Punic archaeology. – Recent discoveries have contributed to clarify the times and ways of the Punic presence in Algeria and the connections with Libyan and Numidian cultural traditions. The Punic city walls of Hippo Regius, the current Bona, already known as a Roman and Christian center, have been brought to light and detected. More consistent are the remains of the Punic tradition of the ancient center of Cirta, today’s Constantina, from which stelae dating from the 3rd century BC onwards come. The necropolis of Chullu is approximately contemporary, while in Igilgili, today’s Gigelli, tombs susceptible of dating up to the 6th century BC have been identified. Christ. For Algiers the irradiation of the modern town did not allow to go beyond the attestation of the name, Icosium, already known from Punic monetary epigraphs. Conspicuous are the installations and mobile material of the Tipasa necropolis, where it is possible to trace the Punic presence at least to the end of the 6th century. Late Punic necropolises have also been identified in Iol (Cherchel) and Gunugu (Guraya).
According to ehotelat, the settlement of Les Andalouses can be dated between the 4th and 2nd century BC, with the remains of a town and a necropolis. Ruins of wall structures and ceramic data indicate a settlement in Mersa Madak that dates back at least to the 6th century BC. Lastly, on the island of Rachgoun, the remains of a settlement and a necropolis were brought to light with sets of jewels, amulets, scarabs and ceramics that can be dated between the middle of the 7th and the middle of the 5th century BC. In recent years, a vast plan of monumental restoration and archaeological research has also been set up aimed at enhancing some of the most significant architectural achievements of the Punic tradition such as the Medracen and the Soum’a du Khroub in eastern Algerian, the royal mausoleum of Mauretania (the so-called “Tomba della Cristiana”) in the center of the town, and the site of Siga (Takembrit) and the mausoleum of Béni-Rhénane, in western Algerian. Of particular interest are the results that seem to emerge from these early investigations, such as the radiocarbon dating of the Medracen to the reign of Gaia and the possibility of identifying the tomb of Massinissa in the Soum’a du Khroub.
Roman archaeology. – Research in the field of Roman archeology has recorded the best results in the recovery and study of the numerous mosaics found in various Algerian centers. The mosaics, which come mainly from the Mauritanian region, take on particular stylistic and thematic characteristics especially in the 3rd and 4th century AD, and even beyond until the 6th century. The mosaic compositions, often linked to the economic and social structure characterized by large private and imperial agricultural estates, reproduce hunting and countryside scenes.
Late – ancient archaeology. – Alongside the renewed interest in museum material that is particularly significant for the history of the late antique period, such as the goldsmith treasure found in Ténès and the wooden tablets from the Vandal era, known as “Albertini tablets”, various studies on the umayyad, almohad and ‛abbāside period. In particular, recent investigations conducted on the basis of the discovery of a monetary treasure in Ténès testify to the economic and cultural continuity between the decadent Almohad dynasty and the new ‛abbāside dynasty, when the latter assumed political and economic control of the central Maghreb and from Spain.
