The Amphitheatre of El Jem is an oval amphitheatre in the modern-day city of El Djem, Tunisia, formerly Thysdrus in the Roman province of Africa. It is listed by UNESCO since 1979 as a World Heritage Site12.
The amphitheater of El Djem was the third amphitheater to be constructed in the city and is considered to be the largest amphitheater ever built in Africa. It is one of the few monuments of its kind and is unique in the African continent, as it was built on flat ground rather than against a hillside1.
Tunnels that open into the amphitheatre extended to the coast and were built to accomodate an elephant to enable the Romans to get there without detection.
Thydrus (modern-day El Djem) was the second North African Roman city after Carthage3.
