Gemellae
Encyclopedia
Gemellae was a Roman fort and associated camp on the fringe of the Sahara
Desert in what is today part of Algeria
. It is now an archaeological site, 25 km south and 19 km west of Biskra
, and 5 km southwest of the present-day village of M'Lili
with which it probably shares an original Berber
name.
recounts that when Lucius Cornelius Balbus
celebrated his victory over the Garamantes
of the Sahara in 19 BCE, one of the conquests feted in the parade through Rome was that of Milgis Gemmella, described as an oppidum
(usually meaning fortified settlement).
The Romans seem to have then occupied the site and made it one of southernmost outposts, marking the limes
or boundary of the Empire.
The earliest epigraph retrieved from the site is an inscription for a statue of Emperor Hadrian
, in about the year 126 CE, by a cohors equitata (equestrian regiment) originating from Chalcis
in Syria
. The presence of this army unit in Africa is attested by inscriptions elsewhere dating from as early as 78 CE and as late as 164 CE.
A second very large dedication to Hadrian
, which faced the central courtyard, dates from 132 CE. The name of the Legion to which the regiment belonged was hammered off, presumably because of the withdrawal of their legion for disciplinary reasons, then re-inscribed, presumably following the return of the regiment in 253 CE.
Also present in the sacellum were statues of Antoninus Pius
, Pertinax
and Gordian
, the latter two with inscriptions indicating the presence of the ala Pannoniorum
(a cavalry unit raised by the Emperor Gordian
). Altars to the Dii Campestres (army gods) were dedicated by Marcus Celerius Augendus, prefect of the Pannonia
ns, and by Titus Aurelius Aurelianus, prefect of another cavalry unit from Thrace
. It is likely that the Pannonia
ns were substitutes for the Legio III Augusta
regiment until its reinstatement in 253 CE.
The hypothesis is that the inscription of 126, for a small-sized statue, represents the establishment of a 'provisional' camp, and that the inscription of 132 marks the completion of the greater fort.
The establishment of the fort and surrounding settlment is probably linked to the construction of the Fossatum Africae
. Gemellae is the largest of several forts in the area which follow the line of the Fossatum
. In the 5th century there is still mention of a sector of the limes
called Gemellensis just prior to the Vandal
invasion. Other than that, the history of Gemellae after 253 remains uncertain.
No Christian artefacts have been recovered, so there is no current archaeological evidence for a Byzantine presence. However, Justinian
is known to have ordered Belisarius
in 534 to restore the fortifications of the limes
as they were before the Vandal
invasion. The 6th-century historian Procopius
mentions a Meleon as one of those forts rebuilt as a result, which may have been Gemellae. The 9th-century Arab historian Khalifa ibn Khayyat
relates that when Abu al-Muhajir Dinar
was emir of Ifriqiya
(c. 675-682) he conquered Mila which may have been Gemellae.
Gemellae has now been reclaimed by the desert, and excavators have complained about the continually blowing sand. The remains of the fort are known locally as al-Qasba (casbah
, exactly a fort).
. It measures 150 m. north to south and 190 m. east to west. For the most part, the masonry wall was about 3 m. thick, using stone from a quarry 14 km. distant. However, the fort's corners were rounded and reinforced to a thickness of 4.85 m. Just outside the masonry wall was an earth wall (vallum
).
There was a gate in each side, and a number of towers. The towers were situated at each corner and at each gate, also the short sides of the fort had 2 additional ones and the long sides 3, i.e. one tower every 30 m,
compared with one tower per 60 m. at the Legion's headquarters at Lambaesis
. The towers had no external bastions, interiorly they reduced the wall thickness by about 1.5 m.
The interior courtyard was entirely paved over, and the walls and columns painted. The oldest layer of paint was a reddish purple, later covered by a cream base on which were painted various designs. The columns, for example, were painted with fruiting grapevines.
Outside the fort, the town was surrounded by a vallum
at a distance of 700–800 m from the centre of the praetorium.
Just outside the fort was a small almost circular amphitheatre with three stages of seating and an internal diameter of 12.5 m.
75 m. northeast of the fort was found the ruins of a temple to the Dii Campestres or army gods. Pieces of painted fresco, including a half-size head of a deity, were recovered, along with offerings such as sea-shells and gazelle horns.
At a distance of 700 m. (hence outside the town vallum) was another temple, of mudbrick on a masonry base. A ciborium contained a small sculptured stone lion seated before a 30 cm. statuette of a goddess in richly painted terracotta. The goddess held a cornucopia
and was either a personification of Africa, or the goddess Cybele
. In the interior courtyard were two stelae representing the sacrifice of a ram to Saturn
. Many vases and amphorae were found in the temple, holding ashes and burnt fragments of animal bones. In the area around the temple were also found roughly fashioned approximately life-sized prone human figures which may have been used to incinerate animal sacrifices.
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
Desert in what is today part of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. It is now an archaeological site, 25 km south and 19 km west of Biskra
Biskra
Biskra is the capital city of Biskra province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 207,987.During Roman times the town was called Vescera, though this may have been simply a Latin transliteration of the native name. Around 200 AD under Septimius Severus' reign, it was seized by the...
, and 5 km southwest of the present-day village of M'Lili
M'Lili
M'Lili is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 5,151. During Roman times a large military settlement near the town was called Gemellae, though this may merely have been the Latin transliteration of the native name...
with which it probably shares an original Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
name.
History
Apparently there was a fortification at Gemellae prior to the coming of the Romans. Pliny the ElderPliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
recounts that when Lucius Cornelius Balbus
Lucius Cornelius Balbus
Lucius Cornelius Balbus may refer to:* Lucius Cornelius Balbus , Roman consul and friend of Julius Caesar* Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger, nephew of L. Cornelius Balbus Maior...
celebrated his victory over the Garamantes
Garamantes
The Garamantes were a Saharan people who used an elaborate underground irrigation system, and founded a prosperous Berber kingdom in the Fezzan area of modern-day Libya, in the Sahara desert. They were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BC and 700 AD.There is little textual information about...
of the Sahara in 19 BCE, one of the conquests feted in the parade through Rome was that of Milgis Gemmella, described as an oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
(usually meaning fortified settlement).
The Romans seem to have then occupied the site and made it one of southernmost outposts, marking the limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
or boundary of the Empire.
The earliest epigraph retrieved from the site is an inscription for a statue of Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
, in about the year 126 CE, by a cohors equitata (equestrian regiment) originating from Chalcis
Chalcis, Syria
Chalcis was an ancient city in Syria. Syrian Chalcis was the birthplace of 3rd century Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus.It is thought to be the site of the modern town of Qinnasrin, though Anjar in Lebanon has also been suggested as the site of ancient Chalcis....
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The presence of this army unit in Africa is attested by inscriptions elsewhere dating from as early as 78 CE and as late as 164 CE.
A second very large dedication to Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
, which faced the central courtyard, dates from 132 CE. The name of the Legion to which the regiment belonged was hammered off, presumably because of the withdrawal of their legion for disciplinary reasons, then re-inscribed, presumably following the return of the regiment in 253 CE.
Also present in the sacellum were statues of Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
, Pertinax
Pertinax
Pertinax , was Roman Emperor for three months in 193. He is known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. A high ranking military and Senatorial figure, he tried to restore discipline in the Praetorian Guards, whereupon they rebelled and killed him...
and Gordian
Gordian III
Gordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
, the latter two with inscriptions indicating the presence of the ala Pannoniorum
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
(a cavalry unit raised by the Emperor Gordian
Gordian III
Gordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
). Altars to the Dii Campestres (army gods) were dedicated by Marcus Celerius Augendus, prefect of the Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
ns, and by Titus Aurelius Aurelianus, prefect of another cavalry unit from Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. It is likely that the Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
ns were substitutes for the Legio III Augusta
Legio III Augusta
Legio tertia Augusta was raised in the year 43 BCE most likely by the consul Gaius Vibius Pansa and the emperor Augustus who served the Roman Empire in North Africa until at least the late 4th century CE. It is possible that it fought in the battle of Philippi against the murderers of Caesar...
regiment until its reinstatement in 253 CE.
The hypothesis is that the inscription of 126, for a small-sized statue, represents the establishment of a 'provisional' camp, and that the inscription of 132 marks the completion of the greater fort.
The establishment of the fort and surrounding settlment is probably linked to the construction of the Fossatum Africae
Fossatum Africae
Fossatum Africae is a linear defensive structure claimed to extend over 750 km or more in northern Africa constructed during the Roman Empire as a measure to defend and control the southern borders of the Empire in Africa...
. Gemellae is the largest of several forts in the area which follow the line of the Fossatum
Fossatum Africae
Fossatum Africae is a linear defensive structure claimed to extend over 750 km or more in northern Africa constructed during the Roman Empire as a measure to defend and control the southern borders of the Empire in Africa...
. In the 5th century there is still mention of a sector of the limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
called Gemellensis just prior to the Vandal
Vandal Kingdom
The Vandal Kingdom was a kingdom in North Africa established by the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin. Having crossed the Rhine in 407, the Vandals settled in southern Spain, modern day Andalusia, until pushed out by the Visigoths...
invasion. Other than that, the history of Gemellae after 253 remains uncertain.
No Christian artefacts have been recovered, so there is no current archaeological evidence for a Byzantine presence. However, Justinian
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
is known to have ordered Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
in 534 to restore the fortifications of the limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
as they were before the Vandal
Vandal Kingdom
The Vandal Kingdom was a kingdom in North Africa established by the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin. Having crossed the Rhine in 407, the Vandals settled in southern Spain, modern day Andalusia, until pushed out by the Visigoths...
invasion. The 6th-century historian Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
mentions a Meleon as one of those forts rebuilt as a result, which may have been Gemellae. The 9th-century Arab historian Khalifa ibn Khayyat
Khalifa ibn Khayyat
Abū 'Amr Khalifa ibn Khayyat al Laythī al 'Usfurī , Arab historian.His family were natives of Basra in Iraq. His grandfather was a noted muhaddith or traditionalist, and Khalifa became renowned for this also. Among the great Islamic scholars who were his pupils were Bukhari and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.He...
relates that when Abu al-Muhajir Dinar
Abu al-Muhajir Dinar
Abu al-Muhajir Dinar , amir of Ifriqiya under the Umayyads. His biography is complicated by the existence of two versions of the history of the Umayyad conquest of North Africa, those written before the 11th century and those written later....
was emir of Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
(c. 675-682) he conquered Mila which may have been Gemellae.
Gemellae has now been reclaimed by the desert, and excavators have complained about the continually blowing sand. The remains of the fort are known locally as al-Qasba (casbah
Casbah
The Casbah ) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns...
, exactly a fort).
Archaeology
The great fort (praetorium or General Headquarters) of Gemellae is rectangular with sides oriented to the cardinal directions, constructed in a manner common to most Roman castraCastra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
. It measures 150 m. north to south and 190 m. east to west. For the most part, the masonry wall was about 3 m. thick, using stone from a quarry 14 km. distant. However, the fort's corners were rounded and reinforced to a thickness of 4.85 m. Just outside the masonry wall was an earth wall (vallum
Vallum
Vallum is a term applied either to the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch...
).
There was a gate in each side, and a number of towers. The towers were situated at each corner and at each gate, also the short sides of the fort had 2 additional ones and the long sides 3, i.e. one tower every 30 m,
compared with one tower per 60 m. at the Legion's headquarters at Lambaesis
Lambaesis
Lambaesis, or Lambaesa, is a Roman ruin in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult.-Remains:...
. The towers had no external bastions, interiorly they reduced the wall thickness by about 1.5 m.
The interior courtyard was entirely paved over, and the walls and columns painted. The oldest layer of paint was a reddish purple, later covered by a cream base on which were painted various designs. The columns, for example, were painted with fruiting grapevines.
Outside the fort, the town was surrounded by a vallum
Vallum
Vallum is a term applied either to the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch...
at a distance of 700–800 m from the centre of the praetorium.
Just outside the fort was a small almost circular amphitheatre with three stages of seating and an internal diameter of 12.5 m.
75 m. northeast of the fort was found the ruins of a temple to the Dii Campestres or army gods. Pieces of painted fresco, including a half-size head of a deity, were recovered, along with offerings such as sea-shells and gazelle horns.
At a distance of 700 m. (hence outside the town vallum) was another temple, of mudbrick on a masonry base. A ciborium contained a small sculptured stone lion seated before a 30 cm. statuette of a goddess in richly painted terracotta. The goddess held a cornucopia
Cornucopia
The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
and was either a personification of Africa, or the goddess Cybele
Cybele
Cybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
. In the interior courtyard were two stelae representing the sacrifice of a ram to Saturn
Saturn (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Saturn was a major god presiding over agriculture and the harvest time. His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace by many Roman authors. In medieval times he was known as the Roman god of agriculture, justice and strength. He held a sickle in...
. Many vases and amphorae were found in the temple, holding ashes and burnt fragments of animal bones. In the area around the temple were also found roughly fashioned approximately life-sized prone human figures which may have been used to incinerate animal sacrifices.
Select Bibliography
- J. Baradez (1949). . v. 93 p. 1-24.
- A. Benabbès: "" In , University of Rouen, 2005 (ISBN 2-87775-391-3)
- Speidel M.P. (1991). "The Shrine of the Dii Campestres at Gemellae", Antiquites africaines 27, 111-118.
- P. Trousset (2002). v. 10, p. 143-150.