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 / 35.94861°N 9.09722°E | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Siliana Governorate |
| Time zone | UTC1 (CET) |
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 / 35.94861°N 9.09722°E, about 13 km northwest of Maktar[1][2] in Siliana Governorate.[3]
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]