Altiburus was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

–

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

town located in Africa Proconsularis. The town is tentatively identified with ruins at Henchir-Medeina (sometimes Medét'na) (coordinates: 35 ° 52 '24 "N, 8 ° 47' 13" E) in modern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. There are remains of :de:Altiburus (Titularbistum) such as the Forum, a theatre, and houses with

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s. Some small pre-Roman finds have also been made. In addition, numerous

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s in Punic and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

were found. The site is currently being excavated by Catalan

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

. In antiquity, Altiburus lay on the road from

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

Theveste Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria. History In 146 BC, the Romans conquered the region, where existed an old city called " Tbessa". Theveste was founded by the Romans in 75 AD near an old Berber village located ...

, 35 km from

El Kef El Kef ( ar, الكاف '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate. El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a ...

on the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of two streams, north of the present location of Dawwar Awlad Gama. The name of the town comes from the Punic language and evidence of inscription there suggest a strong Punic population element. The Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

granted the town

Municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

status. The arrival of Islam took place in the end of the 7th century.

Bishopric

The Roman city was also the seat of an ancient bishopric which existed till the end of the 7th centuryTitular Episcopal See of Altiburus
at GCatholic.org. The diocese was reestablished in 1933 as a

titular episcopal see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

. Known bishops include: *Victor fl393 ( Donatist/Maximentius bishop) *Basilius fl397-418 (

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishop) *Augustalis (Donatist Bishop and rival at the Council of Carthage to basilius) *Vindemius (Catholic bishop) fl484 at the Council of Huneric * Gerald Emmett Carter (1 Dec 1961 Appointed – Feb 17 1964 Appointed, Bishop of London, Ontario) * Charles Borromeo wings (Sep 7 1968 Appointed – Jun 1 2004) *

Gerald Thomas Walsh Gerald Thomas Walsh (born April 25, 1942) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York. He was rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, fro ...

(28 Jun 2004 Appointed -)

References

{{coord, 35.8734, N, 8.7869, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman towns and cities in Africa (Roman province) Coloniae (Roman) Populated places in Tunisia Catholic titular sees in Africa