COORDINATES: 36º29'28.40" N // 8º34'20.39" E
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: III A.C.
CAPACITY: 3.500 ¿? spectators.
CAVEA: Facing north. 68 m. diameter. It was built on level ground, using 13 radial vaults. Two maenianum. Ima cavea is covered, 6 cunei and 6 steps; summa cavea probably 10 steps.
ORCHESTRA: 24 m. diameter.
STAGE BUILDING: pulpitum 1 m. high, 29 m. long. Proscaenium has three large and two curved niches.
LOCATION: Modern Chemtou is about 50 klm. north-west of Le Kef. In 27 AD the roman colony was founded; Simitthu was a very important marble quarry in roman times. West of the city.
BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Slim, Hédi; Fauqué, Nicolas; “La Tunisie antique”. Paris, Mengès, 2001.
OUT OF PRINT: The present state of the theatre is very spectacular, ima cavea is cover, what you can see in photograph is only the summa cavea -on the left you can see the "head" of the aditus maximus- . If you walk behind, surronding the outer wall, you can reach the vomitorium, go into the "squeleton" and reach the orchestra level. You are down on earth but touching the orchestra. Simitthu´s ancient theatre is like a body sleep, still waiting for being digged... it reminds me Goya´s painting called "Fight whit clubs" although only in poetic way.
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