of the most important in the country , along with the Bardo Museum in Tunis . It is located in the buildings of the medieval fortress ( kasbah ) above the city.

Kasbah of Sousse with the entrance to the museum

history

The Kasbah was built on older Byzantine foundations from the 9th century , which in turn may have replaced Phoenician-Roman structures; several rooms are spanned by groin vaults, which are rather rare in the Islamic world and possibly refer to the participation of European prisoners. The building complex is dominated by an approx. 30 m high lighthouse with a lantern . The museum opened in 1951; After extensive restoration work at the beginning of the 21st century, it was reopened in 2012 and now has an exhibition area of almost 2000 m².

structure

Baptismal font from Byzantine times

The museum is divided into three areas:

Punic section
Roman section
Christian-Byzantine Section

Exhibits

The mosaic hall of the Roman section deserves special attention with numerous antique floor and wall mosaics with geometric motifs or figurative representations. A yin and yang motif is unique . In other rooms, ancient marble busts, inscriptions, pottery ( amphorae , terra sigillata vessels, etc.) are shown.