Tiddis

About

Tiddis was built across a steep plateau just north of Cirta to serve as a castellum, or fortified village, by the Romans in the 3rd century CE. Tidis’ hillside position forced the Romans to adapt their usual urban planning to the curves of the site, and rely heavily on terraces. The other quirk of the city was it had no water source, and instead depended on a huge system of cisterns and channels to catch and store rainwater. After passing several circular tombs, the cobbled Roman road leads to the entrance arch, where you can still see where the gate was hung and locked. From here, the streets lead past the foundations of houses, sanctuaries to the Roman gods Ceres, Vesta and Mithra, and later Christian baptisteries. The highlight is undoubtedly the Villa of Mosaics, which showcases Tiddis’ signature cisterns, as well as the remains of mosaics, an olive press, and baths that were later repurposed into a pottery.