The Aïn Doura Baths are a series of Roman-era ruins located in
Dougga,
Tunisia
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, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
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, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. The site contains ruins from a
Roman bath
In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...
dating to the 4th century, and is considered an important archaeological heritage site by the
National Heritage Institute of Tunisia.
Description
The Aïn Doura baths were built in either the early 2nd, late 3rd
["MODELISATION ARCHITECTUROLOGIQUE DES THERMES IMPERIAUX ROMAINS DE TUNISIE." LICHIHEB, HOUDA, KARIM BOUAITA, and MOUNIR DHOUIB. URL: http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:vUWt5_k-mTAJ:scholar.google.com/+A%C3%AFn+Doura&hl=en&as_sdt=0,8] or 4th century AD in Dougga,
which was then an important city in
Roman-era Tunisia. The original name of the baths is unknown, as the name Aïn Doura was first given to the site in the 19th century. The Aïn Doura baths are one of three separate bath complexes in Dougga.
The baths were constructed of ''
opus africanum'' and
rubble masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
in the
Punic–North African style.
The structure contained a number of different rooms – such as heated rooms and
frigidarium – and latrines. Archaeological research implies that the baths were symmetrical.
The baths also contain mosaics depicting aquatic animals and Roman figures.
[Darmon, J.P., 2004. Joueurs de dés et autres énigmes de la mosaïque aux chevaux de Carthage. ''Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France'', ''2000''(1), pp.106-118.]
References
{{Reflist
Archaeological sites in Tunisia
Roman sites in Tunisia