Asterius Chapel

Asterius Chapel
Religion
AffiliationChristianism
Location
LocationCarthage
Country Tunisia
Asterius Chapel is located in Tunisia
Asterius Chapel
Shown within Tunisia
Geographic coordinates36°51′16″N 10°19′57″E / 36.85444°N 10.33250°E / 36.85444; 10.33250

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.