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Tunisia, set on the top head of
the African continent, caught the eyes of many nations around the Mediterranean, and more
specifically the Romans. It was not only a geographically strategic site but also a
divinely fertile land. Describing Tunisia to the Roman Emperor, a messenger briefly cited:
"It was a land…where palm trees embrace the sky under the shadow of which grow
fig trees, olive trees, pomegranate trees, together with a variety of plants".
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Once settled in the land, the
Romans celebrated a marriage of cultures and laid down an exchange of resources, among
which we cite, olive oil, cereals, dates and figs, raisin, dried and salted tomatoes,
dried fruits, cheese and butter, among others. In order to bring our products back to the
Empire, the settlers brought with them different sorts of ‘food containers’ that
were essentially made of clay. It is, thus, that the making of this type of pottery was
first introduced in our country. Quickly, this tradition flourished everywhere to the
extent that our ancestors spared the Romans the difficult task of bringing their own
containers.
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Since then, the tradition of
pottery making was devoutly taken over from father to son. What is strikingly curious,
however, is that the shapes produced hundred of years before remained almost the same and
never lost their typicality. The remnants of the Roman civilisation, which fill up our
museums, best attest to the veracity of what we have previously stated.
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