Medracen

Madracen
Madracen
Shown within Algeria
LocationBatna Province, Algeria
RegionNumidia
Coordinates35°42′26″N 6°26′05″E / 35.7071°N 6.4346°E / 35.7071; 6.4346

Medracen, also spelled Madghacen,[1][2] is an ancient funerary monument located near Batna in Algeria. It has been identified as a royal mausoleum built by the Berber Numidian Kingdom.

History

Medracen is one of several large funerary monuments from the era of ancient Berber kingdoms in Classical antiquity. It is one of two that were built in the shape of a tumulus; the other being the so-called "Tomb of the Christian Woman" or Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania.[3] Medracen is the oldest of these and has been dated to fourth century BC[4] or to the time of the Numidian king Masinissa (r. 202 – 148 BC), around the end of the third century BC and first half of the second century BC.[5][6][3]

Architecture

The mausoleum was possibly influenced by Greek architecture further east or built with the help of Greek craftsmen. It consists of a large tumulus constructed in well-cut ashlar masonry and featuring sixty Doric columns and an Egyptian-style cornice.[5]

Though independent, the Numidian kingdom was increasingly involved in Mediterranean power politics, and an architect familiar with classical architecture surrounded the vertical section of wall at the base with engaged columns in the Doric order, "heavily proportioned and with smooth shafts, beneath a cavetto cornice".[7] The whole exterior was covered with a stone facing, most of which remains, with the straight cone of the upper part (except for a flat top) formed into steps, like the Pyramids of Egypt.[7]

  • Profile view of the monument
  • View from above, showing the stepped sides
  • One of the Doric order columns

Threats

As ICOMOS noted in their 2006/2007 Heritage at Risk report, the mausoleum has become "the victim of major 'repair work' without respect for the value of the monument and its authenticity."[8][9]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medracen.

References

  1. ^ Hoyos, Dexter (2020). Carthage: A Biography. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-32816-5. Some of the most striking remains of Punic-influenced art and architecture stand outside Carthage: the second-century bc tower mausoleum of the Numidian lord Ataban outside Thugga, for example; another (in sadly fragmentary state) near Sabratha west of modern Tripoli; and the huge tumulus-shaped mausoleum called the Medracen (in Berber, Madghacen), built maybe for Masinissa and his family in the bare countryside 90 kilometres south of Constantine.
  2. ^ Ball, Joanne (2025). Tacfarinas: An African Rebel Against Rome: The Numidian Revolt Against the Emperor Tiberius (AD 17 to 24). Pen and Sword Military. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-3990-3989-5.
  3. ^ a b Quinn, Josephine Crawley (2013). "Monumental power: 'Numidian Royal Architecture' in context". In Prag, Jonathan R. W; Quinn, Josephine Crawley (eds.). The Hellenistic West: Rethinking the Ancient Mediterranean. pp. 184–185. ISBN 9781139505987.
  4. ^ Roblès, Jean-Marie Blas de; Sintes, Claude; Kenrick, Philip (2019). Classical Antiquities of Algeria: A Selective Guide. Society for Libyan Studies. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-1-900971-58-4.
  5. ^ a b Brett, Michael; Fentress, Elizabeth (1996). The Berbers. Blackwell. pp. 27–29. ISBN 9780631207672.
  6. ^ Davies, Penelope J. E. (2010). Death and the Emperor: Roman Imperial Funerary Monuments from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78956-2. Medracen (end of the third century B.C. or first half of the second)
  7. ^ a b Lawrence, Arnold Walter (1957). Greek Architecture. Penguin Books. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-14-056011-4. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  8. ^ Algeria Mausoleum of Medracen in Danger
  9. ^ "Algeria Mausoleum of Medracen in Danger" (PDF). ICOMOS. 2006–2007. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

Further reading

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