Catacombs of the Good Shepherd – Sousse

0
103 views

To name only the most famous, the early Christian museum of Carthage, the Basilica of El Kef or that much more recent of Zaghouan, the Cathedral of Tunis, Carthage Acropolium, M alaise church  of Houmt Souk, the synagogues of Tunis and the Ghriba, etc.

The Catacombs of Sousse are in view at all costs. This is an underground necropolis, that is to say, a cemetery, located west of the Medina of Sousse and discovered in 1888 by Colonel Vincent. Furnished basement in the late 1st century AD. J-C by Christians to bury their dead in the time of their persecution (as elsewhere in the Roman Empire), the catacombs are in the form of 240 galleries extending over 5 kilometers and which contain nearly 15,000 graves. Four in number, three completely excavated, the catacombs of the Good Shepherd of Hermes and Severus, they are better preserved than the catacombs of Rome, which constitute a benchmark in this area. Clandestine cemetery, The catacombs also served as a place of worship and refuge for the early followers of Christianity and was used for such until the late fourth century.

The tombs were built in the walls of galleries on two or three levels. At intervals more or less regular, we note the presence of niches that hosted the oil lamps that lit the maze of low light.

It was also a sacred space of artistic creation, as evidenced by some of the works exhibited in the museum of Sousse epitaphs and engravings on marble, representing sacred symbols (fish, doves, the Good Shepherd, etc.).

Sources : Mille et une Tunisie and www.patrimoinedetunisie.com.tn

Catacombs of the Good Shepherd – Sousse (not far of the museum of Dar Am Taieb
Open from 16/09 to 31/03 from 9h to 17h and from 1/04 to 15/09 from 9h to 18h
Fee : 4dt – Photo Right: 1dt

{mainvote}

LEAVE A REPLY