Henchir Bez is an archaeological site in Tunisia,[1] located at 36° 00′ 23″ N, 9° 32 in the hills overlooking the Oued Miliane river,[2][3] west of Tunis.[4][5][6] Identified by a recently discovered inscription,[7][8] it is the ruins of the Romancivitas of Vazi Sarra,[9][10][11][12] which include a ChristianBasilica and a Byzantine/Roman fort.[13]
Ruins
The ruins at Henchir Bez have been identified as the remains of Vazitana Sarra Civitas (Vazi Sarara),[14] a civitas of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis.[15][16]The remains at Henchir Bez include a Bascilica and a fort. The fort was originally a temple dedicated to Mercury Soberus.[17][18]
Etymology
The name Henchir Bez means the "ruins of Bez" where 'bez' probably derives from the ancient "Vaz[i]" through Linguisitic Fortition. The name Vazitana Sarra Civitas is supported by recent epigraphical finds[19]
^R. Cagnat - A. Merlin, Atlas archéologique de la Tunisie : édition spéciale des cartes topographiques publiées par le Ministère de la Guerre, accompagnée d'un texte explicatif (Paris 1914) Cat. no. 30.107
^A. Hanene, A propos de C. I. L., VIII, 23750 provenant de Henchir Bez/Vazi Sarra, CahTun 197/198, 2006, 69;