The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-05-05

Copyright 1907, by Frank G. Carpenter)
Timgad.
LAVE you ever heard of Timgad, the
wonderful ruined city of Roman
L Africa. which the French are now
Hgging out of the sand? It lies about one
hundred and fifty miles south of the
Mediterranean, and perhaps three hun
lred miles southwest of Tunis. 1t is
hst over the mountains from the desert
" Sahara. on one of the lower slopes
VI the Atlas, overlooking a valley which
n the days of Rome, must have been
Enormously rich. Pompei was in exist
pnee about three hundred years before
Christ, and it was destroyed by the erup-
lion of Vesuvius, rs A. D. 1t contained
pnly twenty or thirty thousand people,
Ind it was not half the size of this
African city now being unearthed.
Timgad was founded just twenty-one
FEARS aftel the destruction of Pompeii. 1t
was built by the Emperor Trajan, whose
folders aided in its construction 1t was
hen known as Thaumagas or Thaumgadi.
It was situated at the intersection of
Xix Roman roads, and was a fortified
ramp as well as a great commercial city.
rhe excavations show that it must have
peen a social capital as well, inhabited
by many rich people and surrounded by
Ill the luxuries of Rome at the height of
It's glory.
Later Timgad became religious city.
st. Augustine was born near It, and in
The seventh century, when the Arab in
Fasion occurred it, had a Christian
church, the ruins of which still exists
Che city was destroyed by the Arabs.
Ind since then for more than a thousand
years the rain and soil of the Atlas
FOUNTAINS and the dust and sands from
the great Sahara have drifted over it,
covering its remains layer by layer. until
the greater part of It has been lost
from view.
French Excavations.
For centuries only a few of the more
prominent of the ruins rose above the
burface. There we're columns here and
there apparently growing out of soil.
Great mounds covered the half destroyed
buildings, and It was not until the French
began their excavations, about twenty
i've years ago. that any one imagined that
/ great city lay buried beneath At pres
ent only a comparatively small part of
The territory has been uncovered, but
the work is going on day by day, and
within few years the whole city will
be exposed to the fierce rays of this
African sun. l saw gangs of men work
ing at the ruins as I wandered about
through them this afternoon, and pho
Eographed them they raised buried col
hmns out of the soil. The part of the
rlty still untouched is covered far above
the height of my head, and the excavated
streets run right to the edge of the
streets and buildings still buried.
I came here from Algiers on the rail-
road, a distance of about $50 miles. The
nearest station was Batna, French town
at the entrance of the valley in which
Timgad lies There l hired a carriage
and drove for twenty-five miles up this
valley to the site of the excavations.
The only town we passed on the way sa
Lambese. This was also prominent in
the days of the Romans, and it has ruins
that would be considered wonderful We're
they not overshadowed by the greater
pnes here. The road to Timgad was
built by the French, and 1t is as good
as was the Appian Way when Timgad
and Rome were still in their prime. The
grades are so gentle that our horses
went on the trot, and we covered the
distance in less than three hours. We
met many soldiers at Lambese, but out
side of them was nothing but Arabs.
Now we crowded a caravan of cames
going sullenly along, and now passed
villages of low brown tents, the homes