Hippo Regius was an important port city on the Mediterranean coast of Africa from ancient times until its decline in the medieval period. The geography of the city’s site was a key factor in its importance across regimes. The dominant feature of the site is a large bay protected by the Cap de Garde promontory to the northwest and located at the mouth of the Seybouse River (called the Ubus in the Roman era). The city itself sat on a coastal plain that extends west to the Djebel Edough. Even its name, “Hippo,” likely derived from the Punic for harbor, ûbô…