Madauros (Mdaourouch)
Madaura
Numidian to Byzantine (5th c BCE-11th c CE; peak 2nd-4th c CE)·Numidian / Roman / Byzantine·🇩🇿 Souk Ahras Province, Algeria
About
About Madauros (Mdaourouch)
Madauros (Mdaourouch) high on the Numidian plateau at 970 m was a Flavian veteran colony famous as birthplace of Apuleius (author of Golden Ass) and St Augustine student days — his Schola of Madauros described in Confessions. Forum with Capitol, theatre 33 m diameter with dedications to Securitas, large baths (thermae aestivae/hibernae), Christian basilica reusing theatre scaena, and Byzantine fort (quadriburgium) of Justinian. Marble plan of Madauros (3 ha) survives in fragments; olive pressing installations ring the city. Latin schooling centre of Numidia.
Why it mattersLiterary academy linking Apuleius, Augustine and early Christianity.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of schola vs forum
Theories
- 01Madauros as model of veteran settlement on subseciva
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Numidian village 5th c BCE; veteran colonia under Vespasian 75-80 CE; peak 2nd-4th c; Byzantine fort 539 CE
- Period
- Numidian to Byzantine (5th c BCE-11th c CE; peak 2nd-4th c CE)
- Culture
- Numidian / Roman / Byzantine
- Builders
- Flavian veterans / Roman
- Purpose
- Veteran colony and Latin schola town for Numidian elite
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Numidian village 5th c BCE; veteran colonia under Vespasian 75-80 CE; peak 2nd-4th c; Byzantine fort 539 CE
Initial construction
c. 1233 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
36.0793° N · 7.9012° E · 970 m · 2 mapped features
Forum of Madauros (Mdaourouch)
forumForum
36.0803° N · 7.9022° ETemple of Madauros (Mdaourouch)
templeTemple
36.0783° N · 7.9002° E