Tunisia Way

Known by the Romans as Thygga, Dougga is one of Tunisia's premiere and well-preserved archaeological sites. The site of Dougga, with its numerous temples, dominates a hilltop of this lush region. At the height of its prosperity around the 2-3rd centuries AD, Dougga only had around 5,000 inhabitants. The number of temples and other important buildings suggests that the city was of great significance and likely was inhabited by Numidian princes.

Dougga is situated in the mountains inland of Tunisia, at about 550 metres above sea level, in an area that was densely populated by the Numidians. The city served as one of the capitals of Massinissa, an Roman ally, and one of the contenders to Carthage.

The location was ideal, as it was fairly close to the heartland of the Carthaginian territory. It first served as an important military post and with the arrival of the Romans it became a regional administrative centre. Still there can hardly have been much more than 10,000 inhabitants in its heyday.
Dougga was abandoned and deserted with the Vandal invasion, and since then there has only been a small village on the other side of the hills.

The site of Dougga offers some nice ruins, where

some have been restored. But as is the case for many archaeological grounds in Tunisia, the finest statues and mosaics have been transferred to the Bardo Museum in Tunis.
The whole area is about 3 km², and among the most important ruins are the Capitol with a peristyle in very good condition. The theatre, not one of the biggest, has been restored to an excellent condition.
The Libyco-Punic mausoleum to the south is perhaps the finest structure to survive from the time before the Romans.
Also there are a fine selection of temples around Dougga, some in fine condition.

Theatre

The beautiful theatre at Dougga dates back to 168 CE, and was donated to the city by one of its wealthiest families. Its condition is so good that it used for the concerts at the Dougga Festival in summer.

The theatre has 19 tiers, and space for 3500 spectators. It was built up the hill, which facilitated the construction much.
Among the missing parts, was a portico on top and the wall behind the scene. The latter is not much missed, since you now are allowed a splendid view over the valley below Dougga.