The Archaeological Museum of Cherchell is an archaeological museum located in the center of the seaport town of Cherchell in

Tipaza Province Tipaza or Tipasa ( ar, ولاية تيبازة, ''Tibaza'', older ''Tefessedt'') is a province (''wilaya'') on the coast of Algeria, Its capital is Tipaza, 50 km west of the capital of Algeria. History The province was created from Blida Pr ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Characteristics

The Cherchell Museum houses what are widely considered to be some of the best examples of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

on the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Cherchell was called

Caesarea of Mauretania Caesarea in Mauretania (Latin: ''Caesarea Mauretaniae'', meaning "Caesarea of Mauretania") was a Roman colony in Roman-Berber North Africa. It was the capital of Mauretania Caesariensis and is now called Cherchell, in modern Algeria. In the pr ...

during the

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, and was the rich capital of Roman Mauretania Caesariensis. Many artifacts from these various periods of Cherchell's former history have been uncovered by

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s, a large number of which are on display in the Cherchell Archaeological Museum. Exhibits include works by Byzantine

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

s, such as ornately decorated

patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation ('' omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, ...

(vessels used for drinking), as well as intricately designed

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s. It was during the Roman reign over

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

in 25 BC, under the leadership of

Juba II Juba II or Juba of Mauretania (Latin: ''Gaius Iulius Iuba''; grc, Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or ;Roller, Duane W. (2003) ''The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene'' "Routledge (UK)". pp. 1–3. . c. 48 BC – AD 23) was the son of Juba I and client ...

, that a theater, library and other buildings were established in Cherchell (

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

). Juba II also gathered an impressive collection of artworks, particularly marble sculptures, some of which have landed up in museums in other parts of the world, but excellent examples are to be found in Cherchell Museum, along with a sculpture of the head of his wife,

Cleopatra Selene II Cleopatra Selene II (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη; summer 40 BC – BC; the numeration is modern) was a Ptolemaic princess, Queen of Numidia (briefly in 25 BC) and Mauretania (25 BC – 5 BC) and Queen of Cyrenaica (34 BC – 30 BC). S ...

. Partial ruins of the Roman theater, Roman baths, and Civile Basilica are found on the outskirts of Cherchell.

Notes

References

*Gauckler, Paul. ''Musée de Cherchel. Musées et collections archéologiques de l'Algérie et de la Tunisie''. Leroux, 1895 *Cherchel, Algeria. Musée de Cherchel. ''Catalogue du Musée de Cherchel''. Adolphe Jourdan, 1902 *Rita Amedick, Heide Froning (2012), ''La Reorganisation Du Musee De Cherchel, Phase I: Le Royaume Numide: Actes De La Conference Du Goethe-institut Algerie Tenue a Alger, De 2 Novembre 2009'';

External links

Cherchell Museum, Province of Tipaza
{{Authority control Archaeological museums in Algeria Buildings and structures in Tipaza Province Tourist attractions in Tipaza Province

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References

External links