Timgad was a large Roman settlement built in North Africa in AD 100 by the Emperor Trajan. It was laid out in a precise grid plan and served as a military garrison town. Key buildings included a forum, theater, libraries, and baths. The city enjoyed prosperity as a center of Christian activity and government for several centuries but was eventually sacked and fell into decline and ruin.

1. TIMGAD
(ROMAN TOWN)
TOWN PLANING
SUBMITTED TO:
PROF. A. K. MANNA
BY:
AKSHAT KACHHAL
ANKIT SAINI
BADAL JAYKUMAR THOLIA
NAMAN JAIN
VAISHALI JAIN
VARUN JAIN
JIGME CHOGYEL

2. INTRODUCTION
The ancient great city of
Timgad is the largest Roman
settlement ever built in North
Africa. Located on the northern
slopes of the Aures Massif,
approximately 170 km south of
the Mediterranean coast,
the town (ancient name:
Thamugadi) was created by the
Emperor Trajan in AD 100.
It served as a Roman military
garrison town and its plan, laid
out with great precision,
illustrates skills of Roman urban
planners. The outpost,
established on a perfect square
grid, it had to control one of
the main passes through the
Aures Mountains to the Sahara.
FIG:RUINS OF TIMGADCITY
LOCATION
Located in modern day Algeria
(about 35 km east of the city of
Batna)
COORDINATES: 35°29′03″N
6°28′07″E
TYPE : Settlement
PERIODS : Roman Empire
STATE : Algeria
REGION : Arab states
Its climate is moderate, hot and dry
during summer time, due to its altitude
(it being 800 metres above sea level) the
winter is tough, snowy and at times cold
(with temperatures of -15 °C recorded on
some cold winter nights).
This geo-political position is the origin of
the last economy merging city due to a
high commercial exchange rate between
the north's seaward opening, and the
south's source of all the wealth of the
country (including reserves of oil, natural
gas, iron and many minerals).
GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY
The city was founded as a military
colony by the emperor Trajan around AD
100. It was intended to serve primarily as a
bastion against the Berbers in the
nearby Aures Mountains, It was originally
populated largely by Roman veterans
The city enjoyed a peaceful existence for
the first several hundred years and became
a centre of Christian activity starting in
the 3rd century, and a Donatist centre in
the 4th century.
In the 5th century, the city was sacked by
the Vandals before falling into decline. In
AD 535,
The Byzantine general Solomon found the
city empty when he came to occupy it
during the Vandalic War.

3. PLANNING LAYOUT
CONCEPT : Original Roman grid
plan
STREET DIVISSION : The city
was basically categorized on the
basis of the directions
North – South oriented :-
Cardo
East – West oriented : -
Decumanus Maximus
RESIDENTIAL BLOCK : Most of
the blocks like the houses and
shops had cored walls on the inner
surface and all the casually laid-
out 'suburbs had cored walls on
the outer surface
ROAD DIVISSION : The streets
are lined by colonnaded roads with
Corinthian columns
KEY BUILDINGS
• Forum
• Open air theater
• Library
• East Bath
• North Bath
• Small Baths
• Temple of Ceres
• Tragan’s Arch

4. ABOUT THE CITY
In just 50 years after Timgad's
foundation, the city was mainly
inhabited by indigenous people.
It had fountains, bathhouses with
walls and floors decorated with
beautiful mosaics displaying pagan
mythological scenes, a theatre, a
library and a forum. It also had a
triumphal arch.
Timgad's underground reservoir
collected water for the bathhouses,
pools and fountains and there was also
a modern drainage, sewage system
and luxuries such as lavatories that
could be heated during winter
On the western side of Timgad are
the ruins of an impressive basilica
with a baptistery or baptism pool.
This is a silent reminder that by the
fourth century C.E., the city had
become a stronghold of the
Donatists- a “Christian” group that
broke with the Roman church.
The original square of the town was
divided into small insulae, all of the
same dimensions of around 70 by 70
Roman feet (21 by 21 m) and each one
including one or more houses. Eight
were occupied by the Forum, one was
occupied by the market, four by the
theatre, seven by baths of different
sizes, one by a public library, and one
by a Christian church and two by
temples
FIG:PLAN OF TIMGADCITY
Timgad also possessed the various
structures that characterized a
Roman settlement. For instance, at
the center of Timgad is the forum,
which was a public square whose
primary purpose was as a place for
the selling of goods. Additionally,
the forum was used as a place for
various social gatherings.
Yet another feature of Roman urban
planning is its baths. At Timgad, the
remains of as many as 14 baths have
survived. One of these is located on
the northern end of the city’s cardo.
These baths were on the left side of
the cardo as one entered the city’s
gates, and would have been used by
weary travelers entering the city
from that direction.

5. SOME IMPORTANT BUILDINGS
THE MAGNIFICENTARCHOF TRAJAN
One very impressive ancient
structure was the Arch of Trajan.
The arch reaches a height of 12
meters, with a central arch of 6
meters in height which permitted the
passage of vehicles that have left
deep ruts in the ground under the
archway). The lateral arches, each
3.75 meters high, were reserved for
pedestrians.
Direction : West end of the town
Height : 39 foot ( about 12 m high )
Style : 3 vaulted arch with
Corinthian order
Structure : Each lateral arch was
framed by 2 red Corinthians columns
and supported by pedestals
LIBRARYATTIMGAD
This library was a gift to the Roman
people by Julius Quintianus Flavius
Rogatianus. The library occupied a
rectangle 81 feet (24.69 meters) long
by 77 feet (23.47 meters) wide. It’s
architecture of was not especially
remarkable, but it was a great
historical importance as it showed the
presence of a fully developed library
system in this Roman city, indicating a
high standard of learning and culture.
Plan : rectangular
Size : Long side 81 feet
Short side 77 feet
Internal planning : Consist of large
semi circular rooms flanked by 2
secondary rectangular rooms and
preceded by u shaped colonnaded
portico
To the south of Timgad’s forum was
the city’s theater, which was the
place where public performances
were held. The theater was built
during the 160s, and was formed by
cutting into a side of a hill. Although
Timgad’s theater is comparatively
smaller than most others in the
Roman Empire, about 3500 people
could still be seated in it at any given
time.
THEATER

6. END OF THE TIMGAD CITY
The city enjoyed a peaceful existence for the first several hundred years and became a center of Christian activity starting
in the 3rd century, and a Donatist center in the 4th century.
In the 5th century, the city was sacked by the Vandals before falling into decline. In AD 535,
the Byzantine general Solomon found the city empty when he came to occupy it during the Vandalic War. In the following
century, the city was briefly repopulated as a primarily Christian city before being sacked by Berbers in the 7th century.
Timgad was destroyed at the end of the 5th century by Montagnard of the Aurès. The Byzantine Reconquest revived some
activities in the city, defended by a fortress built to the south, in 539, reusing blocks removed from Roman monuments. The
Arab invasion brought about the final ruin of Thamugadi which ceased to be inhabited after the 8th century AD
Because no new settlements were founded on the site after the 7th century AD, the city was partially preserved under sand
up to a depth of approximately one meter.
FIG: VIEWOF
TIMGADCITY