Djemila

Djemila, Algeria

Djemila (meaning pretty in Arabic) is the current name of the ancient Roman colony of Cuicul, founded by the Roman emperor Nerva in 96 CE. This site is one of the major Roman archaeological sites in Algeria, along with Tipasa, Timgad, and Tebessa.

In the third century, Cuicul developed rapidly, leading the municipality to create a new extension to the south of the old city by demolishing the southern city wall and arranging a new forum, named the Severian forum.

The first northern part of the city includes: the old forum, which contains an originally sculpted altar; the temple of Venus Genetrix; the Basilica Julia to the west; the market of Cosinius, the Curia and the Capitol in the north of the old forum. There are also small public baths and houses of which the most famous is the Europe House.

In the southward extension, there are several monuments around the new Severian forum: the Arch of Caracalla, the Septimian Temple (also called the Temple of Gens Septimia) built in 229, a fabric market, and a new basilica for Christian worship (built in 364-367) and called the 4th-century civil basilica.

The southward extension also contains a theater of which capacity is 3 000 spectators, and the Great Baths built in 183 under the reign of the emperor Commode. There are also houses of which the most important is the House of Bacchus, as well as a whole Christian district in the extreme south-east of the city, comprising two Christian basilicas, a baptistery, and a small chapel.

In 1982, the archaeological site of Djemila was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.