Medracen — Royal Mausoleum of Numidia
Madghacen · Imedghassen
Numidian Late Iron Age (300–100 BCE)·Berber Numidian / Masseayli·🇩🇿 Aurès / Batna Province, Algeria
About
About Medracen — Royal Mausoleum of Numidia
Medracen (Madghacen) is the 19 m high bazina royal mausoleum of Numidian Berber kings (c.300 BCE), largest pre-Roman bazina in North Africa, 59 m diameter drum with 60 Doric half-columns and cornice, tapering dome with capstone. Early Numidian kingdom (Madghis). Comparable to Aesacus but Berber. UNESCO tentative 2002. Located isolated plateau 35 km NE Batna, Boumia municipality. Excavated 1850s– 2 galleries with robbed cist. Crack on east dome requires shoring.
Why it mattersOldest preserved Numidian royal architecture linking Bazina megalithic to Hellenistic mausoleum.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Which king — Madghis or earlier AmazIGH chief?
- 02Why Doric order in Numidia 300 BCE — Greek mason?
Theories
- 01Medracen as prototype for Mauretania Mausoleum 3rd c BCE
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.300–200 BCE (Numidian Kingdom)
- Period
- Numidian Late Iron Age (300–100 BCE)
- Culture
- Berber Numidian / Masseayli
- Builders
- Numidian royal architects under Madghis
- Purpose
- Royal dynastic mausoleum for Numidian king Madghis — bazina tomb
- Abandoned
- 46 BCE annexation by Caesar
- Rediscovered
- 1850s French scholars
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
300 BCE
Construction under Numidian kingdom
46 BCE
Roman annexation
2002
UNESCO tentative listing
On the ground
Structures & features
35.7073° N · 6.4345° E · 800 m · 3 mapped features
Doric Drum & Engaged Columns
colonnade60 Doric half-columns 6 m high with entablature and cornice encircling podium
35.7075° N · 6.4348° EDome & Capstone Apex
domeTapering dome 12 m high with capstone 3 m and crack monitoring shoring
35.7070° N · 6.4345° EEast Gallery & Looted Cist
burial chamberInternal gallery 7×2 m with central cist pit 2 m ransacked, robber tunnel
35.7073° N · 6.4350° E