The principal industry of Zaghouan for many generations has been the dyeing of the red caps worn in all Mohammedan countries throughout the basin of the Mediterranean, and here called chachias. In Turkey such a cap is called fez, and in Egypt tarboosh. This is the only place in the Regency where the operation has ever been performed, and the secret is carefully preserved, and descends from father to son.
Many fragments of Roman masonry still remain about the town, and frusta of columns are built into the angles of houses, but its vicinity to Tunis has made it a sort of happy hunting-ground for antiquaries and tourists, and most of the inscriptions have been carried away as soon as they have been published by a traveller.
The Zeugitana regio gave its name to the province of Africa proper, or Zeugitana, and formed the boundary between it and the more southern one of Byzacium. A town of Zeugis is mentioned by Aethicus,[110] and Mons Zeugitanus by Solinus. The modern town of Zaghouan, no doubt, occupies the same site as the ancient one, the crest of a spur proceeding from the north-east side of the mountain bearing the same name.
The only ruin of any importance is the entrance-gate, called Bab el-Goos,[111] which, no doubt, served the same purpose to the ancient city.
Bruce has made two illustrations of this.
1. A rough pencil perspective sketch, on which the measurements are marked.
2. A finished Indian-ink drawing to scale, with ground plan, details of mouldings of impost and base, and of the keystone. The dimensions on this drawing are—
| Ft. | in. | lines. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height of moulding on base of pier | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| From top of moulding to bottom of impost | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| Thickness of impost | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| Thickness of stones—from 19 to 20 inches. | |||
| Width of gate | 13 | 8 | 0 |
| Thickness of pier | 6 | 9 | 0 |
This monument is in a very ruined condition; the attic, if it ever existed, and the entablature had disappeared before Bruce’s visit. The arch is simple, without archivolt; the impost, which was bold and salient, probably encircled the building. Round-headed niches were sunk in the piers below the impost; only that on the left hand on entering now remains. No order decorated its façade.
On the keystone of the arch is the sculptured representation of a ram’s head, with an immense pair of horns, above which is a wreath inclosing the word