The city is a Numidian foundation of the 5th century BC. Roman colonization begins after the defeat of Jugurtha in 103 BC., with the installation of veterans of Gaius Marius. The city was granted the title of Roman colony in 230 by Sévère Alexandre, became the seat of a bishopric in the 5th century and remained active in the Vandal and Byzantine kingdoms. In the same way, an Arab installation is attested there in the 9th–12th centuries.
The ruins have been surveyed being identified in 1882 and studied first by Charles Tissot, followed by René Cagnat in 1885. Alfred Merlin and Louis Poinssot published a major book at the beginning of the 20th century. The site was then abandoned in favor of the more promising site of Dougga located not far away.
An agreement between the National Institute of Heritage and the University of Sassari allows to restart the work on the site from 1994 onwards.
The most prominent feature of the ruins is the amphitheater.[6] but there are also several inscriptions of note. One such inscription in the ruins honors Constantine and calls him our restorer.[7]
Other features include
Baths recently excavated and dating from the first half of the 4th century
Amphitheater in the course of release but traditionally dated from the 3rd century
The sole olive oil press from the Vandal era was found at Uchi Maius, situated within the forum area. This discovery unveiled an olive oil production center that operated from the latter part of the 5th century until the end of the Vandal period.[8]
^Azedine Beschaouch, "On the Municipal History of Uchi Maius, an African-Roman City with a Double Civic Community (briefing note)", CRAI, vol. 146, No. 4, 2002, p. 1197–1214.
^Michel Christol, "From the Recovered Freedom of Uchi Maius to Dougga's Freedom", Revue de philologie, littérature et d'histoire anciens, vol. LXXVIII, n° 2004/1, pp. 13-42
^
Christol, "Great Works at Uchi Maius under Marc-Aurèle", Classical Antiquity, nº73, 2004, pp. 165-190.
^Lionel Galand, "Dual place names and their ethnicities in ancient Africa (briefing note)", CRAI, vol. 146, No. 2, 2002, p. 677-680.
