Timgad - (World Heritage Site in Algeria)

Timgad - Algeria

Brief Report

Timgad lies on the northern slopes of the Aurès mountains and was created ex nihilo as a military colony by the Emperor Trajan in AD 100. With its square enclosure and orthogonal design based on the cardo and decumanus, the two perpendicular routes running through the city, it is an excellent example of Roman town planning.

Wonderful Universal Importance

Brief synthesis

Timgad, located north of the massif of the Aurès in a mountainous area of great beauty, 480 km south-east of Algiers and 110 km south of Constantine, a perfect example of a Roman military colony created ex nihilo.  By the middle of the 2nd century, the rapid growth of the city had tore the narrow limits of the original foundation. Timgad disseminated outside the limits of the ramparts and some important public buildings are built in the new districts: Capitolium, temples, markets and baths. Most of these buildings date from the Severan period, when the city enjoyed its Golden Age, moreover, supported by huge private residences.

A strong and prosperous colony, Timgad should have served as a compelling image of the splendour of Rome on Numidian soil. Buildings, constructed entirely of stone, often were restored in the course of the Empire: the Trajan's Arch in the middle of the 2nd century, the eastern gate in 146, and the Western port under Marcus-Aurelius . The streets were paved with large rectangular limestone plates and, as attested by the 14 baths, which can still be seen today, particular attention was paid to the allocation of public toilets. The houses of various sizes, blinded by their beautiful mosaics, which were intended to compensate for the absence of precious marble. During the Christian period, Timgad was known bishopric. After the Vandal invasion of 430, Timgad was destroyed at the end of the 5th century by the Aurès Montagnards.  The Byzantine reconquest revived some activities in the city, defended by a fort built on the south, 539, reuse blocks removed from the Roman monuments. The Arab invasion have led to the final collapse of Thamugadi which no longer be occupied after the 8th century.

Wide Report

Timgad, which is located on the northern slopes of the Aurès mountains in an area of great natural beauty and is a perfect example of a Roman military colony created ex nihilo by Emperor Trajan in AD 100 under the name Thamugadi. With its square enclosure and orthogonal design based on the cardo and decumanus, the two perpendicular routes through the city, it is an excellent example of Roman town planning at its height, while it would have served as a compelling image of the splendour of Rome on Numidian soil.

Registered in a square enceinte was partly retained measure 355 m on each side, the layout of Timgad is based on an accurate orthogonal grid, from the decumanus, of which the shaft of the military road of Theveste to Lambesis, and the north-south axis of the cardo. The result is a network of insulae of normal proportions, which is interrupted only in the south to create space for large public buildings: the forum and its annexs (basilica and curia), temples, a theater with a capacity of 3500, a market and baths. In the north-eastern sector, there are other baths and a public library, that corresponds to the network of insulae, open in the cardo.

By halfway through the 2nd century, the rapid growth of the city could no longer be blocked by the narrow limits of the original foundation. Timgad disseminated outside the limits of the red light district, and some of the important public buildings were built in the new districts to the west and to the south, such as the capitolium, temples, markets and baths. Most of these buildings date from the Severan period, when the city enjoyed its 'golden age', which is supported by huge private residential buildings, such as the House of Sertius or the House of hermaphrodite. During the early Empire, the buildings are often restored, the streets were paved with large rectangular plates of limestone, and special attention was paid to the disposal of public toilets. The houses sparkled under their decor of beautiful mosaics, which were intended to compensate for the absence of precious marble.

During the Christian period, Timgad was a bishopric known at the end of the 4th century, when Bishop Optat was the spokesman of the Donatist heresy. After the Vandal invasion of 430, Timgad was destroyed by author knowing of the Aurès mountains at the end of the 5th century.