UNEARTHING PALACE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30471, 19 June 1964, Page 16

UNEARTHING PALACE

Near Ruins Of Roman City (N.Z.P.A.-Reuter) CHERCHELL (Algeria). Algerian workmen are carefully moving spadefuls of rich red earth from, under an orange grove in Cherchell to lay bare the remains of what must have been one of the finest palaces of ancient Caesarea. Some 2000 years ago, this was one of the great cities of the Roman empire and capital of a province before it was sacked by the Vandals. Many of the ruins are still here, preserved and labelled by archaeologists. Work began on digging out the latest find only in April and already enough has been uncovered to see that it is a substantial building. So far 11 rooms of varying size have been discovered and a bathing place. The site is magnificent, just outside the walls of the old city on a hillside looking down towards the Mediterranean. Most of the rooms have well preserved mosaics under some 10ft of soil. An amphora still stands in the corner of one of the rooms. A statue of Bacchus was discovered in another. Outside, three olive presses and a conical mill stone which gives a clue to the commercial activities of the old city were found. The date of the building has been estimated as about the second century.