A little before (138 M.) Ferme Dufourg, the station for a modelfarm 2½ M. to the W., on the right bank of the stream, we sight on the left the hills of Ahmar-Khaddou (p. 284), sometimes snow-clad in winter, the landmark of Biskra.
We cross the Plaine de Dar-Raous or Dar el-Aroussa, often enlivened by gazelles; it lies between the Aurès streams Oued Bou Gatou and Oued Abdi (p. 278), which here fall into the El-Kantara, now called Oued Biskra.
Beyond the ‘Col des Chiens‘, a barren gorge at the foot of Jebel el-Mlaga (p. 282), we observe on the left the Barrage of the Oued Biskra, constructed in 1897 and guarded by a block-house. On the right lies the Catholic cemetery and in the distance are the palm-oases of—
149 M. Biskra. The Station (Pl. A, 1) is at the N.W. end of the town, 8–12 min. from most of the hotels. Sleeping-car office at Bouillard & Simon’s, Rue Berthe.
Hotels (comp. p. 174; often crowded in Feb. and March). *Royal Hotel (Pl. a; C, 3), Avenue Delacroix, at the S. end of the town, with garden-court, terrace, belvedere (p. 281), and restaurant, R. 4–20, B. 1½–2, déj. 3½–4, D. 5–7, pens. 13–25, omn. 1 fr., closed May-Oct.; *Palace Hotel (Pl. b; B, C, 4), next the Casino (see below), well situated, with pretty garden, R. 6–20, pens. 16–25 fr., closed 16th April to 30th Nov.; Grand-Hôtel Excelsior (Pl. g; B, C, 4), with garden, R. 3–10, B. 1½, déj. 3–4, D. 4–5, pens. 12½–25 fr., closed 16th May–31st Oct., well spoken of.—*Hôt. Victoria (Pl. c; A, 2), Boul. Gambetta, with small garden, R. 3–6, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. 11–15, omn. ¾ fr., closed 16th May to 14th Oct.; *Hôt. du Sahara (Pl. e; B, 2), Rue Berthe, with restaurant and garden-court, R. 3–7, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 9–10, omn. ¾ fr.; Hôt. de l’Oasis (Pl. d; C, 2), Rue du Card. Lavigerie, with restaurant, R. 3–5, B. 1, déj. or D. 3, pens. 9–12, omn. 1 fr., patronized by the French, open the whole year, good; Hôt. des Zibans (Pl. f; C, 2), Rue du Card. Lavigerie, R. 2½–5, B. 1, D. 2½, pens. 8½–10 fr., plain.
Cafés. At the Casino (see below); Glacier, Rue du Card. Lavigerie.
Carriages (stand in Square Dufourg; Pl. C, 3). From station to town with luggage 1½, per hour 2½, to Chetma or the Dunes of Oumache 10, to Sidi-Okba or Droh 20, to Oumache or Bordj Saâda 25 fr.—The tariff is high, but a bargain may often be made for much less, if without the intervention of hotel-porters or guides.
Horse or Mule, 3–6 fr., according to distance.—Camel, with attatouch (p. 174) for ladies, 4 fr. per day; attendant ½–1 fr.
Tramway from the Casino (see below) every ½–1 hr. on the Route de Touggourt (Pl. C, 4, 5) to Old Biskra (in 12 min.; 10 c.; terminus near the Kasba Hill); also four times daily viâ Beni-Mora to Hammam es-Salahin (in 50 min.; 50 c.)—Diligence to Sidi-Okba (at 8.30 a.m.; returning at 3 p.m.); also to Touggourt (comp. p. 284).
Physicians. Dr. Couillaud, Rue Malakoff 15 (2–4 o’cl.); Dr. Dicquemare, at the Gr.-Hôt. Excelsior.—Chemist. G. Isaac, Rue Berthe.—Moorish Bath (Pl. C, 4), Route de Touggourt.—Photographs at Fréchon’s, Bougault’s, and Maure’s, all in Rue Berthe.
Post & Telegraph Office (Pl. B, 2), Rue Saad 3.
English Church Service (Jan.-April) at the former Cercle Civil (Pl. 1; B, C, 2), Rue Graillet.
Amusements. Casino Dar-Diaf (Pl. B, C, 4; p. 281), Route de Touggourt, with theatre and concert-room; varieties, dances of the Ouled Naïl, etc.—Ouled Naïl dancing-girls (originally of the nomadic tribe mentioned at p. 215), and other native artists perform at the small native cafés in the Rue Arcelin and Rue Lapeyrouse (Pl. B, C, 3); visitors pay 1 fr. (incl. cup of Arabian tea or coffee).
Festivals. The Courses de Biskra, held for three days between 1st and 20th Feb., comprise camel-races (courses sahariennes de mehara), horse-races in the hippodrome of Beni-Mora (p. 283), ‘Fantasia Arabe’ (equestrian performances, p. 99), and processions of the natives.—The ‘grande prière’ on the Kasba Hill at the end of the fasting-month of Ramadan attracts many spectators.—To join the Falcon Hunts of an agha (see below) special permission is required.
Guides (p. xxvi; 4–5 fr. a day; 2 fr. for an evening only), like hawkers and beggars, are a local pest, but their services are entirely superfluous, even for drives or rides in the environs, where the drivers or attendants give information.
Climate. The season is Nov.–April. Lying at the S. base of the Sahara Atlas and on the margin of the desert, Biskra has all the characteristics of the Sahara climate (pp. 170, 171). The great fluctuations of temperature (mean winter maximum 65° Fahr., mean minimum 45°) are comparatively little felt, even by invalids, owing to the remarkable dryness of the air. The rainfall is very slight and sunless days are quite the exception. The dust, however, is sometimes troublesome, even in winter, and sand-storms, especially during the sirocco (S.E. wind), may occur at any season. When a cold N. or N.W. wind blows from the Sahara Atlas, the palm-oasis alone affords some shelter. As yet no special arrangements for invalids exist at Biskra.
Sights, when time is limited. On arrival, view from the belvedere of the Royal Hotel (p. 281). 1st Day. Visit to Market (p. 281) early, then Villa de Bénévent and *Old Biskra (p. 281); in the afternoon, ride or drive to the Col de Sfa (p. 282). 2nd Day. Excursion to Sidi-Okba (p. 283).
The little town of Biskra (400 ft.; pop. 7400, of whom 6300 are Mohammedans, incl. Old Biskra) lies at the S. base of the low Chaîne de Sfa (p. 282), on the right bank of the Oued Biskra, generally a very poor stream below the Barrage (p. 279). Owing to its convenient situation at the end of the E. Algerian Sahara railway, and to its fine climate, it has grown into great favour of late as a winter resort and the ‘Nice’ of Algeria. The present town, with streets regularly built as in all the modern Algerian towns, has sprung up only since the French occupation of 1844. The mediæval Biskra, named after the small Roman settlement of Bescĕra, lay in the midst of the palm-oasis (p. 281), on the top and on the slopes of a low hill, where, after the destruction of the town by Sala Reïs (1553), a Turkish fort (kasba) was built. The natives then settled anew in the still existing seven villages of the oasis.
Biskra is the capital and administrative centre of the Zab (‘oasis’, pl. ziban), the extensive girdle of oases on the S. fringes of the Monts du Zab (p. 170) and the Aurès Mts. In accordance with their sites these oases are named Zab Dahraoui (N. Zab), on the margin of the Monts du Zab, Zab Guebli (S. Zab), on the Oued Djedi (p. 284), and Zab Chergui (E. Zab), between the Aurès Mts. and the Chott Melrir (p. 284). The natives of the Zab, who are under an ‘agha’ or chief, are mostly Berbers with a large infusion of Arabian and in some cases Turkish blood. Many of them, under the name of Biskris, are met with in the coast-towns as small traders.
The only business street is the Rue Berthe (Pl. B, C, 1–3), in the S. part of which there are a few small European shops. It intersects the whole town and connects the railway-station with the strangers’ quarter on the S. side.
Between the Rue Berthe and Fort St. Germain (Pl. B, C, 1, 2), the nucleus of the town, built in 1849–51, runs the Grande Allée past the Jardin Public, which, on its N.E. side, is adjoined by the Jardins de la Garnison.
The Rue Berthe leads to the Avenue Delacroix (Pl. C, 3), the favourite haunt of guides and hawkers, where, at its junction with the Square Dufourg, rises a bronze statue of Card. Lavigerie (Pl. 2, C, 3; p. 346), the benefactor of Biskra.
The belvedere of the Royal Hotel (p. 279), 92 ft. high, resembling a minaret (visitors kindly admitted), commands an excellent *Panorama of the town and its environs, finest in the early morning, or towards sunset, when the Ahmar-Khaddou (‘rosy cheek’; p. 284) is bathed in a ruddy glow.
The Casino Dar-Diaf (Pl. B, C, 4; ‘house of the guests’), built by A. Ballu (p. 289) in the neo-Moorish style in 1892–3, is the fashionable evening resort.
The Mairie (Pl. B, 2), the small Mosque (Pl. B, 3), and other public buildings are situated between the Rue Berthe and the quiet Boul. Carnot (Pl. A, B, 2, 3), which joins the Avenue Delacroix at the Casino.
The Marché (Pl. B, 3) presents a busy and picturesque scene, especially in the early morning, which will interest new-comers. The motley throng of traders, many of them Mozabites (p. 216), offer the art-industrial products of the Berber tribes of the Aurès and the Sahara, besides Moroccan wares and ‘Oriental’ articles made in Europe, at unduly high prices. The fruit and vegetable market affords evidence of the fertility of the oases. The Marché aux Bestiaux is held in the Boul. Carnot on Mondays.
Camel caravans from the Sahara may be seen at the Fondouks (Pl. A, 3), the inns of the natives on the Route des Zibans.
The quite modern Village-Nègre (Pl. C, 4; comp. p. 181) is very dirty and uninteresting.
A few hundred yards to the S. of the town, between the Route de Touggourt and the Route de Sidi-Okba, is the Villa de Bénévent or Jardin Landon (Pl. C, 5; adm. 2 fr.), a creation of Count Landon (p. 305), the beautiful *Grounds of which are stocked with a marvellous profusion of tropical and subtropical plants, and afford a delightful shady retreat in hot weather.
The great attraction in the nearer environs is *Old Biskra (Vieux-Biskra; see inset Map, at p. 279), with its clay-built oasis-villages (ksar, pl. ksûr) inhabited by Biskris (p. 280), and its oasis 3 M. long by 110–550 yds. wide, with some 150,000 date-palms and 6000 fruit-trees (apricots, figs, oranges), besides corn-fields and small kitchen-gardens. The palms, being well watered from the Barrage (p. 279), are well grown and beautifully green; the dates, however, have less flavour than those of the Oued Rhir (p. 285), the Djerid (p. 386), and particularly those of the Souf (p. 285). The traveller may induce a native (20–30 c.) to show him one of the palm-gardens, or he may be satisfied with a glimpse at them over the low mud-walls or through gaps.
From the Villa de Bénévent (p. 281) walkers follow the right bank of the Oued Biskra, in the bed of which stands the kubba of Sidi Zerzour, to the (20 min.) village of M’Cid, the eastmost in the oasis, with its tall cypress, 130 ft. high, and its pertinacious beggars. The lofty minaret of the small mosque of Sidi Moussa or Sidi Malek (muezzin, 30–50 c.) affords a fine survey of the oasis, backed on the N.E. by the distant and usually snow-clad Jebel Chelia (p. 278), and extending to the S.E. to Sidi-Okba (p. 283).
About ¼ hr. to the S.W. of M’Cid is the picturesque village of Bab el-Dharb, infested by begging children, where, at the great lotus-tree near the two conduits, we enjoy a charming view of the palm-gardens. Close by is the mosque of Sidi Abd el-Moumen, whose minaret is another famous point of view (ascent toilsome).
Between Bab el-Dharb and the tramway-terminus (p. 279; Café Petit Robinson) rises the Kasba Hill, crowned with the old mud-built Turkish fort, now partly washed away by rain, where the first French garrison was massacred by the natives in 1844. View limited.
The village of Bab-Fath, to the S.W. of the Kasba Hill, has a picturesque shrine, the marabout of Sidi Lahsen.
We return to Biskra by tramway on the Route de Touggourt, passing the poor Mohammedan Cemetery on the left and the Hôpital Lavigerie on the right; or we may choose the road (½ hr.) through the village of Ras el-Guéria, noted for the gaily coloured costumes of its inhabitants.
For Carriages (tariff, see p. 279) the route prescribed for avoiding the narrow roads is viâ M’Cid to Bab el-Dharb, and back by the Route de Touggourt or viâ Ras el-Guéria. With this excursion may be combined a drive to the small oasis of Cora, with most characteristic Sahara surroundings, and to (6¼ M. from Biskra) the Dunes d’Oumache, or even to the (10 M.) Oase Oumache, where the ksar, defended by ancient moats, contains many remains of Roman buildings. Fine view at the marabout. The excursion to Oumache takes at least half a day. Provisions should be taken.
The (5 M.) *Col de Sfa, which has long been famed for its view, is a depression in the Chaîne de Sfa, between Jebel Bou Rezel (1322 ft.) and Jebel el-Mlaga (1302 ft.), on the shadeless road to El-Kantara and Batna. We drive (by the hour, see p. 279), or (preferable) ride to the pass; in the latter case we may extend our trip from the pass to the (¼ hr.) ruinous Poste Optique, whence we survey the steppe of El-Outaya (p. 278) to the N., and to the S. the endless undulating expanse of the yellow Sahara, spotted like a panther’s hide, as Strabo has described it, with its green oases (Chetma, Biskra, Sidi-Okba, etc.). Finest light towards sunset.
The (5 M.) Hammam es-Salahin (443 ft.; ‘bath of the saints’) or Fontaine-Chaude, the Roman Ad Piscinam, is most conveniently reached by tramway (p. 279). The car runs through the whole of the Boul. Carnot (p. 281), turns to the W. past a hill crowned with a disused Optic Telegraph (Pl. A, 3), and then passes the small oasis of Beni-Mora and crosses the streamlet Oued Zemour.
The Bath House (pens. with baths 10 fr.) attracts many visitors from Biskra, especially in summer. It lies in a most dreary region between Jebel Bou Rezel (p. 282) and the sandy Jebel Maouya Gorah. The quadrangle, where the surprisingly copious salt and sulphur spring (115° Fahr.) bursts forth, is enclosed by cells for Europeans (1½ fr.) and men’s and women’s baths for the natives. The roof-terrace affords a good view of the environs. About 1 M. to the N. is a small mountain-lake of volcanic origin.
Jebel Maouya Gorah, the E. spur of Jebel Matraf, is a good standpoint for surveying the girdle of oases formed by the Zab Dahraoui and Zab Guebli (p. 280), stretching to the distant Oued Djedi (p. 284). The S. base of this range, where the building and paving stones of Biskra are now quarried, is skirted by the Route des Zibans, much used by caravans.
The Excursion to Sidi-Okba (13 M.; diligence, see p. 279; carr. tariff, see p. 279, but 12–15 fr. is usually accepted) is the favourite among the longer trips from Biskra. The Route de Sidi-Okba (Pl. C, 4, 5) fords the Biskra (sometimes dangerous after winter rains) and skirts the small oases of Lalia and Filliache. Between these is the Nécropole, once a Berber burial-ground.
For the long drive through the dreary steppe at the S. foot of the Aurès Mts., enlivened only by the begging children of the nomads, we are repaid by the verdant Palm Oasis of Sidi-Okba, the most fertile of the Zab Chergui group (p. 280), watered by a network of conduits from the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278).
The small town of Sidi-Okba (144 ft.; restaurant, at the entrance to the town; pop. 4900), the religious centre of the Zab, owes its origin and its fame as a resort of pilgrims to the tomb of Sidi Okba (p. 322), who ended his victorious career in the adjacent oasis of Thouda. The now poor town, with its mud-built fortifications and houses, and its beggars, lepers, and importunate guides, vividly recalls a mediæval Sahara town.
On alighting we walk straight on, then bear to the left, and soon reach a small square with the Maison du Kaïd and other picturesque houses. Turning here to the left we come to a second place, where on the left, preceded by a colonnade, rises the plain Mosque of Sidi-Okba, the oldest in Algeria, containing the tomb of the saint, which is shown on Fridays only. The main entrance to the court of the mosque consists of a carved *Door in the so-called Berber style (10th cent.). The minaret should be ascended for the sake of the excellent survey it affords of the town and the oasis (custodian 50 c.). Adjoining the mosque is the Zaouïa, with a Mohammedan law-school.
Passing through the gateway we now follow the first street on the right to the Market, with its quaint and busy crowd.
The steppe adjoining Aïn-Naga, 14½ M. to the E. of Sidi-Okba, on the caravan route to Négrine, which in late-Roman times was an important military road, is a favourite resort in winter of gazelle-stalkers from Biskra. Mirages (Fata Morgana) are often witnessed here.
The *Excursion to M’chounech, which is much grander than the last-named, is very fatiguing, but will be greatly facilitated by the opening of the new road through the Aurès Mts. (p. 278). We ride to the E., across the Biskra ford, to (5 M.) Chetma, a small palm-oasis on the outskirts of the Aurès, where the road at present ends. After a short rest in the village (ksar), with its mud-built houses, or beside the adjoining springs, we proceed viâ (10½ M.) Droh to (14 M.) El-Habel (778 ft.), where we reach the deep-set valley of the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278). We then ascend on the right bank of the stream to (19 M.) M’chounech (1083 ft.; quarters at the sheikh’s), a beautiful palm-oasis with 1300 inhab., at the foot of the Ahmar-Khaddou (6315 ft.).
The hill on which the ksar stands affords a very curious and striking view of the neighbouring *Ravines (accessible in dry weather only) and the upper course of the stream with its oases, as far as Baniane; but we may obtain a still grander view by riding to the (24 M.) Poste Optique (3691 ft.), on the S. margin of the Ahmar-Khaddou, whence the most impressive desert panorama stretches as far as the Chott Melrir (see below). The summit of the mountain may be gained in 4–5 hrs. more, but few travellers will care to face the toilsome ascent.
From Biskra to Branis, Djemmorah, Beni-Ferah, and El-Kantara, see p. 278; to the Gorges de Tilatou, see p. 277.
Hardy and well-equipped (pp. 173, 174) travellers will be repaid by the interesting Sahara Route to Touggourt (127 M.; ‘courrier postal’, open omnibus with awning, on Mon., Wed., and Frid. at 3 a.m., in 28 hrs., excl. 10 hrs.’ halt for the night at M’raïer; fare 40 fr.; carr. from the hirers Viallard or Tourenq, 300–400 fr.; a driver that speaks French should be asked for). A railway from Biskra to Touggourt is now under construction.—The Route de Touggourt leads to the S.E. from Old Biskra (p. 281) through the steppe to (19 M.) Bordj Saâda (85 ft.), in the plain of the Oued Djedi (comp. p. 215), and thence to the S. to (32½ M.) Bordj Chegga, to the W. of the Chott Melrir (95 ft. below the sea-level), the largest salt-lake in Algeria. 45½ M. Bir Sethil, on the Oued Itel, across the bed of which, generally dry, the road is carried by an embankment over 100 yds. long, built of blocks of gypsum. 50 M. Kef ed-Door (374 ft.), a plateau affording fine views, with a Poste Optique communicating with Ahmar-Khaddou (see above), and said to be the southmost point reached by Sidi Okba (p. 322) in the course of his campaigns. 63½ M. Ourir, a small oasis near the Chott Merouan, the S. arm of Chott Melrir, contains the kubba of Sidi Makfi, a favourite resort of pilgrims.
69 M. M’raïer or Merayer (13 ft. below sea-level; Caravansérail, R. 2–3, B. ½, D. 3½ fr.; pop. 1700), a thriving but fever-haunted village, with a luxuriant palm-oasis watered by artesian wells.
We next come to the region of the Oued Rhir, also malarious, with the largest girdle of oases in Algeria. These oases, artificially irrigated under the French régime by the sinking of numerous very costly artesian wells, have gained immensely in fertility, and their palms (about 950,000) supply the European markets with dates of the clear or pale variety (deglet en-nûr). Passing the posting-stations of Sidi-Khelil and El-Berd we come to Ourlana (69 ft.; pop. 4000), on the so-called Sea of Ourlana, a chain of lakes where the water of the Oued Rhir comes to the surface. 109½ M. Djemaâ (Caravansérail, R. 3, B. ¾, D. 3 fr., quite good), lies near the oasis of Tiguedidin, with its pretty lake in a palm-grove. Then Tamerna, with 1600 inhab., and Sidi-Rached. The swarthy complexion of the natives, mostly Rouaras, akin to the Harrâtin (p. 94), now indicates that we are nearing the Sudan.
127 M. Touggourt or Tougourt (259 ft.; Hôt. de l’Oasis, Grande Place, near the Bureau Arabe, R. 3, D. 3, pens. 12½ fr.; mule and attendant 5 fr. per day; pop. 7100), a rapidly increasing little town, with a great Friday market, is important as the junction of the caravan-routes to the Mzab (p. 216), Ouargla (or Wargla), and the Souf (see below). New Touggourt (T. el-Djedida) lies at the foot of a hill crowned with the ruins of Old Touggourt (T. el-Khedima). The distinguishing features of the town are two tall square towers, a minaret, and the clock-tower of the Kasba. The new gypsum-built houses, some of them in several stories, produce a striking effect. The inhabitants—Rouaras, many Mozabites (p. 216), and Jews and negroes who have embraced Islam—live in separate quarters (zgag) and in large suburbs. Their home-industries, especially weaving and carpet-making, are thriving. It is very interesting to ride through the *Oasis, or to make an excursion to the S. to the little oasis town of (8 M.) Temacin and the (9½ M.) Zaouïa of Tamelhat, one of the most influential monasteries in the Sahara, with a superb *Mosque.
In order to avoid the long route back to Biskra, and at the same time to see more of the Sahara, we may ride from Touggourt viâ El-Oued, to the N.E., in 4–5 days direct to Nefta (p. 387; trotting-camel to El-Oued 10, and for the ‘Saharien’ a fee of 3 fr. per day; comp. also p. 174). The caravan-route, marked only by pyramidal signals, crosses the great dunes of the Souf, where ‘desert-roses’ (p. 270) abound, one of the N. offshoots of the Erg Oriental, as the great E. desert of the Sahara is called. The only houses of call are (12½ M.) Bordj Mguitla, (24 M.) Bordj Mouiat Ferdjana, and (44½ M.) Bordj Mouiat el-Kaïd. The first village in the Souf is (53 M.) Ourmes.
61½ M. El-Oued (263 ft.; good quarters at the house of the merchant Sagnier, R. 3, déj. or D. 4¼ fr.; pop. 7400), the interesting capital of the Souf, with windowless houses covered with barrel-vaulting and small domes, is best viewed from the minaret or from the dune on the N. side. El-Oued and particularly the neighbouring oasis of Guémar are famed for their weaving; their wares are sent by the caravan-route to the S.E. viâ Bir er-Ressof (Beresof) to Ghadâmes in Tripolitania.
The *Oases of the Souf, containing about 180,000 palm-trees, have quite a different system of cultivation from all others in Barbary. The remarkably thick and long-leaved palms stand in funnel-shaped hollows (entonnoirs, Arabic ritan), and are protected against sand-drift by palisades of palm-twigs. The irrigation is provided by surface-water collected in wells, from which the water is raised by means of long draw-beams. The dates, owing to the peculiar mode of culture and the great heat of the sun, are noted for their sweetness and fine flavour. They are usually exported to Europe by way of S. Tunis.
Beyond (74½ M.) Debila, where the high dunes end, we ride to the Tunisian frontier across the pastures of the nomadic tribes, watered by artesian wells. A delightful scene is presented by the watering of the cattle, driven in from every direction, and indefatigably supplied by the swarthy herdsmen.
Beyond Choucht el-Ihoudi and Bir el-Asli, the first stages in Tunisia, we traverse the dreary steppe to the N.W. end of the Chott Djerid (p. 386), through which we ride for a short way on the Trik Douaria. 137 M. Nefta (p. 387), where we must announce our arrival at the custom-house.—From Nefta viâ Tozeur to Metlaoui (and Gafsa), see pp. 387, 386.
45. From Batna viâ Lambèse to Timgad.
Road, to Lambèse 7 M. (diligence four times daily, in 1 hr.), to Timgad 23½ M.—The diligence from Batna to (67 M.) Khenchela (p. 273), starting at 4 a.m., reaches at 8 a.m., beyond the 35th kilomètre-stone (22 M.), the point where the Timgad road diverges. One may therefore alight there and walk in less than ½ hr. to Timgad. Returning from Khenchela the diligence passes this point about noon. During the season motor-omnibuses of the Hôt. des Etrangers run from Batna to Lambèse and Timgad (75 fr. for the whole vehicle; single seat 25 fr.). A motor-omnibus of the Hôt. Meille at Timgad also conveys travellers from the station at Batna to Timgad and back (20 fr. each person; best to order beforehand). Carriages (for one day 20–30, for two days 30–40 fr.) may be had at the hotels or through the Rail. Restaurant. The fares are rather lower when arranged with the drivers direct. Bicycles in the Square at Batna, 5 fr. per day.
If pressed for time we may take the evening train from Constantine to Batna, visit Lambèse and Timgad next day, and go on to Biskra in the afternoon by train. Those who reach Batna from Biskra or El-Kantara about noon may take lunch at the station, go on to Lambèse, staying there for 1½–2 hrs., and thence to Timgad, whence they may return next morning to Batna in time for the afternoon train to Constantine.
Batna, see p. 275. The road leaves the town by the Quartier Militaire and ascends slightly, to the S.E., through the dreary upland plain, where it is sometimes bitterly cold in winter, and along the N. margin of the Aurès Mts. (p. 278). As we near the hill-region of Lambèse we sight the ‘Prætorium’ in the distance.
7 M. Lambèse or Lambessa (3875 ft.; quarters at the poor cafés only), a village with a large Pénitencier, or Maison Centrale de Correction, was founded in 1848 as a prison for political offenders and partly built out of the ruins of the Roman Lambaesis.
Lambæsis was the headquarters of the famous Third Legion, the nucleus of the Roman forces in Numidia, transferred hither about 100 A. D. from Tebessa (p. 315) for the defence of the chief Aurès passes, those to the Oued Abdi and the Oued el-Abiod (p. 278). Their oldest camp, recently discovered, lay 1¼ M. to the W. of Lambèse; the newer camp, mentioned as early as 146 A. D., is now partly built over by the penitentiary and its garden. On a hill rising steeply from the plain, 1¼ M. to the S. of the later camp, lay a civilian settlement (canăbae), occupied at first by traders, artisans, and the soldiers’ families, but erected into a municipium under Marcus Aurelius (161–180). This became the seat of the governor of Numidia and for a short time prospered. But the punishment of the Third Legion by Gordian III. (238), who removed it to the Rhine for twenty-five years, the earthquake of 268, the extension of the military frontier under Diocletian (284–305) to the S. border of the Sahara Atlas, and the transference, under Constantine the Great, of the governor’s seat to Cirta (p. 298) were disasters from which Lambæsis never recovered, so that by the 5th cent. it was completely abandoned.
The Roman *Camp, one of the best-preserved in existence, ‘the classic ruin of military occupation’ as it has been called, forms a rectangle of 547 by 460 yds., with the usual rounded corners, and four gates, between which ran the two main streets, the Cardo and the Decumanus.
We alight at the ancient Porta Sinistra, the W. gate. Between this and the ‘Prætorium’ (see below) recent excavations have unearthed remains of the Decumanus and its three N. side-streets, all once flanked with colonnades, and the foundations of the barracks built of concrete (p. 290). The Porta Praetoria, the N. gate, at the end of the well-paved Cardo, with its two passages and the substructures of its two towers, is particularly well preserved. Near it, adjoining the relics of the camp-wall, are the ruins of several other towers.
At the intersection of the Decumanus and the Cardo, 156 yds. from the N. gate, rises the so-called **Praetorium, probably rebuilt in 268, the monumental entrance-gateway of the residence of the legate (prætorium or principia), the only intact Roman building of the kind and the grandest Roman ruin in Algeria. This great rectangular pile of solid masonry in two stories, 33½ by 25 yds. in area and 49 ft. in height, is adorned outside with Corinthian columns on high pedestals and with Corinthian pilasters. The four great round-arched passages, of which the side and end ones are flanked, respectively, by three and two smaller archways, open into a central space, which, to judge from the four large bases of pillars, was once probably furnished with a roof and lighted by the four round-arched windows in the upper story.
Of the so-called Forum, the chief court of the Prætorium, there still exist remains of the colonnade and a number of side-chambers, once armouries. (In the so-called arsenal at the N.W. angle many cannon-balls and other missiles have been found.) To the S. of the forum is the Posticum, with its offices and Scholae, the club-rooms of the officers and sergeants (now ticketed), and the Chapel for the flags and insignia of the Legion, recognizable by its large niche. The cellars served as the Treasury.
The Thermes du Camp, the ancient baths, to the S.E. of the Prætorium, show remains of the heating apparatus (comp. p. 294).
From the E. gate, once the Porta Dextra, ran the road to Verecunda (p. 289) and Timgad and the Via Septimiana to the town-hill, 1¼ M. distant. In the open ground outside of it rises the ruinous single Arch of Commodus. Near this is the Amphitheatre, whose stones were used in building the penitentiary (p. 286).
We now drive to the S. from the S.E. angle of the camp, where carriages usually wait, to the Village. At the Mairie, mainly built with the stones of the Septizonium, a nymphæum or fountain, we find the museum attendant (fee ½ fr.), who if desired will show also the town-hill (fee).
The small Musée Municipal, near the church, comprises, under a shed, some mediocre statues from the temple of Æsculapius and splendid *Mosaics found in 1905 (one with an inscription by a Greek artist), missiles, etc. The garden contains architectural fragments, inscriptions, etc.
A road leads from the S. end of the village to the Town Hill, where excavators have not as yet discovered even the forum.
Near the (¼ hr.) Aïn-Drinn, which now supplies the village with drinking-water, are the almost unrecognizable remains of the Temple of Neptune. From this point we walk to the N.E. past the ruins of the Aqueduct and the foundations of four Dwelling Houses to (10 min.) the chief temples.
The *Temple of Æsculapius, at the W. end of the temple area, a curiously planned edifice dating from the time of Marcus Aurelius, consists of a cella, well-preserved in its foundations, with a large semicircular niche for the statues of Æsculapius and Salus (or Hygiea), and of a semicircular terrace (concave inwards), where a square basement in front bore a Doric portico, which collapsed in 1852. In front of the flight of six steps lie remains of the architrave, bearing the dedicatory inscription of the temple. Colonnades connected the temple with two semicircular projections, flanking the terrace, on which stood the ædiculæ or chapels of Jupiter Valens and Silvanus. Behind the cella are vestiges of the Thermae connected with the temple.
A straight ancient road leads to the S.E. from the temple of Æsculapius to the capitol, the distinctive feature of every Roman colony. On the left lie the substructures of Chapels dedicated to eight different gods (about 200 A. D.), all rectangular and each with its niche, usually rounded.
The *Capitol, the largest temple of Lambæsis, dedicated to the cult of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, adjoins the W. wall of the ancient temple-court, a quadrangle of 66 by 60 yds., of whose colonnades eight columns only survive. A flight of twenty steps, most of which also have disappeared, ascended to the temple portico, with eight Corinthian columns in front and four at the back. The cella, still fairly preserved, 22½ by 12¼ yds., consists, exceptionally, of only two chambers, separated by a partition, with square niches for the sacred images. On the temple steps lie fragments of the dedicatory inscription of the ‘Respublica Lambæsis’.
The capitol is adjoined on the E. by the court of a third Temple, 82 by 38 yds.
We now follow the road on the hill to the E., leaving on the left the so-called Bains des Chasseurs, and in 3 min. reach the ruins of a Triumphal Arch with three gateways, on the old road to Verecunda (p. 289), and 3 min. farther a smaller Archway, to which point carriages should be ordered. We then drive back to the plain, to the N.W., by the Bertouli road, skirting the town-hill.
About halfway between this road and the highroad we pass the ruins of a building once erroneously called the Palais du Légat, and those of Latrinae. On the ancient Via Septimiana (p. 287), about a hundred yards farther, rises the *Arch of Septimius Severus, with its three passages, bereft of its columns and attica.
The High Road ascends past the remains (on the left) of a Roman Burial Ground, with the substructures of an Early Christian Chapel, under the ciborium altar of which are two martyrs’ tombs. After a long bend to the N. it reaches (9 M. from Batna) Markouna (about 4260 ft.), a country-house surrounded by fruit-trees, cypresses, and pines, not far from the site of the little Roman town of Verecunda.
Beyond Markouna, just before the new road to Medina (and Biskra; see p. 278) diverges, rises the Arch of Marcus Aurelius (172 A. D.). A little way to the S.W., on the old Roman road coming from the town-hill of Lambæsis, stands another Archway, dedicated to the same emperor in 162.
As the road now descends to the N.E. into the dreary valley of the Oued Mérien, we obtain on the right, beyond the 16th kilomètre-stone (10 M.), a fine view of the crest of the Kef Mahmel (p. 278), which is snow-clad in winter. Beyond the 24th kilomètre-stone (15 M.) we overlook a great part of the Aurès Mts. with Jebel Chelia (p. 278). On the left is Jebel Taguertine (4511 ft.).
After the 27th kilomètre-stone (17 M.) we sight, far to the S.E., at the foot of the spurs of the Aurès, the ruins of Timgad, where the two tall columns of the capitol gradually grow more conspicuous. The road to (23½ M. from Batna) Timgad, which diverges to the right beyond the 35th kilomètre-stone (21½ M.), crosses the Oued Mérien and ends on the N. side of the ruins.
Timgad.—Hotel. Hôtel Meille, 4 min. to the N. of the ruins, opposite the Berber market (Thurs.), with a fine view of the Aurès Mts., R. 3–4, B. 1–1½, déj. 3½, D. 4 fr., plain but well spoken of.
The Ruins may be visited at any time. The chief sights, named in the text in heavy type, may be cursorily seen within 2–3 hrs. For closer study A. Ballu’s Guide Illustré de Timgad (at book-shops 2½, 3½ fr. at the Agence, p. 291, where photographs and picture post-cards also are sold) is valuable. Information as to recent excavations may be obtained from the inspector M. Barry.—Comp, also ‘Carthage, Timgad, Tébessa’, by R. Cagnat (Paris, 1909).
Timgad (3520 ft.), known by the Berber name of Thamugadi in the late-Roman period and one of the most thriving towns in the E. Algerian highlands, dates from 100 A. D., when the legate P. Munatius Gallus, commander of the Third Legion (p. 286), was ordered by Trajan to found the Colonia Marciana Trajana Thamugadi, probably about the same time as Lambæsis, as the key of the Fount Ksantina (p. 296). The town saw its prime in the second half of the 2nd and in the 3rd cent., but in the 4th cent., like Bagai (p. 273), it was a centre of the Donatist movement and suffered severely in the wars of the period. After fruitless attempts by the Vandals to revive it, Thamugadi was destroyed by the hostile Berber tribes of the Aurès Mts. in 535. Having been finally abandoned at the close of the Byzantine domination, the ruins of the town, with the exception of Trajan’s Arch, were gradually buried under the deposits of torrents, and for twelve centuries the place was consigned to complete oblivion.
The excavations begun by the French government in 1880, and recently conducted by the architect A. Ballu, have brought to light the most important parts of the town, including the Forum, two Markets, the Capitol, and no less than eleven Thermæ. While the private houses are mostly unpretending and very inferior to those of Pompeii, the public buildings afford most striking evidence of the ancient prosperity of this remote Roman provincial town.
The oldest town, laid out as a square camp (comp. p. 286) of 384 yds. each way, in conformity with its original destination as a frontier-fortress, has four central gates, between which ran the two main streets, the Cardo Maximus and the Decumanus Maximus, intersecting each other at right angles. The ‘Cardo Maximus Nord’ opens into the Decumanus at the Forum, where it stops owing to the unevenness of the soil. Some 90 yds. farther to the W., however, the ‘Cardo Maximus Sud’ leads out of the Decumanus. The rapid increase of the population, especially on the E. and W. sides, on the busy roads to Tebessa (p. 315) and Lambæsis, led as early as the 2nd cent. to the construction or extensive new streets on a less regular plan. By the 5th cent. the population, which had greatly declined, withdrew from the suburbs into the ancient walled precincts, which by this time had been much built over at places.
The main streets are bordered with Doric colonnades and paved with bluish limestone slabs; the smaller streets have sandstone pavement. The waggon-ruts are deep, especially in the Decumanus Maximus, and are slightly farther apart than at Pompeii (4 ft. 3 in. and 4 ft. 1 in.). The excellent drainage-system is now utilized anew, as may be seen from the gutters at the street-corners.
The usual building material was concrete (opus incertum, small stones mixed with mortar), often faced with brick, or stone-framework (the interstices being filled with brick or rubble-work). The private houses usually occupy an Insula, as the square block enclosed by four streets was called. The shops (tabernae) in the main streets were all entered from the street, except when the trader lived in the same house. As a rule the houses, like modern Moorish houses, have their backs turned to the street, looking into an arcaded court (peristyle) in Oriental fashion, instead of opening into a roofed atrium in the ancient Roman style.
We begin our walk at the N. end of the town. On the right, just outside the old town-wall, lie the—
*Grands Thermes du Nord (Pl. D, 1), the largest Roman baths in N. Africa. They form a rectangle of 88½ by 70½ yds., and contain thirty-five different chambers, all symmetrically constructed like others of the later Roman period. Parts of the walls are still 23 ft. in height.
A flight of ten steps on the E. side of the building leads to the Vestibulum, the main entrance to the baths. The adjoining chamber on the left opens on to a suite of three spacious halls. The two outer ones were probably the Palaestra for gymnastics and games. In the corner, obliquely opposite the entrance-wall, is a kind of shaft or passage leading to the Apodyterium (undressing and dressing room). The central hall is the largest Frigidarium, containing three basins (piscinae). The chamber on the S. side, between the two smaller basins, served as a passage to the Tepidarium, for hot-air baths and massage. Adjoining the tepidarium on the S. is the largest Caldarium, with three hot-water basins (alvei). Two side-rooms were the Laconica or sweating-baths. Adjacent to them were two smaller Caldaria, to the N. of which, next to the palæstra, were two other Tepidaria. The two rooms at the S.E. and S.W. corners of the baths, each with an ante-room (apodyterium?) and large semicircular niche, are supposed to have been Frigidaria.—As to Heating Apparatus, comp. p. 294.
A little to the left of the main entrance to these Thermæ is the quaint Mannikin Fountain (Pl. D, 1), restored from ancient fragments.
The insignificant building on the E. side of the road is the Agence-Musée (Pl. D, E, 1), containing the offices of the directors of the excavations and a collection of objects found at Timgad. These, however, with the exception of some mosaics, the chief adornment of the African-Roman dwelling, show a provincial and mechanical style of art.
Along the outside walls are ranged the larger sculptures, a great stone vase, fragments of buildings, and Saturn stelæ.
The Entrance Room (I) contains pottery, including numerous lamps.—Room II. Smaller fragments of sculpture, bronze implements, etc.—Rooms III & IV. Desk-cases containing the most valuable finds, notably glass, clay-vases, small implements in bronze and bone. Under the cases are water-pines, etc.—Against the walls are placed mosaics: in R. III, Diana and Actæon, with the name of the artist (Selius), and Neptune in a quadriga; in R. IV, Jupiter and Antiope (inscription, ‘Filadelfis vita’), and Amphitrite on a marine centaur.
We now enter the oldest part of the town by the central Porte du Nord (Pl. D, 1), 13¼ by 5¾ yds., preserved only in its lower parts. Between the pillars of the gateway, once enriched with Corinthian half-columns and pilasters, are the ancient guard-rooms. On the floor are relics of an inscription of 149 A.D., which names Antoninus Pius as the restorer (or finisher) of the gateway.
The first building on the left side of the Cardo Maximus Nord, a street ascending steeply for 185 yds., is that of the Petits Thermes du Nord (Pl. E, 1). On the left, beyond the fourth side-street, is the—
*Library (Pl. E, 2), one of the most curious buildings in the town, resembling the library in the forum of Pompeii, which was once supposed to be a shrine of the Lares. The building is preceded by an open colonnade, with two small chambers on each side. Two side-doors lead into the rectangular book-rooms, while the central door, as in all antique libraries, opens into a kind of sanctuary, with a large central niche flanked by four recesses on each side (for the sacred images), and approached by a basement in three steps, with ornamental columns.
The Cardo Maximus Nord leads to the main entrance to the Forum (see below) in the Decumanus Maximus, the chief thoroughfare of the town. To the right, at the W. end of the latter, rises Trajan’s Arch (p. 295). We descend to the left. On the left, near the old E. gate of the inner town, are the Grands Thermes de l’Est (Pl. F, 2), whose tepidarium contains remains of mosaic pavement. We turn back here, and in the third S. street off the Decumanus Maximus we come to the Petits Thermes de l’Est (Pl. F, 2), where two of the rooms contain restored marble benches.
Next, on the same side of the Decumanus, comes the *Marché de l’Est or East Macellum (Pl. E, F, 2), the smaller town-market, very curiously planned.
A flight of eight steps ascends to a semicircular vestibule occupying the middle of a platform 30 yds. wide and 2¼ yds. deep, on to the right and on to the left sides of which open six small shops, three of them facing the street and three the courtyard. The latter, really a double court, consists of two segments of a circle with a triangular fountain at their intersection. Adjacent, along the back-wall, right and left, are five stalls with the old stone counters. In the centre of each half-court is an open semicircular colonnade with water-runlets.
Almost immediately to the W. of the market-hall, a later addition, is the Maison aux Jardinières (Pl. 4; E, 2), a private house with a fine garden-court, once adorned with flower-beds. These were enclosed by high segment-shaped stone balustrades.
Near the Fountain at the next street-corner, at the N.E. angle of the Forum, are the Latrinæ (Pl. 3; E, 2), the finest ancient building of the kind, with a washing-basin and excellent cleansing arrangements. The double seats (originally 25) have marble arms adorned with dolphins.
A propylæum, with a vestibule (16 ft. wide) and twelve steps forms the main entrance to the *Forum (Pl. E, 2, 3), the focus of municipal life, to which foot-passengers only were admitted. It was completed in the reign of Trajan, and conforms pretty closely in plan to the rules laid down by Vitruvius. It forms a large rectangle, 110 by 65 yds.; the area or central space, 55 by 47 yds., is enclosed by Corinthian colonnades. The vestibule and area were once adorned by a crowd of equestrian statues of emperors and figures of distinguished governors of Numidia and eminent citizens. The so-called Marsyas, the symbol of civic liberty, marked Thamugadi as one of the most favoured colonies, whose inhabitants enjoyed the full rights of Roman citizenship. Besides the pedestals of thirty-two statues, we note also several representations of figures of a game (comp. p. 318) on the stone slabs of the pavement; among the inscriptions annexed is the light-hearted ‘venari lavari ludere ridere occ (hoc) est vivere’ (to hunt, bathe, play, and laugh is to live).
The chambers on the N. side of the Forum were perhaps Club Rooms. The two-storied Shops on the S. side opened, on the upper floor, into the Theatre Street (p. 293).
The only building on the E. side of the Forum is the very dilapidated Basilica (Pl. E, 3), once the exchange and court of justice. Unlike most other ancient edifices of the kind, it is a single hall (31 by 16 yds.), with three niches at the N. end and five small chambers on the E. side. The large square niche at the S. end, at the foot of the theatre hill, served as a law-court.
Of the buildings on the W. side of the Forum the two in the middle are the Curia (Pl. E, 3), where the town-council (ordo decurionum) met, a rectangle of 17 by 12 yds., with a colonnade in front and platform behind, and a small Temple (Pl. 8; E, 3), preceded by a speaker’s platform (rostra), 6¾ ft. high. The purpose of the other buildings is unknown.
Near the Fountain at the N.W. angle of the Forum we turn to the S., out of the Decumanus into the Voie de la Curie, and thence to the left into the Voie du Théâtre (38 ft. wide), on the S. side of the Forum.
The Theatre (Pl. E, 3), dating from 167, lies on the W. slope of an isolated hill. It held about 4000 spectators, but little of it is left, as the materials were used in building the Byzantine fortress (p. 296). The semicircular orchestra, with its three tiers for the places of honour (bisellia), allotted to the decuriones and other persons of distinction, is well preserved. The Cavea, or auditorium, 69½ yds. wide, rising on the hill-side, once had twenty-six tiers of seats, but of these the seven lowest only remain. The stage (pulpitum) has been destroyed with the exception of the front-wall, with its niches and steps, and the hyposcenium, consisting of brick pillars (29½ in. high), which supported the floor of the stage. The large colonnaded hall behind the former back-wall of the stage served as a promenade (‘foyer’).
The hill behind the cavea of the theatre, where the remains of a Temple Court have been unearthed, affords a splendid *Survey of the ruins. The view extends to the W. to the distant hills near Batna; to the S.E., beyond the great débris-strewn slopes of the lower hills, rise the Aurès Mts.
From the centre of the theatre colonnade we may walk to the W. to the Petits Thermes du Centre (Pl. E, 3), with admirably preserved heating apparatus in the caldarium and laconicum (p. 291) on the W. side.
On the W. side of these baths runs the Cardo Maximus Sud, the finely paved main street of the S. quarter of the town, leading past the entirely ruined S. Gate (Pl. E, 4) and the house of the Sertii (on the right; p. 294), and ending at a Fountain in the Voie des Thermes.
The *Thermes du Sud (Pl. E, 4), of the 2nd cent., extended in 198 and restored about the end of the 3rd cent., are the finest in the town next to the N. Thermæ.
A peculiarity of this building consists in the three great Exedræ, semicircular projections on the N.E. and S. sides. The semicircle near the S. entrance contained the Latrinæ, now almost entirely destroyed. The great colonnaded hall near the N. entrance served as a promenade. From the Palæstra, 26 by 10 yds., the largest hall in the baths, bathers could enter the Apodyterium as well as the Frigidarium, flanked by its two piscinæ. The small ante-rooms behind the Frigidarium opened into the heated rooms: on the right the Tepidarium, on the left the large Caldarium with its three hot-water basins, and, straight in front, a smaller Caldarium with two basins. The quadrangular space between the caldaria was the Laconicum.
The cellars on the S. side were partly occupied by the Praefurnium (furnace room). Huge stoves (furnaces) heated the water in cylindrical boilers (testudines, no longer existing) and also the air, both for the Hypocaustum, or hollow floor resting on low brick pillars, and for the hollow tiles (tubuli) or nipple tiles (tegulae mammatae) with which the hollow walls of the hot rooms were lined.
To the S.W. of the thermæ is an Artisan Quarter with a pottery and a bronze-foundry.
We may now visit the Byzantine Fortress (p. 296) or else go direct to the House of the Sertii (Pl. D, E, 4), one of the richest families in the town (comp. p. 295). This building, a great rectangle of 68 by 35½ yds., comprising no fewer than three insulæ or blocks, was built on the site of the ancient town-wall, and extends as far as the Voie du Capitole.
The colonnade in the Cardo Maximus Sud opens on a square Vestibulum. Adjacent, on the right, were a shop of the owner’s, the lodge of the porter (ostiarius), and the stairs ascending to the bath-rooms (balineum). Next to the vestibule came the Peristyle, a colonnaded court in the Doric style, off which opened the owner’s reception-room (tablinum), the dining-room (triclinium), and several bedrooms (cubicula). On the left there was a staircase to the upper story. A second peristyle, with a fountain-basin and a fish-pond (vivarium) was flanked by the offices. The large room at the back was the banqueting-room (oecus). On the W. side of the building were several shops for letting.
On the W. side of the inner town, outside the town-wall, which has here been built over, runs the broad Voie du Capitole, at the upper end of which rises the—
*Capitol (Pl. C, D, 4; comp. p. 288), originally one of the grandest temples in the whole country. A flight of four steps ascends to the propylæum, a portico of twelve columns lately re-erected. The vast temple-court is an irregular quadrangle of about 98 by 68–73 yds.; the peribolos or enclosing wall was restored, according to an inscription, under Valentinian I. in 365. Still later the S. colonnade was converted into a closed corridor with shops. In the middle of the court is the basement of the ancient altar.
A lofty flight of steps, originally 38, broken halfway up by a platform, formed the approach to the temple (58 by 25 yds.). The cella, now destroyed, had three niches, a portico of six columns, and lateral colonnades, while the back-wall was closed. Two of the gigantic columns of the portico, 44 ft. high, have been re-erected, while the huge drums and capitals of others lie around, notably on the S. side of the temple.
We now walk down the Voie du Capitole to the Marché de l’Ouest (Pl. D, 3), or West Macellum, the largest covered market in the town, probably built by one of the Sertii (p. 294) early in the 3rd century.
The entrance is in the small Place du Marché, on the S. side of the Decumanus Maximus. The entrance colonnade (chalcidicum) leads into the quadrangle, 37 by 27 yds., paved with large slabs of limestone and surrounded by colonnades. In the centre originally stood a square fountain (tholos). At the N. end, near the entrance, were two shops on each side and the stairs to the upper floor. The most curious feature of the building is the raised *Exedra, once roofed, on the S. side of the court, with seven deep recesses, closed, like those of the E. Market (p. 292), by the stone counters of the sellers. Remains of the entablature are exhibited on the outer wall.
The rectangular ‘Marché aux Vêtements’ (Pl. C, D, 3), on the W. side of the Place du Marché, was probably a minor market.
Close by, on the N. side of the Decumanus Maximus, rises the small Temple du Génie de Timgad (Pl. C, D, 3, 4), ‘a miniature capitol’, dedicated in 151 to the genius of the colony. Three flights of steps ascend to the temple-court with relics of the altar. The temple, with its four Corinthian columns in front, is a mere ruin.
We next visit *Trajan’s Arch (Pl. D, 3), the best-known triumphal arch in Algeria, an extremely massive structure, 40 ft. high, much restored in 1900. This was once the W. gate of the inner town (comp. p. 296). Instead of the usual corner-columns of the earlier triumphal arches, it has on each side four projecting Corinthian columns, whose entablature is relieved with rounded pediments in front of the attica. The two middle columns on the E. side terminate in eagles holding thunderbolts in their talons, instead of in volutes as in the usual capital. Of its three passages, which could be closed by means of portcullises, the central one was for vehicles, the two side-arches for foot-passengers. The square niches over the side-gateways, each crowned with an ædicula, were originally adorned with statues.
We now return to the inner part of the town. Between the first and the second S. side-street of the Decumanus Maximus is the Maison de la Piscina (Pl. D, 3), a large dwelling-house occupying two insulæ, so named from the granite basin in the peristyle, adorned with nine little columns of red marble. The œcus, or festal hall, at the S. end, has a tasteful mosaic pavement.
Between the second and third S. side-streets of the Decumanus Maximus lies the open quadrangle of a Granary (horreum), containing numerous grindstones (pilons à blé; Pl. 7, D 3). The house beyond the third side-street contains a Cellar (hypogæum) resting on pillars and lighted by small windows.
The fourth N. side-street of the Decumanus Maximus, in a line with the Voie de la Curie, leads to the ruins of a Monastery of the Byzantine age, containing a balineum or bathroom. The Basilica (Pl. 2, D, 2) is a complete ruin. To the N.W. of it is the Baptistery (Pl. 1; D, 2), with relics of the font and its colonnade.
The House of Januarius (Pl. 5; D, E 2), to the N.E. of the church, still has its balineum.
Time permitting, we may visit the ruins outside the town.
From the great N. Thermæ (p. 290) we may walk past the Dépôt des Tapis Indigènes, where the carpets made by the Berbers of the Aurès are sold (adm. free), to other remains of Thermes (Pl. C, 1).
To the S. of this point lies the early-Christian Cathedral (Pl. C, 2), separated by a low hill from the outer Decumanus Maximus. This was a basilica with nave and two aisles, 42 by 18½ yds., with clustered columns and traces of the choirscreen and altar-basement. The sacristies (prothesis and diaconicon), adjoining the raised apse, seem to have been entered from the aisles only.
We next cross the hill and descend to the S.W. to the outer Decumanus Maximus. Here, on the left, quite near the bed of a recently formed torrent, is the Château d’Eau (Pl. B, 3), the remains of an octagonal nymphæum or fountain.
Crossing the bed of the stream, and passing, on the left, the Thermes du Nord-Ouest (Pl. B, 2), we reach the outer Porte de l’Ouest (Pl. B, 2), a single gateway of the age of Marcus Aurelius, well preserved in its lower parts.
From the Nymphæum we ascend on the right bank of the brook towards the Capitol (p. 294), past an early-Christian Chapel (Pl. C, 4), almost destroyed by the stream. Another early-Christian Basilica lies to the S.W. of the Capitol. In the vicinity a large Monastery, including a church and a baptistery containing a font with fine mosaics, has recently been discovered.
Climbing over the hill to the S. of the Capitol, we have another survey of the extensive ruins, and then walk to the S. to the Byzantine fortress, 5 min. beyond the S. Thermæ (p. 293).
The *Byzantine Fortress (beyond Pl. E, 4), erected under Justinian with stones from the theatre, the Capitol, and other Roman buildings for defence against the Aurès Berbers, forms a vast rectangle, 122 by 80 yds., with walls 8 ft. thick, still rising to a height of 23 ft. on the W. side. Four central and four corner towers, and on the S. side a sallying gate, have been preserved.