Thubursicum Numidarum is the largest archaeological site in eastern Algeria, located at an altitude of 950 metres in a mountainous region near the source of the Medjerda River. The ruins of Thubursicum include a well-preserved Roman theatre, regarded as one of the most beautiful and best-preserved in North Africa. The site also features a spring complex, two forums, a town gate, and public baths.
Thubursicum Numidarum was originally a settlement of an indigenous Berber tribe of Numidia. Under Roman rule, the town became a municipality around AD 100, elevated by Trajan (Municipium Ulpium Traianum Augustum Thubursicu Numidarum), and its inhabitants enrolled in the Papiria tribe. It was later designated as a colony before AD 270.
Thubursicum became the seat of a bishopric, and Saint Augustine visited it on two occasions. The town became part of the Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage from 435 to 534. It was reconquered in the Vandalic War by the East Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in 534, who built a Byzantine-style chapel and small forts.
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The Roman theatre, built on a natural slope in the 2nd or 3rd century AD (Trajanic to Severan).The Roman theatre of Thubursicum is considered one of the most beautiful and best-preserved ancient theatres in North Africa.The Roman theatre may not have been completed as intended due to the lack of traces of columns or elements of the entablature.Immediately to the NE of the theatre is the Spring Complex, a monumental sanctuary with two water basins built to celebrate a spring regarded in antiquity to have been the source of the Bagradas River, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Tunisia, between Utica and Carthage.On the north side of the Spring Complex was a colonnaded courtyard with a central temple containing a statue of Neptune (now in the Roman Theatre of Guelma).The Spring Complex.
Overview of the Spring Complex.View over the Roman Theatre.View over the New Forum and Public Baths.The Old Forum, approximately 35 m square, features colonnades on three sides, shops, a temple dedicated to the Spirit of the Numidian People, a Capitolium, and a Basilica.The shops bordering the Old Forum.The Old Forum from the northeast, looking towards the temple dedicated to the Spirit of the Numidian People (Genius Gentis Numidiae).The Old Forum from the east, looking towards the Capitolium. The square measures 21.7 m on the east and west sides, 29.3 m on the south, and 20.8 m on the north.The paving of the Old Forum was repaired between 323 and 333. Only a generation later, the complex was superseded by a New Forum at the bottom of the hill.The single-bay monumental arch spanning the road leading from the Old Forum to the New Forum.View towards the New Forum and Public Baths.The remains of public baths.The remains of public baths.The cisterns that provided water to the two bathhouses in the vicinity. They are monumental water reservoirs with five parallel vaulted chambersView towards the New Forum, Public Baths, Macellum and Byzantine Fort.The sign of Tanit on a stone. The symbol of the Carthaginian goddess was a triangle representing the human body, surmounted by a circle representing the head, and separated by a horizontal line which represents the hands.The New Forum, a late antique forum constructed between AD 360 and 370 with a rectangular piazza and a Macellum.The Macellum of the New Forum, a rectangular market building with stalls around a colonnaded courtyard.The monumental public bath complex on the west side of the New Forum. It was later refurbished to be used as a Byzantine fort.
Blas de Roblès, Jean-Marie; Sintes, Claude; Kenrick, Philip. Classical Antiquities of Algeria: A Selective Guide (p. 127). Society for Libyan Studies. pp. 512-526
Thank you! I have been to Tunisia three times and will probably go back next year. When I am done with Algeria, I will start adding sites from Tunisia.
following hadrian photography 
Fantastic blog post, Carole! I’ve got it pinned on Google Maps and want to visit Northern Africa sometime in the next couple of years. — Chapps
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agreed
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If you are also going to Tunisia I recommend… https://sicilytunisia23.wordpress.com/dougga-thugga/
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Thank you! I have been to Tunisia three times and will probably go back next year. When I am done with Algeria, I will start adding sites from Tunisia.
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They can be somewhat hard to get to without your own transport. Are you in Algeria at the moment?
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Yes, renting a car is essential. I visited Algeria in 2022.
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I actually got a maths teacher on school holiday to drive me to dougga from Tunis Mechtal
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