HIPPO REGIUS
(Annaba or Bône) Algeria.
First and foremost a seaport, this city of Proconsular
Africa overlooks a deep, sheltered bay where from earliest times ships could put in. Confusion between Hippou
Acra, its original name, and Hippo Zarytus (Bizerta)
makes it difficult to interpret the oldest texts. Also,
topographical study is complicated because alluvial deposits of the Seybouse, or Ubus, have changed the landscape. In 1935 the site of the Roman city was identified
S of the Arab town, which was built nearer the cape,
to the N, after Hippo was destroyed. The Roman and
Early Christian city was excavated in part and at least
some stages of its history revealed. However, nothing
remains of the very earliest buildings of a town that has
been described as “without doubt of Phoenician origin”
(G. Camps).
The city that has been excavated lies in the plain
between the vale of St. Augustine and the old coastline
and was apparently not inhabited until 200 B.C. Even
the famous cyclopean walls, which were believed to be
of Punic origin, go back only to about 40 B.C. Wherever they have been uncovered, the early strata reveal
light structures of rough brick, while those monuments
that have been preserved can generally be attributed to
the Roman period. Nevertheless, one may assume that
a town already existed there before the Romans came
and that Roman builders followed the earlier plan, not
modifying it until later, for example, when the forum
was laid out. This was a huge rectangular area 76 m
long, around which city blocks were laid out more or
less at right angles. Built under Vespasian for the proconsul C. Paccius Africanus, this forum had been preceded by another: the base of a statue with the name of
the emperor Claudius has been found there, also a magnificent bronze trophy 2.5 m high, which has been linked
with Caesar's decisive victory that brought about the
suicide, at Hippo, of Metellus Scipio and his ally Juba I
(46 B.C.). An Ionic capital found in the curia, similar
to those of the Tomb of the Christian, points to a
similar date—the middle of the 1st c. B.C. Even if no
Punic or Numidian remains have been preserved, the city
as excavated has nevertheless stood for nine centuries:
both its plan and its monuments seem to date from
various periods and to have gone through many modifications.
As one goes from W to E, the first monument is
the theater, built against the St. Augustine hill. Measuring 100 m in width, it is perhaps the largest in Africa.
All that is left of it are the eight lowest tiers; the orchestra, surrounded by a deep drain; part of the very long
(40 m) stage with its proscenium decorated with reliefs, and part of the platform, flanked with two wide
parascenia.
Nearby is the forum, which can be dated from an
inscription carved in the paving stones: the dedication
of C. Paccius Africanus. The forum is 76 x 42 m (that
of Timgad is 50 m long), not including the porticos
that lined three sides. To the S, it gave onto a smaller
courtyard of indeterminate purpose. Beside the open
square stood a series of monuments: a little temple to
the W, then three aligned pedestals, one of them rectangular, the second with concave sides and supporting
four columns, while the third most probably held a
statue. Three small, indeterminate monuments are on
the N side. Inscriptions indicate other statues, now disappeared. Besides the bronze trophy, which belonged to
the old forum, such fragments as the head of a member
of Augustus' family and a very fine head of Vespasian
give an idea of the quality of these statues.
On the two long sides were porticos, the columns of
which have been partially recovered, and behind these
a series of small rooms some of which no doubt were
shops while others held religious statues. To the W, the
first room to the N is thought to be the curia.
To the N of the forum, beyond the E corner, is a
fountain where roads coming from the N forked before
skirting the square. The entrance was on the E side at
the end of a long, almost straight road from which
transverse roads ran off to right and left marking off
unequal, irregular blocks, the whole forming a rough
checkerboard pattern. Beyond the first blocks, to the
N, is the market. It consists of a courtyard 15.88 m
square with stalls on all sides and in the middle the
remains of a small, circular temple. Then it widens
into another rectangular courtyard paved with mosaics.
According to an inscription, this dates from the reign
of Valens and Valentinian (364-67). The square courtyard, of earlier date, apparently goes back to the 1st
c. A.D.
Immediately to the E of the market is a large, irregularly shaped block of buildings that measures about
100 m diagonally. This is the so-called Christian quarter; its chief monument, which fills half the E section,
is in fact a large basilica with three naves.
The basilica is built on top of earlier monuments—
a house decorated with mosaics, at the axis of the nave,
and farther E a large cistern that, like the rest of the
church, was later covered over with tombs. The oldest
elements are some tub-shaped cisterns found deep down
under the W wall; similar cisterns have been excavated
at Constantine and Cherchel, in pre-Roman strata. The
church has outlying buildings to the E. The baptistery
has a number of rooms with mosaic floors in secular
designs—muses, cherubs gathering grapes. Earlier, these
rooms belonged to a peristyle house that was later made
into an entrance to the basilica. A group of workshops
were later added to the N section of the complex; they
extended to the courtyard. The dates are uncertain. The
basilica may possibly date from the end of the 4th c.
To the E, across the street, is a section of the city
that seems to have been gradually retrieved from the
sea. Its huge walls, mentioned above, with their drafted
construction, were clearly designed to protect the buildings from storms. At the same time they served to
strengthen the soil, which was damp and frequently
flooded.
The oldest of these walls predate the 1st c. A.D. Beyond
them were villas that have numerous layers of mosaic
floors, suggesting successive invasions. In the last period these villas were joined along their facades by a
long corridor. This very probably had a gallery looking
out over the sea and gave unity to the ensemble.
Farther N and a little W, though still parallel to the
sea, is a building incorrectly called “the basilica with
five naves.” It is a patio with concentric colonnades,
erected over earlier buildings.
Continuing N, the street reaches the Platea Vetus.
This marble-paved courtyard bears the remains of a
temple dating from the early years of the 1st c. Behind
the square rise the great N baths, still majestic. Apparently built in the Severan era, they held a number
of religious statues and inscribed pedestals. The lower
floors and the hydraulic and heating installations are
well preserved.
Finally, an area S of the Gharf el Artran hill, where
the museum is, has been partially excavated. Among
the finds are a curious multi-storied house, built against
the hill, and a huge platform showing the same impressive masonry technique as the great W walls. It bears
an inscription to the Dii Consentes. Other baths—the
S baths—have also been excavated. They closely resemble the great baths of Djemila. A dedication to
Julia Domna has also been found here. Toward the W
some more, smaller baths have been discovered. One
hall is decorated with a large, beautiful mosaic showing
a labyrinth with a bust of the Minotaur in the center.
A large surface area has been set aside for research
and still remains to be excavated. But the discoveries
made up to now are very significant. To these should be
added the richness of the statues, mainly those of the
baths and forum; the quality of the mosaics, which range
from the 2d to the 5th c. A.D.; and the importance of
the many inscriptions. Captured by the Vandals in 431,
when its bishop Augustine had just died there, and laid
waste by the Arabs, the city was used as a cemetery in
mediaeval times. It is strewn with coffin tombs laid on
the ancient floors. Fortunately, the site was not covered
over by the modern town.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Ravoisié,
Exploration scientifique de
l'Algérie pendant les années 1840-42 (1846); A. Papier,
Lettres sur Hippone (1887); S. Gsell,
Monuments antiques de l'Algérie (1901);
Atlas archéologique de l'Algérie IX (1902); F. G. de Pachtère, “Les nouvelles
fouilles d'Hippone,”
MélRome 31 (1911) 328; E. Marec,
“Les nouvelles fouilles d'Hippone,”
Bulletin de l'Académie d'Hippone 36 (1925-30);
Hippone-la-Royale
(1954);
Monuments chrétiens d'Hippone (1958); O.
Perler, “L'eglise principale et les autres sanctuaires
chrétiens d'Hippone la Royale d'après les textes de saint
Augustin,”
Revue des études augustiniennes 1 (1955)
299; “La découverte des monuments chrétiens d'Hippone,”
Rev. d'Hist. eccl. suisse 54 (1960) 177; H.
Masson, “La basilique chrétienne d'Hippone d'après les
dernières fouilles,”
Revue des études augustiniennes 6
(1960) 109;
EAA 2 (1959); J. P. Morel, “Céramiques
d'Hippone,”
Bulletin d'archcéologie algérienne 1 (1962-65) 107; “Recherches stratigraphiques à Hippone,” ibid.
III (1968) 35; see also
Bulletin de l'Acadéimie d'Hippone;
Libyca 1 (1953) to 8 (1960) (articles by E. Marec and
annual résumés).
J. LASSUS
