Chemtou is barely 16 km away from Bulla Regia and, as the latter, lies in the heart of Numidian country.

Ancient Simitthu was especially known for its quarries of yellow and pink marble, the famous gialo numidicum used for the decoration of all the prestigious buildings (temples, palaces, rich villas) throughout the Mediterranean basin during Antiquity. The quarrying of this natural wealth prompted the emergence and the flourishing of a city of which some monuments have survived (villas, judicial basilica, theatre, aqueduct, bridge etc), constituting the visible part of a heritage for the most part still to be discovered.

The site consists of two main areas: the quarry, with its industrial installations, its living quarters for the work force and the military garrison, and the city of Simitthu.

Work on the site, including the construction of a site museum, within the framework of a vast excavation campaign carried out under Tunisian-German Cooperation not only underscored the role played by “Numidian marble” in the past but also shed new light on the Numidian civilisation as a result of in situ discoveries, indicating a degree of material and intellectual progress, refinement and spiritual elevation hitherto unsuspected and that are appropriately highlighted in the museum.

Adjoining the museum are early XXth century marble works that have been conserved, presented and listed as being the first elements of “industrial archaeology” to have been promoted in Tunisia.