Architectural Geology of Dougga, Tunisia, Part 5: The Arch of Severus Alexander (between AD 222 and 235)

If I remember correctly, this shot faces eastward, and shows the arch's western side.

What would any ancient Roman community, however provincial, be without its triumphal arches dedicated to one emperor or another?

When writing about Dougga, the urge to crank out a third-rate pun about fallen arches is almost overwhelming. This because one of the archaeological site's two examples of that architectural form, the one honoring the African-born Septimius Severus, is missing its upper portions. But the one erected later, during the reign of the last of Septimius' dynastic successors, Severus Alexander, is still mostly there. This is the way it looked 45 years ago.

In the historical literature I grew up with, the name of the emperor the later arch is dedicated to was always rendered "Severus Alexander." This word order correctly reflects his full panoply of imperial monikers, "Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander." Nowadays, however, a lot of sources use "Alexander Severus" instead. It hardly matters.

What little source material I've uncovered about the building stones used at Dougga indicates that the chief rock type used here was the locally quarried El Garia Limestone. Like many other Eocene carbonates one finds in the Mediterranean Basin, it's nummulitic—that is, it's just lousy with fossils of the supersized foraminifera of the genus Nummulites.

Unfortunately, no reference I have explicitly talks about the composition of Alex's Arch. From what I've seen elsewhere on site, its big stone ashlar blocks do look like the El Garia. So for now that's my best guess.

The tree at left is, not surprisingly, an Olive (Olea europaea), one of untold hundreds in this neighborhood. And the cacti on the left cut bank on the other side are that highly invasive New World introduction, Indian Fig (Opuntia ficus-indica).

To see the other photos and descriptions in this series, visit my Architectural Geology: Tunisia album.

Taken in: Tunisia / Gouvernorat de Béja / Dougga / Dougga (show map)

Taken on: October 28, 1977

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Arch of Severus Alexander' Arch

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Severus limestone triumphal

Arch of Severus Alexander

Arch of Alexander Severus

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Camera: MAKER NAME 96660, f/1.8, 1/59 sec, 2.8mm, ISO 50 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	MAKER NAME 96660
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/59)
Focal Length:	2.8mm
ISO:	50
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Inpaint
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