Iunxisse etiam camelos quaternos ad currus in circo. The «africanization» of a spectacle on an original clay medallion from Hadrumetum (Sousse, Tunisia)

Abstract

A clay medallion found in Hadrumetum (currently Sousse, Tunisia) at the end of the nineteenth century has been studied with the double point of view of its typology and decoration, which is characterized by an original race in the circus with chariots pulled by dromedaries. The resulting excursus moved from Africa to the Danubian provinces, with interesting passages in Gaul and Sardinia, to come up with a proposal both for the identification of this object’s category and for the interpretation of our medaillon as well as of a similar one coming from Teurnia, in Noricum. Using in parallel the proof offered by both these medaillons, it was finally possible to hypothesize which were the venues seats for the development of the performances shown therein.