Eles, Tunisia

"Eles" redirects here. For other uses, see Eles (disambiguation).

Eles (also transliterated as Ellès and Al Las) is a village in the Siliana Governorate, Tunisia. It is located around 35°56′55″N 9°5′50″E, about 13 km northwest of Maktar^[1][2] in Siliana Governorate.^[3]

Eles, Tunisia
Eles is the site of a large number of megalithic dolmens
Eles, Tunisia Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 35°56′55″N 9°5′50″E
Country	Tunisia
Governorate	Siliana Governorate
Time zone	UTC1 (CET)

Eles, Tunisia sits over a natural spring at the base of the surrounding hills.

The village is notable for the large number of dolmens found immediately to the west,^[4] thought to be from around 2500 BC. BC.^[5][6] south and east of the village which are typical of the tombs found around Maktar.^[7] A study of fifty-three of the dolmens by Belmonte, Esteban and Jiménez González^[8] suggest that some of these tombs may be orientated towards Alpha Centauri. In contrast Hoskin^[9] argues that Tunisian dolmen orientations can be explained by the local topography, in that the entrances all face downhill.

The local rock strata are geologically interesting as they provide a particularly good record of the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary,^[10] which is now better known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

During the Roman Empire and late antiquity there was a civitas (Roman town) called Ululi.^[11][12]

Citations

1. Eles, Tunisia at itouchmap.com
2. Eles, Tunisia at citymap.com
3. Eles, Tunisia at mapmondo.org.
4. "Description et photos du site d'Ellès (LookLex)". Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
5. Belmonte, J. A. Esteban, C. and Jiménez González, J. J. (1998). «Pre-Roman Tombs of Africa Proconsularis»: S7–S24
6. Harbi-Riahi, M. Gragueb, A. Camps, G. M'Timet, A. Zoughlami, J. (1985). Atlas Préhistorique de la Tunisie (8 Maktar) Institut National d'Archéologie et d'Art de Tunis and École Français de Rome [S.l.] ISBN 2-7283-0091-7
7. Harbi-Riahi et al. 1985:19
8. Belmonte et al. 1998
9. Hoskin 2001:206-8
10. Coccioni and Marsilia 2007
11. Titular Episcopal See of Ululi, at GCatholic.org.
12. Ululensis at catholic-hierarchy.org.

General and cited references

• Belmonte, J.A.; Esteban C. & Jiménez González, J.J. (1998). "Pre-Roman Tombs of Africa Proconsularis". Archaeoastronomy: Supplement to the Journal for the History of Astronomy. 23 (29): S7–S24. doi:10.1177/002182869802902302. S2CID 118536392.
• Coccioni, R.; Marsilia, A. (November 2007). "The response of benthic foraminifera to the K–Pg boundary biotic crisis at Elles (north-western Tunisia)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 255 (1–2): 157–180. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.02.046. hdl:11576/1879920.
• Hoskin, M. (2001). Tombs, Temples, and Their Orientations: A New Perspective on Mediterranean Prehistory. Ocarina Books. ISBN 0-9540867-1-6.
• Harbi-Riahi, M.; Gragueb, A.; Camps, G.; M'Timet, A.; Zoughlami, J. (1985). Atlas Préhistorique de la Tunisie (8 Maktar). Institut National d'Archéologie et d'Art de Tunis and École Français de Rome. ISBN 2-7283-0091-7.