Tiddis

Tiddis, the Castellum Tidditanorum, was built on a steep red limestone slope above the Rhumel valley, and its builders never levelled it: streets run as ramps and stairways, houses sit on terraces cut into the hill one above another, and the whole town climbs the face in stages, which makes it unlike the flat grid towns of Timgad or Djemila. It was Numidian before it was Roman, and both phases are visible, along with a Mithraeum, cisterns, olive presses, a forum on a terrace and pre-Roman tombs on the slopes above. The red rock gives the site its colour, and the views over the valley are part of the point.

History

The Romans built Tiddis as a fortified castellum within the confederation of Cirta, first run by Cirta's colonists, and it belonged with Rusicade, Milev and Chullu to the confederation of the four colonies; inscriptions name its magistrates and councillors, and the native town became Romanised like its neighbours. M. Cocceius Anicius Faustus built its baths and cisterns in the middle of the 3rd century AD, and a temple of Saturn on top of the crag produced many stelae now in the museum at Constantine. The leading Lollii family had a circular mausoleum a few kilometres north, raised by Lollius Urbicus, prefect of Rome under Antoninus Pius, and by the end of the 5th century the town was a bishop's see, with two Christian basilicas so far uncovered (Wikipedia, Tiddis).

Highlights

• Streets built as stairways - a town with no level ground.
• Terraced houses cut into the hill - the stepped residential quarters.
• Numidian and Roman phases - both periods visible on the same slope.
• Cisterns and olive presses - the working infrastructure of the town.

When to go

October to May; summer is hot and the climb is unshaded. Half a day. Morning light brings out the red stone. A guide is useful; signage is minimal.

Practical notes

The site is steep throughout and involves continuous climbing on uneven stone. There is no shade and no water. Interpretation is very limited. Opening hours are irregular and it is sometimes closed without notice.

Nearby

Constantine is south-east; Djemila lies west.

Key facts