Asterius Chapel

The Asterius chapel (French: Chapelle d'Astérius) is a small underground Christian building dating from the 5th-7th centuries, now located within the archaeological park of the Baths of Antoninus in the archaeological site of Carthage, Tunisia. The building - whose function is unknown, although specialists believe it must have had both a liturgical and funerary function - was previously located on the Sayda plateau, formerly known as the "hill of sainte-Monique". The monument was located at the heart of an area that yielded both a late necropolis and cult buildings. It bears witness to the pivotal period between the Vandal kingdom and the Byzantine reconquest of present-day Tunisia. During excavations in the 1950s, it was decided to move it to the Baths of Antoninus archaeological park, given its state of preservation, so that the mosaic decoration would not be lost as a result of urban development in the area.

The Asterius chapel is located within the archaeological park of Baths of Antoninus, but comes from an excavation in the Lyceum district of Carthage, northeast of the city, on the hill of .

Urbanization of the area was "late but regular". The area in which the chapel was found is located on the outskirts of the ancient city, like many Christian buildings. The chapel was discovered in a Byzantine necropolis, which may have included a church. The burials in the necropolis were pits covered with flagstones. The necropolis was surrounded by an enclosure wall, part of which has been identified. Several tombs were excavated, including a painted and stuccoed vault and another with a marble sarcophagus containing a lead coffin. Another burial chapel, known as the Chapel of Redemptus, measured 4 m by 6.50 m and was sparsely decorated. The sarcophagus bears the name of the chapel's owner.

Near the chapel was a cult complex, four rooms of which were excavated, including an underground chamber. The complex was dated to the second half of the 5th century on the basis of coins. A baptistery was present, and one of the rooms featured paintings of saints. Christian graffiti were also found. The space was later refurbished with a more sumptuous décor, featuring floor mosaics and stucco or paintings on the walls, and sometimes marble. Above-ground rooms dating back to the first century. The baptistery, fed by a well, is "the most remarkable part of the complex": four-lobed in shape, with access via steps on the north-west side. The cells were mosaic-covered, and the bottom of the vat was lined with marble. A ciborium and baldachin covered the baptistery. A chancel isolated the area from the rest of the room. The baptistery area featured painted figures with halos, one of whom has been identified as Saturus, one of Perpetua and Felicity's companions. The Basilica Majorum was dedicated to these martyrs, and the same may have been true of this building. One dwelling in the area, the vicus castrorum, not far from the Kobba Bent el Rey, yielded the mosaic known as the Four Evangelists, while another yielded the mosaic known as the Lady of Carthage.

The building has the same orientation as the town's urban grid. It may have reused a cistern, and the vaulting was built before the internal fittings. The apse was added later. The building had two periods in its history and was in use for a long time. The name Asterius appears on a reused inscription on a step. Asterius was not the name of the deceased who occupied the tomb. A skull was found under the mosaic pavement. A tomb was built after this mosaic. According to the paleographic study of the reused inscriptions, the building was not built before the 5th century. During excavations, archaeologists found three Maurice Tiberius coins under the mosaic, dating from the building's second state. The

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