Henchir Bez is an archaeological site in Tunisia,Sarara, Naidé Ferchiou, Henchir Bez, l'antique Vazi Antiquités africaines (2002)Vol38, Num1, pp. 415-421. located at 36° 00′ 23″ N, 9° 32 in the hills overlooking the Oued Miliane river,Vazi Sarra, Henchir-Bez.R.B. Hitchner, R. Warner, R. Talbert, T. Elliott, sgilles, Vazi Sarra at pleiades . west of Tunis.N. Ferchiou, Henchir Bez, l’antique Vazi Sarara, AntAfr. 38-39, 2002–2003, 415–421R. Cagnat - A. Merlin, Atlas archéologique de la Tunisie : édition spéciale des cartes topographiques publiées par le Ministère de la Guerre, accompagnée d'un texte explicatif (Paris 1914) Cat. no. 30.107A. Hanene, A propos de C. I. L., VIII, 23750 provenant de Henchir Bez/Vazi Sarra, CahTun 197/198, 2006, 69; Identified by a recently discovered inscription,Naidé Ferchiou, Henchir Bez, l'antique Vazi Sarara Antiquités africaines (2002) Volume 38 Numbér 1 pp. 415-421.Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 33 E1 it is the ruins of the Roman civitas of Vazi Sarra,Naïdé Ferchiou, Henchir-Bez.Anna Leone, Changing Townscapes in North Africa from Late Antiquity to the Arab Conquest(Edipuglia srl, 2007 )p33.[layout=topographie_item&search[constraints][topographie][searchSeriennummer]=8007282 Vazi Sarara (Vazi Sarra).more formally Vazitana Sarra Civitas. which include a Christian Basilica and a Byzantine/Roman fort.Anna Leone, Changing Townscapes in North Africa from Late Antiquity to the Arab Conquest (Edipuglia srl, 2007)p271.
Ruins The ruins at Henchir Bez have been identified as the remains of Vazitana Sarra Civitas (Vazi Sarara),Barrington Atlas, 2000, pl. 33 E1 a civitas of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis.Ferchiou N., 2002-2003b, Henchir Bez, l'antique Vazi Sarara, Antiquités. Africaines 38-39, 415-421. The remains at Henchir Bez include a Bascilica and a fort. The fort was originally a temple dedicated to Mercury Soberus.Anna Leone, The End of the Pagan City: Religion, Economy, and Urbanism in Late Antique North Africa(OUP Oxford, 2013) p64.D. S. Robertson, Greek and Roman Architecture(Cambridge University Press, 1929 )p345&356.
Etymology The name Henchir Bez means the "ruins of Bez" where 'bez' probably derives from the ancient "Vaz[i]" through linguistic fortition. The name Vazitana Sarra Civitas is supported by recent epigraphical findsNaidé Ferchiou, Henchir Bez, the ancient Vazi Sarara. ( 2002)
Bishopric The ancient Roman town of Vazi-Sarra was also the seat of an ancient Catholic Bishopric. It existed until the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, and is now a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
Another ancient Bishopric, Marcelliana, was located nearby. However, its exact location is unknown.Titular Episcopal See of Marcelliana.
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