Editing Archaeology of Algeria

{{More citations needed|date=March 2019}}
[[File:Algeria_(orthographic_projection).svg|thumb|Algeria on the map.]]
The '''archeology in [[Algeria]]''' is rich in prehistoric memorials of human occupation. Algeria contains many Roman remains and is  rich in monuments of Saracenic art.

==Megalithic remains==
Algeria has many megalithic remains, of which nearly every known kind has been found in the country. Numerous flints of [[palaeolithic]] type have been discovered, notably at [[Tlemcen]] and [[Kolea, Algeria|Kolea]]. Near [[Djelfa]], in the [[Great Atlas]], and at [[Mechra-Sfa]] ("ford of the flat stones"), a peninsula in the valley of the river [[Mina River (Algeria)|Mina]] not far from [[Tiaret]], are vast numbers of megalithic monuments.

Notable among the prehistoric cultures of the area is the [[Capsian culture]], whose shell-mounds are found throughout the north.

==Famous sites==
===Madghacen===
[[File:Imedghassen, Boumia, Batna Province, Algeria 3.jpg|thumb|Tumulus shaped tomb at Madghacen.]]
{{main|Madghacen}}
[[Madghacen]] is a monument similar to the Qabr-er-Rumia, but older. It was built around 150 B.C. as the burial place of the Numidian kings, and is situated {{Convert|35|mi|km}} southwest of [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]]. The form is that of a truncated cone, placed on a cylindrical base, {{Convert|196|ft|m|abbr=on}} in diameter.  It is {{Convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on}} high. The columns encircling the cylindrical portion are stunted and much broader at the base than the top; the capitals are Doric. Many of the columns, 60 in number, have been much damaged. When the sepulchral chamber was opened in 1873 by Bauchetet, a French engineer officer, clear evidence was found that at some remote period the tomb had been rifled and an attempt made to destroy it by fire.

===Qabr-er-Rumia===
{{main|Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania}}
The '''Qabr-er-Rumia'''-- best known by its French name, ''Tombeau de la Chrétienne'' (''grave of the Christian lady''), tradition making it the burial-place of Florinda, ''[[la Cava Rumía]]'', the beautiful and unfortunate daughter of [[Count Julian]]—is near Kolea, and is known to be the tomb of the [[Mauretania]]n king [[Juba II of Numidia|Juba II]] and of his wife [[Cleopatra Selene II|Cleopatra Selene]], daughter of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Cleopatra VII of Egypt|Cleopatra]], queen of [[Egypt]].  It is built on a hill {{Convert|756|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the sea.  A circular stone building surmounted by a pyramid rests on a lower platform, {{Convert|209|ft|m|abbr=on}} square.

Originally the monument was about {{Convert|130|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height, but it has been wantonly damaged. Its height is now {{Convert|100|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}: the cylindrical portion {{Convert|36|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}, the pyramid {{Convert|64|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}  The base, {{Convert|198|ft|m|abbr=on}} in diameter, is ornamented with 60 engaged [[Ionic order|Ionic]] columns.  The capitals of the columns have disappeared, but their design is preserved among the drawings of [[James Bruce]], the [[Africa]]n traveller.

In the centre of the tomb are two vaulted chambers, reached by a spiral passage or gallery {{convert|6+1/2|ft|m|adj=mid|broad|abbr=on}}, about the same height, and {{Convert|489|ft|m|abbr=on|adj=mid|long}}.  The sepulchral chambers are separated by a short passage, and are cut off from the gallery by stone doors made of a single slab which can be moved up and down by levers, like a portcullis. The larger of the two chambers is {{Convert|142|ft|m|abbr=on}} long by {{Convert|11|ft|m|abbr=on}} broad and {{Convert|11|ft|m|abbr=on}} high. The other chamber is somewhat smaller.

The tomb was previously looted, probably in search of treasure.  In 1555, [[Salah Rais]], pasha of [[Algiers]], set men to work to pull it down, but the records say that the attempt was given up because big black wasps came from under the stones and stung them to death. At the end of the 18th century, [[Baba Mahommed]] tried in vain to batter down the tomb with artillery.  In 1866 it was explored by order of the emperor [[Napoleon III]], the work being carried out by [[Adrien Berbrugger]] and [[Oscar Maccarthy]].

===The Jedars===
[[File:Djeddar Monuments funéraires à Frenda wilaya de Tiaret 14.jpg|thumb|Djeddar of Frenda.]]
{{main|Jedars}}
The [[Jedars]] (Arabic "walls" or "buildings") is the name given to a number of sepulchral monuments placed on hill-tops. A rectangular or square podium is in each case surmounted by a pyramid. The tombs date from the 5th to the 7th century of the Christian era, and lie in two distinct groups between [[Tiaret]] and [[Frenda]]. Frenda, which has largely preserved its old [[Berber people|Berber]] character, has numerous [[dolmens]] and prehistoric rock sculptures close by.

===Tassili n'Ajjer===
[[File:Tassili mushroom man Matalem-Amazar.png|thumb|Anonymous reproduction of the Tassili mushroom man Matalem-Amazar found in Tassili.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guzmán |first1=Gastón |title=Nuevas observaciones taxonómicas y etnomicológicas en Psilocybe s.s. (Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetidae, Agaricales, Strophariaceae) de México, África y España |journal=Acta Botanica Mexicana |date=27 January 2012 |issue=100 |pages=79–106 |doi=10.21829/abm100.2012.32 |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
{{main|Tassili n'Ajjer}}
Tassili n'Ajjer is a national park in the [[Sahara]] desert, located on a vast plateau in south-east [[Algeria]], covering an area of over {{convert|72000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. It has one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world, and  was inducted into [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Site]] list in 1982.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Tassili n'Ajjer |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://africanrockart.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Coulson-article-A10-proof.pdf Rock Art of the Tassili n Ajjer, Algeria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930123103/https://africanrockart.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Coulson-article-A10-proof.pdf |date=2019-09-30 }}, ''Africanrockart.org''</ref>

Tassili n'Ajjer is known in the New Age culture for its Fungoid rock art, the primitive yet elaborate drawings of psychedelic mushrooms that hints on a shamanic consumption of those plants by the native people of this land.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Earl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFwoDwAAQBAJ |title=From the Bodies of the Gods: Psychoactive Plants and the Cults of the Dead |date=2012-05-16 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-59477-701-1 |language=en}}</ref>

===Other sites===
*[[Lambaesis]]
*[[Tébessa|Tebessa]]
*[[Tipasa]]
*[[Timgad]] (the ''Pompeii of Africa'')<ref name="theculturetrip algeria">{{Cite web |last=Cocking |first=Lauren |date=2015-12-09 |title=The Coolest Ancient Ruins in Algeria, Africa |url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/algeria/articles/the-coolest-ancient-ruins-in-algeria/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=Culture Trip |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Thubursicum]] (''Thubursicum''):<ref name="theculturetrip algeria"/> Well-preserved Roman theater
*[[Beni Hammad Fort]] (contains second oldest minaret in the country)<ref name="theculturetrip algeria"/>

==Recent discoveries==
In 2009, when the [[Place des Martyrs, Algiers|Place des Martyrs]] in [[Algiers]] was closed to build the subway station, Algerian and French archeologists found a 5th-century (Christian) basilica below layers of concrete.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-08-17 |title=Subway excavation uncovers glimpse of Algeria's past |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-archaeology-idUSTRE57G2LT20090817 |access-date=2023-04-29}}</ref>

In November 2018, archeologists in Algeria announced the discovery, on the site of Ain Boucherit near [[Sétif]], of what seems to be stone tools (similar to [[Oldowan]]s) and cut animal bones dated back to 2.4 million years old. This discovery turned Ain Boucherit into the oldest human site known today, and shook the theory of East Africa being the cradle of humanity.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2018-11-30 |title=2.4-million-year-old tools found in Algeria could upend human origin story |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/30/24-million-year-old-tools-found-algeria-could-upend-human-origin/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=2018-11-30 |title=Discovery of ancient tools in Algeria forces scientists to rethink human evolution |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/human-evolution-ancient-tools-algeria-north-africa-cradle-humanity-a8660686.html |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-30 |title=East Africa may lose its crown as 'cradle of mankind' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181130-east-africa-algeria-archaeology-stone-tools-artifacts-discovered-cradle-mankind-human-origi |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Prehistory of Central North Africa]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archeology Of Algeria}}
[[Category:Archaeology of Algeria| ]]
[[Category:Prehistoric Africa]]