Thyna, formerly Henchir-Tina, is a town and commune in the
Sfax Governorate
The Sfax Governorate ( ') is one of the governorates of Tunisia. The governorate has a population of 955,421 (2014) and an area of 7,545 km². Its capital is Sfax. It is along the east coast of Tunisia, and includes the Kerkennah Islands.
...
,
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
, ...
. As of 2004 it had a population of 26,635.
[Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique)]
It is located on the coast about south of
Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...
.
History
Thyna is located in the area of the
Carthaginian city of
Thenae
Thenae or Thenai ( grc, Θεναί), also written Thaena and Thaenae, was a Carthaginian and Roman town (') located in or near Thyna, now a suburb of Sfax on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Tunisia.
Name
The city was founded with the ...
. It is the most important archaeological site in the vicinity of Sfax. Thyna was the southernmost city in the
Roman Province of Africa and became a colony under the Emperor
Hadrian (117-138). Little remains on the site, but traces can be seen of Roman villas, bath-houses, an
early Christian basilica, a
necropolis, and tannery. The town was considered to be on the frontier between the
Carthaginian territory and the
Berber kingdom of
Numidia. Many objects, including some of the
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s, have been removed to the museum at Sfax.
The main point of interest is the "Baths of the Months"; the mosaics here are intact but largely covered with sand. Nearby is a smaller bath house, and parts of the walls of the Roman town can still be traced. A temple has been excavated as well as some dwellings beside a Roman street.
Geography
The town is traversed by the RN1 which connects Sfax to
Gabès
Gabès (, ; ar, قابس, ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. It is located on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 152,921, Gabès is the 6th largest ...
. The town has an industrial area that was built in 1999, and to the west lies the Sfax-Thyna International Airport. There are salt mines nearby extending over an area of about and producing 300,000 tonnes of salt a year. On the coast are saltmarshes which are visited by large numbers of migrating water birds.
See also
*
List of cities in Tunisia
This is the list of 350 cities and towns in Tunisia. In the list by governorate, capitals are shown in bold.
List of most-populated cities
List of municipalities by governorate
See also
*
*List of cities by country
*Governorates of Tuni ...
References
Populated places in Sfax Governorate
Communes of Tunisia
Phoenician colonies in Tunisia
Roman towns and cities in Tunisia
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