Site visited December 2013. Timgad is the largest and arguably the best of the Roman archaeological sites of Algeria. I think it is also one of top three Roman sites of Africa and, I dare to say, probably among the best outside of Italy. Timgad is not known for its imposing buildings but for town planning and well preserved grid plan. In this review I focus mainly on the practical issues of visiting Timgad.

Algeria, especially the eastern part of the country, is one of the hotspots of Roman archaeological sites. Apart from the inscribed ones there are several sites worth mentioning: Tiddis, Madauros (Madaure), Hippo Regius (Hippone), Theveste, Thubursicum and Lambaesis. Many of these have been collected to a TWHS Sites, lieux et itineraires augustiniens du Maghreb central.

Timgad or Thamugadi is an ancient military colony founded in 100 AD by Trajan. It is a good example of Roman town planning. It is originally a city with a tight grid plan. Two main streets cardo and decumanus go through it. In the center of these two streets are spacious forum and a theatre. In the middle of 2nd century the city grew outside the original orthogonal design. Outside the grid plan are Capitol, several churches and baths, markets and some homes. A big Byzantine fortress 0,5 kilometres from the original city is the last built structure in Timgad.

Visiting Timgad feels like being long away from everything. It is a long journey to the rural and remote area in this less visited country. There were a small amount of local tourists but not a single foreigner. As I like Roman archaeological sites I enjoyed my visit. There are lots of things to see and everything is so well preserved. For me the highlights of Timgad are the Trajan Arch, views from the upper rows of the theatre, the Capitol with its massive columns and the latrines decorated with dolphins. Wandering around the maze of streets and seeing a vast forest of columns and building foundations is just great.

Even though my experience was great, there are some things that could have made it even better. Timgad is a large and very complete Roman city but in some way the ruins don’t look super exciting. Maybe the flatness of the landscape create that impression. Also there are not many standing buildings, like in Djemila or Dougga, which would make the site more imposing. There is a museum which contains some great mosaics but it is closed for indefinite time. Anyway, Timgad is very impressive Roman city no matter which way you see it.

On Algeria related discussions people often compare Timgad and Djemila, which one is better. I would say that Timgad is larger and more complete site but the mountainous setting and some showier buildings of Djemila make it more interesting. But it is very difficult to compare them as they are a bit different.

How to Get There

The easiest way get to Timgad is to get a private driver from Constantine. Constantine is a major transport hub of this part of Algeria and otherwise a nice city with very dramatic scenery so it is a good base for day trips.

My hotel receptionist arranged me a car and a driver from Constantine to Timgad and back. It costed about 60 euros. I think it is a fair price because the drive time is 3 – 3 1/2 hours one way, and the driver waited me for three hours at the site. The driver heard about Timgad for the first time and he had to ask for a right direction several times along the route.

It is also possible to visit Timgad by public transport. You have to take a bus to the nearest major city Batna and hire a taxi from there. This may require staying overnight in Batna. And remember that a basic skills of French are essential for example when negotiating with drivers.

While You Are There

Medracen (also Madghacen or Medghassen) is a royal mausoleum-temple of the Berber Numidian Kings. It is easy to stop by there 50 kilometres before Timgad. Medracen is an impressive and beautiful structure which is in a good condition even though ICOMOS has complained about bad repairs which threatens the authenticity. The Medracen is one of the six sites of TWHS Les Mausolées Royaux de Numidie, de la Maurétanie et les monuments funéraires pré-islamiques.

A Roman archaeological site of Lambaesis is a nice stopover on route from Batna to Timgad. This site which started as a military camp is a surprisingly good Roman remain considering that it is not even a tentative site. The highlights of Lambaesis are big legion barracks and two triumphal arches.