The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-05-05
~ The Pormpeii of the Sahara ~ -
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By Frank G. Carpenter

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| black tents of the Bedouins with the
sheep feeding near them. They were
grazing among tthe heads of ruined COL
umns and on land covering that part OF
fimgad which has not yet been excavated.
In Timgad Museum.
All the relics found at Timgad are kept
in the museum here. and the collection
already gives live pictures of the old
Roman days. Some of the rooms are
walled with mosaies, and they contain
enough brolsen-nosed status to people a
town. There are some cases filled with
, gold coins and others containing jewelry
of gold some of which is set with pre-
cious stones There are rouge pots like
those discovered at Pompeii, and there
are finger rings and earrings Of gold.
There are surgical instruments, including
pincers and forces of steel, beautifully
made; knives of various kinds, and nee
dies of all sizes. There are Roman lamps
of bronze and of clay. There are bronze
handles of vases and beautiful pieces
and vessels of irridescent glass. Altogesh-
er the collection is wonderful; but 1t is
shut up here away off in the heart Of
North Africa, twenty-five miles from the
nearest railroad, so that few people ever
behold 1t.
During my stay I have photographed
some OF the ruins ana nhNe measured
many of the columns and buildings. /
have also talked with the director of the
excavations. He tells me that the work
of uncovering the city is to go steadily
on. but that the present appropriation OF
only about $4,000 is not enough to hurry
the work. The excavation Is carefully
done, and in the remaining two-tnirds of
the city which are yet to be uncovered
many treasures must lie. There must be
more or less gold and precious stones,
and it may be also the remains of beau
tifu1 statues, mosaics and relies which
will throw a new light on noman North
Africa
Land of Roman Ruins.
There are relics of the Romans scat
tered all over this part of the world.
Nearly every town in Algeria of any size
has more or less of them. l have seen
the hand of old Rome in nearly every
place 1 have been. 1t has left its mark
about Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen. The
latter city was ancient Pomaria, and 1t
shows the remains of a great Roman
aqueduct. I came across the old Roman
wall many times while exploring Algiers,
and not far from here is Constantine,
which was named after Constantine the
Emperor of Rome, which has more or
| less ruins about it.
Lambese, about twenty miles east OF
| here, was built by the Romans A. ID. 125
/ to form the headquarters of the Third
! Augustan Legion, and recent explorations
show that it was a large Roman camp.
| The ruined arches of the gates outside
,, the city show that it covered several
miles and in its center is a building Il
stone ninety-two feet long and seventy
| two feet wide, and as high as four-story
| house. The facade of this structure has
| a peristyle, with handsome Corinthian
columns.
Near it is temple which was built
during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. and
| also a great arch put up in honor of Sep
| tfmus Severus. There are ruins of baths
| at Lambese, from which have been taken
| beautiful mosaics. The town had two
! forums, one of which measured more
than half an acre and in one of the
| forums was a great temple surrounded
| by a colonnade.
On the site of Lambese the French
| have now built an enormous barracks for
such soldiers as they send to Africa for
/ correction, and as I rode by | passed
several companies of French troor~- GO
| ing through their evolutlons on the site
| of the old camp, just as the Roman sol
| diers did in that same place more than
| seventeen hundred years ago.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.