Salakta is a small

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

n village situated by the sea. Salakta has been occupied or ruled by many civilisations, including the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

, Byzantines,

Romans 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 ...

, and Muslim Oubéidines. The attractions include a beach, catacombs, an ancient cemetery and a museum. It is in Salakta that the mosaics "Lion" (with huge proportions, and which is displayed in the

Bardo National Museum Bardo National Museum or Musée National du Bardo may refer to: * Bardo National Museum (Algiers) in Algeria * Bardo National Museum (Tunis) , logo = , image = Tunis, musée du Bardo, salle de Virgile 01.jpg , caption = Apartments of the Be ...

) was found. Though not an established name in Tunisian tourism, Salakta is nevertheless one of the oldest historical sites in the country. Most of this is now under the sea, unfortunately. Its population swells from few hundreds to few thousands in summer when most of its people come back from Europe or from other Tunisian regions in order to spend summer.

Description

Salakta is a village in the

Sahel, Tunisia The Tunisian Sahel ( ar, الساحل) or more precisely the Central East Tunisia Region is an area of central eastern Tunisia and one of the six Tunisian regions. It stretches along the eastern shore, from Hammamet in the north to Mahdia in ...

located five kilometers from

Ksour Essef Ksour Essef or Ksour Essaf () is a town and commune in the Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia, on the coast of the Sahel, about 200 km south of Tunis. As of 2014 it had a population of 36,274.Mahdia Governorate Mahdia Governorate () is in central-eastern Tunisia, named after its largest town and administrative centre. It comprises an area of coastal relative lowland, but extends further inland than its coastal length. It is one of the twenty-four govern ...

, it had a population of 3,477 in 2004.

History

Roman Ruins at Salakta The town was a port exporting wheat, and later of olive oils, and wines. The fishing port was successively occupied by the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns, the Byzantines, the

and then the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

. The village was a privileged place for the Byzantines under

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

who used it as a strategic point for their conquests.

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...

's invasion of Africa began during the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandal Kingdom, Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empi ...

in 533, not far from Salakta on the

Caput Vada Chebba (La Chebba, Ash Shabbah, aš-Šābbah, Sheba) is a small city in the Mahdia Governorate of Tunisia in North Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Jacobs, Daniel and Morris, Peter (2001) ''The rough guide to Tunisia'' Rough Guides, Lo ...

. During the Second World War, both the French Army and the German

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

maintained a military base here.

Archaeological remains

Archaeological Museum of Salakta Salakta is one of the oldest historical sites in the country. It features a small museum set within the site of the ancient site. However, the majority of the latter is under the sea. One of the main mosaics of the Bardo National Museum, representing an African lion, was discovered in Salakta in 1958. In Roman times, Salakta was an important commercial port under the name of Syllectum or Sullectum. One of the offices of the Place des Corporations in

Ostia Ostia may refer to: Places *Ostia (Rome), a municipio (also called ''Ostia Lido'' or ''Lido di Ostia'') of Rome *Ostia Antica, a township and port of ancient Rome *Ostia Antica (district), a district of the commune of Rome Arts and entertainment ...

bears the name of the

navicular The navicular bone is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. Human anatomy The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsal bones, found in the foot. Its name derives from the human bone's resemblance to a small boat, caused by th ...

s of Syllectum, and oil

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

e with the original mark A SYLL have been found in Ostia and Salakta, Archaeological evidence of a trade of active oil between Salakta and Rome.

Tourism

The beaches, the catacombs, an ancient cemetery, as well as the archaeological museum founded in 1980, are worth visiting. The museum shows excavation finds from the surrounding area, in particular

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

as well as a large mosaic of a Berberlöwen. The mosaic has a height of about 3 meters and dates from the 3rd century. There are

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

es of the

megalithic culture A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

in the surroundings. Although Salakta is not particularly important for tourism from abroad, it is still one of the oldest historical sites in the country. Most of the ancient settlement is now below the sea level. The population of Salakta developed not least due to the tourism and attractiveness of the beaches of few hundred people to several thousand today.

Bishopric

Sullectum was the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

but this moved to near modern Mahdia in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The ancient

was re-established in name in the 20th century as a

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

ric, with the current

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

being Ulrich Boom of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

.Salakta
at ''gcatholic.org''

References

{{Coord, 35, 24, N, 11, 03, E, region:TN_type:city, display=title Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Ancient Berber cities