THELEPTE

THELEPTE. - An ancient town of Byzacena, south-east of Tebessa in North Africa, also called Feriana and Medinet-el-Kedima.

The *Martyrologium Hieronymianum* at VII, VI and V Kal. Feb. mentions a group of martyrs who may have been companions of the Ianuarius mentioned in a musical inscription found in one of the basilicas listed below. St. Fulgentius (v.) of Ruspe was born at T. Bishop Julian (at T.) is recorded in the *sententiae episcoporum* no. 57 of the Council of Carthage of 156; at the Conference of Carthage in 411 the bishop Donatian was present, who also took part in the Council of Carthage in 416; in 484 a bishop named Frumentius is known; in 641 Bishop Stephen is recorded; the see still existed at the beginning of the 8th century (cf. H. Gelzer, *Ungedruckte... Bistumverzeichnisse der orient. Kirche*, in *Byzant. Zeitschr.*, 2 [1893], p. 26); from the list of Leo the Wise it appears that the see still existed at the beginning of the 9th century. In the year 418 a council was held “in ecclesia Apostolorum,” certainly dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul, which S. Gsell identified with this basilica. It is known that Carthage had a basilica dedicated to the two apostles (St. Augustine, *Sermo.*, 15), as did Sicca Veneria, now el Kef (P. Gauckler, in *Bulletin archéologique des travaux historiques*, 18 [1897], pp. 413, nos. 147-48).

At the Second International Congress of Christian Archaeology, S. Gsell presented a study on seven Christian basilicas of ancient Feriana. The first, located at the eastern extremity of the city, was 51.80 m long and 25 m wide; it was divided into five aisles; the central nave had rectangular supports consisting of three square piers with an attached column on Attic bases and Corinthian capitals, while the minor naves were separated by columns with pulvins. The apse opened onto the central nave with two semicolumns and two columns whose shafts were decorated like the nearby columns of St. Peter, as documented by a fragment; all were to support an architrave and wooden pergola. The façade had three doors opening onto a large atrium.

The second basilica, to the south-west of the previous one, had a rectangular plan of 28 x 12.80 m with walls of ashlar or with an apse included within the rectangle, communicating by two doors with the two side chambers.

The third basilica was in the centre of the city, with a grand quadrilateral atrium of 20 m on each side. The interior was about 40 m long, divided by paired supports of two columns into three naves; the bases of the columns and fragments of Corinthian capitals supporting the arches were still in place. The presbytery was raised with an internal apse, whose triumphal arch was supported by two large columns with Corinthian bases and pulvins. By means of a door, the apse communicated on the right with the diaconicon, and not with the chapel at the end of the minor nave on the left. Towards the atrium a semicircular counter-apse was found, with a mosaic pavement and fittings for gates; to the east of it some tombs and a fragment of a Byzantine inscription on bricks were found, reading: “iscripsi ind(ictione) sept(ima)” [CIL, VIII, 11268]. The building was destroyed by a fire that left many traces.

The fourth basilica was in the northern part of the city; it was 45 m long and 18.65 m wide. It was preceded by a portico in which sarcophagi were found. The interior was divided into five naves by two colonnades for the minor naves and by piers for the central one. The apse was within the rectangle and supported at the opening by columns; it communicated by means of two openings immediately after the triumphal arch with two rectangular side chambers. To the west of the Byzantine citadel a fifth basilica of 21 x 11.60 m was found, preceded by a vestibule with two entrances, at the end of which three doors opened, separated by columns. The place of the presbytery was recognized, separated by gates, on which the apse included within the rectangle opened; it was paved with mosaic: on the right it opened into the diaconicon, while the minor left nave led into a rectangular chapel. To the north-east of the city the ruins of a sixth basilica were found; it measured 29 x 10.90 m with an apse inscribed within the rectangle; it was divided into three naves by columns; the apse did not communicate with the two side chambers; fragments of sarcophagi attested its funerary use.

To the south-west of the city and in the middle of a Christian cemetery the seventh basilica was identified, 26 x 11 m, with a central nave divided by two rows of six columns on Attic bases and Corinthian capitals, with a paving of slabs; the apse was built with terracotta tubes in the vault and with a mosaic pavement with interlacing, and the following two inscriptions:
“(I)Anuari et comitum / (S)anctis devotus. / (F)la(vius) An(nius) Pusinus / (c)um suis votum / (c)onplevit. (F)el(iciter?)”
Moreover, it read: “Exaudi, Deus, orationem meam auribus percipite verba oris mei sanctorumque.” Apart from the last word, the rest is taken from Psalm 53:4. G. B. De Rossi, commenting on this inscription, believed it followed that of Ianuarius (*La cappella argentea africana*, Rome 1888, pp. 17-18, no. 8).

Around the building many tombs were cut into the rock. S. Gsell also identified four chapels, the first of which, built of ashlar, presented a