This project analyses the planning and development processes of cities, while taking on the neglected aspects of their quotidian use and perception, focusing on the cities of North Africa in a broad chronological framework between the 1st and the 6th centuries AD. How were cities settled and how did they develop during the Roman and Late Antique periods? How did daily practices evolve regarding new forms and characteristics of city life? How did climate, environment and water resources evolve and impact city development? The aim of this investigation is to appreciate how people transformed and appropriated cities and, in return, how new configurations led to changes in daily usage and perception of public and private spaces. With a holistic approach, the project will be based on the study of topographic, architectural and archaeological documentation, alongside juridical, literary and epigraphic sources, with a specific focus on the ancient city of Sufetula in Tunisia. It will also investigate environmental aspects related to the wider interests of the ROOTS cluster.

Sufetula (Sbeitla, Tunisia), decumanus leading to the Capitoline temples (photo: Nicolas Lamare).

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Project by Nicolas Lamare nlamare@roots.uni-kiel.de