The ancient city of Thaenae (Sfax, Tunisia) has been the focus of an original Tunisian-French partnership project bringing together Tunisia's National Heritage Institute, the University of Sfax and Aix-Marseille Université since 2017. Launched in 2023, the more specific ambition of the Haya Bina Thyna project is to position Thaenae as a regional pilot site in the field of research training, safeguarding and promoting the archaeological heritage of southern Tunisia. Through a three-pronged approach involving training, research and development, the project has two main objectives:

• to safeguard the site and its exceptional environment through the development of an equipped regional center specialized in field and laboratory training, the introduction of management tools adapted to dialogue with public authorities, and its integration into a sustainable regional tourism development dynamic;
• to develop a network of cross-sectoral partnerships at national and Internationally level, to ensure the sustainability of existing initiatives and the development of new, innovative archaeological projects.

Training

The aim is to consolidate the multi-disciplinary training of young Tunisians and develop their partnership network in the field of field archaeology, site enhancement and cultural mediation, based on the Thaenae training site. To this end, three main activities have been set up:

• Accompanying and training young Tunisian and French researchers (PhD students and post-doctoral fellows) and INP curators in multi-disciplinary research in Maghreb archaeology and the environment, by equipping the structures with archaeometry equipment, training in its use and organizing field placements at Thaenae (prospecting, surveying and material study);
• The organization of three Masterclasses: the first in cultural mediation for local young people (researchers and non-researchers), with the aim of setting up discovery activities at Thaenae prepared by the participants in association with local partners and cultural associations; the other two in building restoration and metal furniture, combined with practical workshops on the Thaenae site and at the Sfax Archaeological Museum;
• Expanding the range of university training courses on offer, and developing the network of Tunisian-French training and research partnerships by granting short- or long-term mobility (internships, studies or research) in France.

Research

At Thaenae, the aim is to produce the multi-disciplinary scientific knowledge of the site's history and archaeology needed to enhance and protect it, and to anticipate and control the degradation caused by urban development. To achieve this, the project includes

• Carrying out a detailed topographical and photogrammetric survey of all visible remains and a large-scale geophysical survey to map archaeologically sensitive areas and, in this way, build a management tool in the form of a GIS so as to be able to discuss with local authorities and developers the advisability of preventive excavations or the enhancement of certain areas. This GIS will also form the basis for the construction of the city's "portrait-robot", a three-dimensional rendering of the city and its territory, necessary to raise public awareness of the site's high historical potential despite the small number of remains currently visible.
• Support for diagnostics and/or preventive excavations to be carried out in areas earmarked for development during the project period around the Thaenae site and in the Grand Sfax area, in order to establish best practices between municipalities, developers and heritage managers.

Enhancement

The aim of this section is to promote the Thaenae site, to help safeguard it and make archaeology a driving force behind local tourism development and the regional economy, through three actions:

• Creation of a signposted trail, accessible to the public, on the history of the site and its environment. The panels will be combined with additional digital information (photographs, virtual tours, videos, open-access articles) linking the site to the Sfax Archaeological Museum collections on display;
• Organization, at Thaenae and Sfax, of cultural and environmental mediation activities (workshops, open days, guided tours during archaeological excavations, augmented reality tours, discovery of the natural and industrial heritage of the salines, exhibitions, etc.), aimed at schoolchildren and the general public, by mobilizing local municipalities and entrepreneurs;
• Development, on a South Tunisian site scale, of networking between cultural players, and support for the publication of mediation media to highlight the region's cultural potential and turn it into a lever for sustainable economic development.