MUSÉE PUBLIC NATIONAL DE SÉTIF

Still too little known, this public archaeological museum is a must-see in Sétif! Its visit is fascinating and its collections particularly rich. First museum created in Algeria after the Independence, it is composed of 4 parts devoted respectively to the Prehistory, the Antiquity, the Islamic Arts and the Numismatic. The rooms devoted to Antiquity are among the most interesting because of the rich Roman past of the city, the ancient Setifis founded in 96 A.D. One can thus discover collections of archaeological remains dating for the most part from the Roman period and resulting from excavations carried out in Setif itself or on the sites of the Kalaa des Béni Hammad. A room is also reserved for objects from an important Christian necropolis of the second and third centuries.

But the highlight of the museum is the superb Roman mosaic of Bacchus on a chariot pulled by two tigers. The latter, entirely reconstructed by archaeologists in the center of the museum, is to be admired from the top floor to capture all its beauty. Accompany a museum guide to grasp all the magic, he will explain why this Roman mosaic of the fourth century is one of the most beautiful in the world: the precision of these micro colored stones make it a pixelated image before time where even the shadow of the characters is represented! Bluffing and fascinating! The plus : very nice staff.