ROYAL MAUSOLEUM OF MAURETANIA
Located east of Tipasa, the Royal Tomb of Mauretania rises to 261 m on one of the green hills of the Sahel. What seems from afar to be a mound is a circular edifice of 63 m in diameter with a cylindrical drum. Its outer wall is decorated with sixty columns in relief surmounted by capitals in the Ionic style that support a cornice above which a stepped cone of stone rises to 30 m.
The mouldings in the shape of a Christian cross on the false doors set up at the four cardinal points certainly explain the name of Tomb of the Christian wrongly attributed to the Mausoleum. Some specialists thought that it was perhaps the tombs of Juba II and his wife Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, but for others, the building is older and would date approximately between the third and first centuries BC. Many legends maintain the mystery of the place. The interest was great, so much so that the Ottomans went so far as to bombard the top of the building whose inviolability was to contain wonderful treasures. In 1865, excavations ordered by Napoleon III revealed an entrance under the false eastern gate. Researchers had to follow a spiral corridor and pass through two well-defended doors to reach a double funerary chamber, empty and without any trace that would allow one to imagine that it had once served as a tomb. The view on the coast and the Atlas is striking.
Monument incroyable qui même aujourd'hui n'a pas encore percé tous ces secrets!
Cela vaut le coup d'œil! De plus, une fois pénétré sur le site, la vue aux alentour est de toute beauté! Le seul point négatif est qu'il n'est plus possible de visiter l'intérieur (l'agent à l'entrée m'a expliqué que par le passé c'était possible mais que comme les œuvres culturels ne sont pas entretenues cela représenterait un danger de continuer à laisser rentrer les touristes).
Si vous êtes de passage à Tipaza, à voir absolument pour son originalité!.