Thyna Explained

Official Name:Thyna
Settlement Type:Commune and town
Pushpin Map:Tunisia
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Tunisia
Subdivision Name1:Sfax Governorate
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2014
Population Total:33529
Utc Offset:+1
Coordinates:34.6873°N 10.7205°W

Thyna, formerly Henchir-Tina, is a town and commune in the Sfax Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 26,635.[1] It is located on the coast about 120NaN0 south of Sfax.

History

See main article: Thenae. Thyna is located in the area of the Carthaginian city of Thenae. It is the most important archaeological site in the vicinity of Sfax. Thyna was the southernmost city in the Roman Province of Africa and became a colony under the Emperor Hadrian (117-138). Little remains on the site, but traces can be seen of Roman villas, bath-houses, an early Christian basilica, a necropolis, and tannery. The town was considered to be on the frontier between the Carthaginian territory and the Berber kingdom of Numidia. Many objects, including some of the mosaics, have been removed to the museum at Sfax.[2] The main point of interest is the "Baths of the Months"; the mosaics here are intact but largely covered with sand. Nearby is a smaller bath house, and parts of the walls of the Roman town can still be traced. A temple has been excavated as well as some dwellings beside a Roman street.[3]

Geography

The town is traversed by the RN1 which connects Sfax to Gabès. The town has an industrial area that was built in 1999, and to the west lies the Sfax-Thyna International Airport. There are salt mines nearby extending over an area of about and producing 300,000 tonnes of salt a year. On the coast are saltmarshes which are visited by large numbers of migrating water birds.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique)
  2. Book: Auzias, Dominique. Labourdette, Jean-Paul. Tunisie 2011 - 2012. 2011 . Petit Futé . 2-7469-3021-8 . 324.
  3. Book: Jacobs, Daniel. Morris, Peter . The Rough Guide to Tunisia . 2001. Rough Guides . 978-1-85828-748-5 . 250–251.