The city has a circus designed for chariot racing, but it is barely visible nowadays.
Originally, the circus consisted of nothing more than a field; an inscription in the temple in honor of Caracalla's victory in Germany notes that the land was donated by the Gabinii in 214 and describes it as an ager qui appellatur circus (field that serves as a circus) ) · .
In 225 though, the site was prepared and the circus was constructed.
It was financed by the magistrates (duumviri and aedile) after they had promised to do so following in response to a request from the entire population of the city.
The circus was built to take the maximum possible advantage of the surrounding landscape, in reflection of an understandable need to limit costs in a medium-sized city with limited resources, but certainly also out of desire to finish the construction works as quickly as possible, given that magistrates’ mandates were limited to one year.
The construction was nonetheless expected to have "a certain magnitude"; at 393 m (1,289 ft) long with a spina 190 m × 6 m (623 ft × 20 ft), the circus is quite extraordinary in Roman Africa.
The circus marks Dougga out as one of the most important cities in the province, alongside Carthage, Thysdrus, Leptis Magna, Hadrumet et Utica.
The donation of the land for the pleasure of the general populace (ad voluptatem populi) and its development following a request from the entire population (postulante universo populo) are a reminder of the importance of spectacles in the social life of Roman cities and the demand for popular entertainment.
The city has a circus designed for chariot racing, but it is barely visible nowadays. Originally, the circus consisted of nothing more than a field; an inscription in the temple in honor of Caracalla's victory in Germany notes that the land was donated by the Gabinii in 214 and describes it as an ager qui appellatur circus (field that serves as a circus) ) · . In 225 though, the site was prepared and the circus was constructed. It was financed by the magistrates (duumviri and aedile) after they had promised to do so following in response to a request from the entire population of the city. The circus was built to take the maximum possible advantage of the surrounding landscape, in reflection of an understandable need to limit costs in a medium-sized city with limited resources, but certainly also out of desire to finish the construction works as quickly as possible, given that magistrates’ mandates were limited to one year. The construction was nonetheless expected to have "a certain magnitude"; at 393 m (1,289 ft) long with a spina 190 m × 6 m (623 ft × 20 ft), the circus is quite extraordinary in Roman Africa. The circus marks Dougga out as one of the most important cities in the province, alongside Carthage, Thysdrus, Leptis Magna, Hadrumet et Utica. The donation of the land for the pleasure of the general populace (ad voluptatem populi) and its development following a request from the entire population (postulante universo populo) are a reminder of the importance of spectacles in the social life of Roman cities and the demand for popular entertainment.
Dougga