Archaeological Museum
The town of El Jem, as almost all Roman cities of Tunisia, was built on a Punic settlement. With a less arid climate that the current, El Jem prospered in the century II thanks to the cultivation of the olive tree, becoming an important center of production and export of oil. At the beginning of the 3rd century, coinciding with the construction of its famous Amphitheater, El Jem played Hadrumet (now Sousse) the rank of second Roman city in North Africa, after Carthage. Today, El Jem owes its fame to its amphitheatre. The best preserved of all is the Roman amphitheatre large in Africa and the fourth in the world after those of Rome, Capua and Pozzuoli, but surely. Its impressive architecture stands out above the low houses of the city thanks to its 3 floors in height, that reach 36 meters. It had capacity for about 35,000 spectators and dimensions of 148 meters in length by width 122.
Until the 17TH century the Amphitheater of El Jem remained practically intact, but was thereafter when they began to its stones used in the construction of the houses in the village and were also transported to Kairouan to be used in the Grand Mosque. The Amphitheatre of El Jem was declared patrimony of humanity by Unesco in 1979. In addition to the visit to the Amphitheater, it is advisable to visit the Archaeological Museum of the Jem. The Museum is arranged in an old Roman House, where it is preserved classical architecture of these mansions, with the rooms arranged around a central courtyard. In the Museum we can see sculptures, ceramics and especially mosaics found in the city of El Jem and its surroundings. All these findings give us an idea of the luxury of the residences that were built here and where they lived aristocratic families who built his fortune thanks to the production of oil. sitiosdondeir.com original author and source of the article