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Despite having some of the most monumental and iconic sites of the Roman Empire, Mauretania Caesariensis , which occupied the central and western territory of present-day Algeria, is also one of its most unknown provinces. Among its most emblematic enclaves, the Punic, Roman and Byzantine city of Tipasa stands out , declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The University of Murcia and the Center Universitaire Morsli Abdellah de Tipaza, supported by the Palarq Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, have been developing a pioneering international collaboration project since the end of 2020 to investigate the exciting historical legacy of this region. Tipasa , from Punic birth to Roman flourishing Today Tipaza is a modest coastal town that stands partially on the ruins from which it takes its name. However, in Antiquity, along with neighboring Caesarea (Cherchell), it was a first-rate port. Located 70 km west of Algiers, when traveling along the road that connects both cities, the first thing the visitor discovers on the horizon is the silhouette of a stone mound almost 100 meters high.
This is Kbor Roumia , one of the most imposing and best preserved funerary monuments in the western Mediterranean. It has been interpreted as the possible tomb of various Mauritanian kings, including Iuba II and Cleopatra Selene , the only daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. This impressive mass speaks for itself of the strong Hellenization and BTC Users Number Data the archaeological potential of a country located 200 km from the coast of Cartagena. Royal Mausoleum Mauritania Tipasa Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania, Tipasa . © Alejandro Quevedo. Tipasa is one of the oldest settlements on the Algerian coast, whose origins date back to the 6th century BC , as a strategic anchorage on the route that ran through North Africa towards the Strait of Gibraltar. It is located at the foot of Mount Chenoua, a natural park that constitutes the most prominent relief on the coast. It is a 900 m mountain whose silhouette reminds locals of the profile of a woman.
From its Punic period, Tipasa has preserved various necropolises, some of them excavated in the rock, such as the one that currently presides over the fishing dock. The local archaeological museum houses a large part of the funerary goods found during excavations in the first half of the 20th century. The imported ceramics reveal direct contact with the central Mediterranean and especially with the Carthago environment . Sealed pottery fragment Sealed ceramic fragment collected on the surface. © Tayeb Benmokadem. After the annexation of the Caesarian to the Empire during the government of Claudius, the city received the title of municipium and began rapid growth. In the 2nd century it would reach colonial status under Hadrian , with the name Colonia Aelia Augusta Tipasensium , building a powerful wall equipped with several monumental gates. Tipasa had outstanding public buildings located in front of the sea: the forum, in the upper part of the city, theater, amphitheater, various temples... Even a nymphaeum, a monumental fountain whose colonnade remains standing today.
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