Henchir Mettich Estate
About
A four-sided limestone marker inscribed at this Bagradas valley estate in 116-117 CE laid out exactly how tenant farmers, or coloni, could bring unused imperial land under cultivation and what share of wheat, wine, and olive oil they owed in rent. The text applied the lex Manciana, a tenure code Rome used across its North African estates. Dated to the very year of this map's snapshot, the Henchir Mettich tablet is the earliest known copy of that law in force.
What happened here
Land held in one ownership and worked as a unit, whether the owner is a senator, an emperor or a town. Day to day it is run by a manager who keeps the accounts, allots the tasks and answers for the shortfall. The workforce is mixed — slaves in gangs, tenant farmers on shares, and seasonal labour hired for the harvest and the vintage. Tenants owe a proportion of the crop and a fixed number of days' work, and the terms are posted publicly, which is how we know them. Buildings cluster: presses, granaries, a smithy, quarters, a shrine. Disputes over water and over how many days are owed go to the estate's own procurator first and to the emperor if that fails.
In ancient writing
- Inscription of Henchir Mettich (anonymous imperial-estate regulation), CIL VIII 25902 25902
A stone inscription of 116-117 CE from Henchir Mettich in the Bagradas (Medjerda) valley records terms applying the lex Manciana to the imperial estate. It permits tenant farmers to bring unused imperial land under cultivation and grants them usufruct rights, in exchange for a share of the harvest -- a third of grain, wine and oil after threshing or pressing, and a fourth of beans, plus dues on other produce.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →