MUKTHER.
We devoted Tuesday, April 18, to an examination of the ruins of
Mukther.
This city has been identified by nearly all the older travellers
as Tucca Terebinthina. Bruce, amongst the number, appears to
have entertained no doubt on the subject. It was M. Guérin[174]
who first pointed out that the similarity of the modern and ancient
names, coupled with their recorded distances from known places, left
no doubt that Mukther was the Mactar or Oppidum Mactaritanus in the
list of African bishoprics,[175] and that Tucca Terebinthina was to be
sought for at the modern Dougga, about eleven miles to the south-west,
where considerable ruins exist, but which must not be confounded
with the more important city of the same name, near Teboursouk.
The position of Mukther is admirably chosen; it is built on a wide
and elevated plateau between two water-courses, the Oued Sabon, or
_river of soap_, on the north, and the Oued Mihran on the south. The
banks of the former are high and precipitous, and serve as a natural
defence on the north-west side of the town. This has been further
fortified by a wall constructed of immense blocks of stone, placed
loosely and irregularly together, resembling more the retaining wall
of a terrace than a regular line of defence.
We commenced our explorations from this side of the ravine,
opposite to the lower triumphal arch. On the north-west face of it
was evidently the necropolis of the city. The hill-side is covered
with tombs. Many contain simply records of the names and ages of
the deceased, others have rudely sculptured figures. One tomb was a
carefully constructed vault of cut stone, near to which was a handsome
cippus, which probably was erected over it before its violation. One
only struck me as sufficiently curious to deserve copying. It was
evidently a family tomb, containing four inscriptions, the first of
which was the rudest and the most injured by time; but what rendered
it curious was the existence of two hieroglyphical figures sculptured
on the stone in relief before the inscription was engraved.
[Illustration]
On the opposite side of the ravine, and rising directly from its
right bank, is a large triumphal arch, which forms the first of
Bruce’s illustrations. Of this he has left us eight sheets.
1. A rough pencil outline, which has not pleased him, and which
he has subsequently cancelled by a waved pencil line of obliteration;
on the back are numerous architectural details and memoranda of
measurement.
2. Another sheet of similar details and measurements.
3. A beautifully executed perspective view, done on the spot, showing
the actual condition of the monument, without any foreground or
other accessories. (Plate XVII.)
4. A highly finished Indian-ink drawing, from the same point of view,
decorated (!) with an impossible landscape, probably by Balugani;
instead of the gentle slope of the hill on the other side of the
ravine, bare of trees and destitute of water, there is a foaming
cataract on one side, and an extensive vista of river, wood, plain
and mountain on the other.
5. A highly finished plan and elevation.
6. A highly finished drawing in Indian ink of the Corinthian order
of arch.
[Illustration: _Plate XVII._
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
LOWER ARCH AT MACTAR (MUKTHER)
FAC-SIMILE OF INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.]
[Illustration: _Plate XVIII._
TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT MACTAR (MUKTHER.)
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY THE EARL OF KINGSTON]
[Illustration: _Plate XIX._
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
LOWER ARCH AT MACTAR (MUKTHER)
FAC SIMILE OF PLATE OF ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS
EXECUTED BY BRUCE AFTER HIS RETURN TO SCOTLAND.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.]
7. A highly finished drawing, representing architectural details of
soffits, cornice, and architrave. (Plate XIX.)
8. A highly finished drawing of soffits of architrave of order.
This arch is of a richer architectural composition than that of
Trajan, which will presently be described. It has but a single
opening, without archivolt, flanked by two square niches, with rounded
heads, underneath the level of the impost. Four Corinthian columns
corresponding to pilasters enrich both façades. These existed nearly
entire in Bruce’s time, and even M. Guérin mentions ‘un petit
vestibule soutenu sur deux colonnes corinthiennes,’[176] but these
have now entirely disappeared, although the stylobates are still
in place. The whole entablature seems as though it had been thrown
down since Bruce’s drawing was made, and the stones all piled
up again without much regard to order. It is more likely, however,
that this may be only a general dislocation of the building, caused
by an earthquake. Fragments of cornice highly decorated may be seen
here and there in the crumbling mass, and the very rich treatment
of the impost, which is in a tolerably good state of preservation,
would attest the magnificence of the building, even if Bruce’s
exhaustive designs did not exist. To show the present condition
of this monument, a photograph taken by my companion, the Earl of
Kingston, is also given (Plate XVIII.)
The two façades are identical; on the ravine side the foundations are
entirely exposed to view, and consist of a mass of rubble masonry,
twelve or thirteen feet in height, between which and the floor of
the arch are three courses of substantial cut stones, but there is
no appearance of this having been connected with any other structure.
It is difficult to understand that a building of this nature could
have been constructed at the edge of a ravine without there being an
arch of some kind to span the latter. Mr. Davis says that he observed
part of a paved road on the opposite side of the ravine, from which
he infers that a bridge must have existed;[177] but after the most
careful search, with his work in my hands, I was unable to trace
any vestige of this. Probably therefore the ravine, if it existed
at all in ancient times, has been much deepened by the action of
water during the last sixteen hundred winters.
M. Guérin mentions that he discovered amongst the débris, at the
base of the monument, ‘a sculptured Greek cross, which would assign
to this monument a date posterior to the Christian era.’[178]
I recognised this stone without difficulty, and though it is much
obliterated by time, I feel confident that it is actually the detail
of soffit, figured by Bruce in Sheet 7, above mentioned. This is shown
on Plate XIX.; the lowest figure, with all the details of the acanthus
leaves worn off, might easily be taken to represent a Greek cross.
Unfortunately, no trace of inscription remains, although a search
amongst the débris, which encumbers the base of the inner façade,
might be rewarded by success.
The dimensions of this arch given on the plan and elevation are
as follows:—
Ft. in. lines.
Opening of arch 16 11 4
Breadth of pier 13 6 0
Depth of pier 12 6 3
Distance between columns 5 8 4
Diameter of column 2 4 4
Distance between column and pilaster 3 9 0
Height of stylobate 6 5 2
„ base of column 1 2 4
„ shaft of column 17 8 6
„ capital 2 3 6
„ entablature 5 3 0
„ attic 11 6 4
„ arch to keystone 26 0 0
Total height of building 44 9 4
Close to the arch is a group of olive-trees, and a delicious spring
rises from the ground a few yards further off. During the whole of
our ride yesterday we noticed at intervals rocks consisting of a mass
of petrified oyster-shells; here also they recur, and in the spring I
have just mentioned are two frusta of columns made of this material,
which has an excellent effect.
In the ravine below the arch we observed a Lybian tombstone,
containing the representation of a figure with the face mutilated,
holding objects like ears of corn in his hand, and three lines of
inscription below.
From this arch a paved road led towards the south-west, where
it conducted to a large building, on the site of which the tomb
of one of the members of the family of Sidi Ali bin Amer has been
built. Numbers of monolithic columns of limestone lie scattered about,
and one still remains in position. Bruce, in his notes, thus alludes
to this building:—
There were the ruins of a Corinthian temple, surrounded by a portico,
at the south-west end of the town, but it was thus thrown down lately,
as was another smaller one built over a fountain, for the sake of
the lead which joined the stones together.
Here I identified a small fragment of the inscription recorded by
Sir Grenville Temple,[179] from which he concludes that either this
temple or the neighbouring amphitheatre was built in the reign of
Trajan. The inscription as it now exists is . . . AIANI PAR . . . Sir
Grenville supplies two other letters, TH. As the name of Trajan here
appears in the genitive case, it is more probable that it was built
in the time of Hadrian, and that the inscription would have been,
TRAIANI PARTHICI FILIVS.
Continuing along this road, on the left hand, is a small amphitheatre
constructed of rubble masonry, faced, no doubt, at one time with cut
stones, to judge from the number lying about. It is of elliptical
form, the major axis being about 160 feet, and the minor one
about 114.
A little further off, and to the right, are the remains of a building
which M. Guérin believes to have been a temple of Diana,[180]
he having found the name of that goddess on a fragment of marble,
which had probably formed the base of a statue. The building is too
much ruined to permit any conjecture as to its destination, and though
I searched diligently, I failed to find the inscription in question.
The road now leads to the triumphal arch of Trajan, which appears
to have stood in the centre of the town facing the south, and which
forms the second of Bruce’s illustrations. There are six sheets
of designs of this monument.
1. A sketch taken upon the ground apparently, in Indian ink
without any landscape. (Plate XX.)
2. A highly finished Indian-ink perspective view with back and
foreground of the usual character, a camp of soldiers, sheep, cattle,
Arabs, &c.
3. A finished Indian-ink plan and elevation to scale.
4. Finished drawing in Indian-ink, to scale, of details of minor
order and its pediment.
5. Finished Indian ink drawing, to scale, of details of major order.
6. Pencil memoranda of details and measurements.
This building in its proportions and treatment is very grand
and simple. The solid mass of the front is much higher than it is
wide. The principal order is Corinthian, with a single three-quarters
attached column near the angle, supported on a lofty pedestal or
stylobate; it has the usual base and capital, and the shaft is seven
frusta high. The architrave and frieze over the columns consist of
one plain block without any mouldings, which is not carried along the
face. The cornice is the usual one, handsomely but not elaborately
enriched. Three courses of the attic remained in the time of Bruce;
portions of two courses only are now in place. In the centre of this
block is an archway, having its own peculiar treatment. On each
side of the opening is a smaller semi-engaged Corinthian column,
raised on a stylobate equal in height to that of the major order;
the impost of the arch runs all round the monument, intercepted only
by the columns. There is no impost to the arch-head, which consists
only of the radiating cunei; and the soffit is quite plain. The
capitals of the columns flanking the archway rise somewhat higher
than the archway itself, and are surmounted by an architrave, a lofty
plain frieze, on which is the inscription, and a simple cornice with
a pediment above. In the middle of this there is a square opening,
giving access probably to a chamber over the arch. The whole treatment
is dignified and reserved.
The inscription on the frieze of the minor order has been given more
fully by Bruce than by succeeding travellers, and much more so than
can be deciphered at the present day. It runs thus:—
IMP. CAESAR. DIVI. NERVAE . F.
TRAIANO . OPTIMO . AVG. GER.
DACIO . PARTHICO . P.M. TRIB
POTEST. XX. IMP. XII. COS. VI
. . . . FAVSTIN . OS. DEDI. D.D. P.P.
The mention of the twentieth year of the tribunate of Hadrian fixes
the date as the last year of his reign, A.D. 117.
The arch has been built up with loose stones, and has evidently been
surrounded by a wall, to convert it into a fortified position.
The building has not suffered greatly since Bruce’s time, but it
is buried almost to the level of the impost in débris. As Bruce’s
sketch shows no sign of the loose masonry wall, it is possible that
this may have been constructed by the Arabs; at the same time it is
not improbable that he might purposely have omitted it, as having
no connection with the history of the building.
The dimensions given on the plan and elevation are:—
Ft. in. lines.
Width of arch 12 8 6
From side to column of minor order 1 11 0
Diameter of column of minor order 1 7 3
Intercolumnar space 3 3 6
Diameter of column of major order 2 7 0
Thence to end of building 1 5 0
Total depth of building 11 8 0
Height of stylobate 5 3 0
„ base of column of minor order 0 11 4
„ shaft „ „ 13 5 6
„ capital „ „ 1 10 6
„ entablature of column of minor
order 3 10 10
„ cornice „ „ 1 7 1
„ pediment „ „ 4 6 5
„ base of column of major order 1 5 2
„ shaft „ „ 22 0 0
„ capital „ „ 2 11 2
„ thence to cornice „ 2 9 6
„ cornice „ „ 2 5 3
„ thence to summit „ 3 1 4
Total height of edifice 40 1 0
[Illustration: _Plate XX._
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
ARCH OF TRAJAN AT MACTAR (MUKTHER)
FAC-SIMILE OF INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.]
To the south-south-west of this is a very large building, which Sir
Grenville Temple and M. Guérin believe to have been a palace or a
church, but which I am inclined to consider public thermæ. There is
a large central hall, twenty paces long by twelve broad, the north
and south ends of which were almost entirely occupied by immense
arches. On each of the other sides were three arched openings,
the central one of which was the largest, giving access to lateral
chambers, now entirely destroyed. Near the north-west angle is a
large well, more than twelve feet in diameter, whence probably the
water supply of the establishment was derived. The construction was
very massive, partly of rubble and partly of cut-stone masonry. This
building, like Trajan’s arch, had been converted into a fortress
by a bastioned wall constructed of old materials, amongst which I
observed two Christian tombstones; one had a cross inscribed within
a circle, the other the monogram of Christ, with the Alpha and Omega.
About midway between Trajan’s arch and the double-storied mausoleum
was a large and important pile of buildings, which might well have
been a governor’s palace. The construction is of rubble masonry,
but the voussoirs of the arches and some of the facings are of huge
blocks of cut stone. It is much encumbered with débris, in which
it is buried up to the imposts of the arches.
Beyond this is the mausoleum just alluded to; it consists
of a sepulchral chamber containing seventeen carefully cut
columbaria. Above this was an open chamber with a portico in
front for statuary, the whole being surmounted by an elevated
pyramid. Exteriorly the sides are ornamented by Corinthian
pilasters. Above the door was an inscription; this has quite
disappeared with the exception of the dedicatory letters D.M.S., which
are of unusual size. Below this was a sculptured representation,
now almost effaced, but from what remains there can be no doubt
that the subject was exactly the same as that on the mausoleum of
Julius Proculus, the procession of a bull to the sacrificial altar,
one probably in common use like the cross on Christian tombs.
The second mausoleum, to which I have just alluded, is on the
right bank of the Oued Sabon, near the lower triumphal arch; it
was of similar construction to the other, but has only the lower
storey remaining. Above the door the sculpture is in a very perfect
condition, except that the faces of the persons assisting at the
procession have been obliterated by chisels. Above this, occupying
the whole length of the front side is a long inscription, part of
which has been thrown down and is lying amongst the débris. Both
Sir Grenville Temple[181] and M. Pelissier[182] have given portions
of this inscription. M. Guérin,[183] however, has given as much of
it as it is possible to decipher. It shows that the tomb was erected
to commemorate Julius Proculus, who, ever since his assumption of
the _toga virilis_, had devoted himself to the study of elocution,
and was much admired by his fellow-citizens.
To the west of Trajan’s arch is an aqueduct of large cut stones. The
piers of the arches are five feet six inches in thickness, and the
intervals between them eleven feet eight inches.
Although the ground between the ruins is so thickly strewn with
loose stones as to render walking a difficult and painful operation,
it was during our visit covered with crops of wheat and barley. It
is difficult to understand how any plough could be got to work under
such circumstances. There was, of course, no attempt to clear away
any of the stones; that would be too much to expect from an Arab
husbandman. Perhaps from their point of view they are right; land
is so abundant and population so scanty, that it pays them better
to sow two acres in a superficial manner than to cultivate one with
greater care and thus produce heavier crops.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 174: Guérin, i. pp. 396, 418.]
[Footnote 175: Morcelli, i. p. 209.]
[Footnote 176: Guérin, i. p. 409.]
[Footnote 177: Davis, _Ruined Cities_, i. p. 79.]
[Footnote 178: Guérin, i. p. 409.]
[Footnote 179: Temple, App. No. 137.]
[Footnote 180: Guérin, i. p. 409.]
[Footnote 181: Temple, ii. p. 341.]
[Footnote 182: Pelissier, p. 286.]
[Footnote 183: Guérin, i. p. 413.]