The Roman amphitheater: towards a documented dating via stratigraphy and physical evidences.

The Roman amphitheater has experienced vigorous scientific activity in recent years, which has allowed significant results, particularly in 2019 and early 2020. These discoveries coincide with the launch of studies and archeological documentation with the framework of the Tunisian-American restauration and conservation project under the direction of Ms. Hajer Krimi, in charge of archeological and historical research at the INP. Archeological works took place in the underground part of the monument, the hypogeum, as the ground for carrying out a series of stratigraphic and dating sondages. The discovery did not take long to come, in deed in one of the 16 cells of the basement, a first sondage at and from the threshold of the door of the cell, resulted in a single archeological layer, poor in material indices; the presence of an ancient oil amphora in situ filled the lack of information as a dating evidence. The amphora can be dated to the last quarter of the 5th century (vandal period) according to a first look taken by Moncef Ben Moussa, ceramologist. The occupation of the monument therefore continued at a late stage, during the fifth century AD.