Themetra
Midway between Sousse and Hergla, along the ancient trail, now black-topped, which led from Hadrumetum to Carthage. Situated on a promontory overlooking the sea, the site, limited on the N by the wadi Temra and on the S by another ravine, is overrun by dunes. It is identified as Themetra by a base of the time of Antoninus Pius.
The site has not been officially excavated. One can see there the harbor moles, several cisterns, wells, and walls. Only one building has been uncovered to any great extent; it is a bath building rather well-preserved, veneered with marble and paintings, paved with mosaics, geometric and with figures, the most remarkable of which represents a marine scene: a sea with fish in it with a boat and fisherman, a bank with a resort dwelling, and in the midst, an immense head of Oceanus. Another mosaic is decorated with two large bowls from which flow scrolls of vine peopled with cupids harvesting grapes. In the center is a device showing Augeas and Herakles.
Another edifice, revealed by chance but not excavated, has resulted in the discovery of a room paved with mosaics decorated with twenty crowns of ivy, each one containing a figure or an object.
BIBLIOGRAPHYL. Foucher, Thermes romains des environs d'Hadrumète (1958) PI; in Antiquités Africaines 1 (1967) 83-98.
A. ENNABLI