Rusguniae is an ancient archaeological site located in the commune of El Marsa, in the wilaya of Algiers, Algeria.
General setting Rusguniae lies northeast of the Bay of Algiers, opposite the city of Algiers, the ancient Icosium. The site lies between modern Tamentfoust (formerly Laperouse) and Bordj-El-Bahri (Cap Matifou, as opposed to the cape of the same name that closes off the Bay of Algiers to the east). Rusguniae is situated along the coast. Today, almost no remains are visible due to the looting of most of the ancient buildings and the urban development that has covered the site and the surrounding area.
Given the rampant urbanisation of recent decades, which has completely disfigured the natural landscape, it is best to refer to Berbrugger's description of the area at the beginning of French colonisationLouis Adrien Berbrugger pour mieux De la nécessité de coloniser le Cap Matifou. Maulde & Renou, 1845. to understand the geography of the region in its historical context. The Bay of Algiers and the Bay of Bengüt, where Rusguniae is located, can be roughly described as two semicircles that meet at the Cap du Matifou and delimit a very specific territory. At the beginning of the 19th century, nature, still largely untouched, seemed to isolate this region from the surrounding areas. Only the Haraouas tribe (who gave their name to the town of the same name) lived here, cultivating the land between the hills and the Mediterranean.
Historical and archaeological context At the beginning of the 20th century, Gsell listed the archaeological remains known at the time in his "Atlas archéologique de l'Algérie" (AAAStéphane Gsell. Atlas archéologique de l'Algérie: Édition spéciale des cartes au 200.000 du Service Géographique de l'Armée. Jourdan, Alger, 1911; feuille 5, pages 6-7.). These included a marble statue of a woman near the abutments of a bridge over the HamizGsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 34. and a bridge over the Bouira,Gsell, AAA, f. 5, n° 35. a tributary of the Hamiz. In what appears to be modern Ain el Beida (Zerzouria), a few kilometres from Rusguniae, Gsell reports a network of ancient canals, the remains of buildings and a quarry, which Berbrugger considers to be Roman. Only the quarry, identified as Maherzat, remains today.
Further east, Gsell mentions Djezair el KodraGsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 38. (only the present Ain-Chorb, anc. Surcouf, to the east of Ain-Taya, would correspond), an ancient islet now joined to the land by silting, where Berbrugger is said to have discovered "rather extensive Roman ruins", of which there is no trace on the ground or in the literature. Near a spring, Ain-Chrob or H'robGsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 39. (translated as "drink and run away"), ancient remains were reported. Other ruins of lesser importance have been discovered at Réghaïa, as well as the remains of a Roman camp on the Oued Boudaou.Gsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 41, 42 et 43.) Further west, near the mouth of the Oued-el-Harrach, Gsell discussed the possibility of the ruins of the city of Saça, although they have not yet been found.Gsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 31. Finally, one kilometre from Maison-Carrée (now El-Harrach), a libyc inscriptionGsell, AAA, feuille 5, n° 32. was found, testifying to the ancient history of the region.
Site selection The choice of location for Rusguniae was probably dictated by its privileged geographical position, which offered natural protection from the summer winds and gusts, making it a safe haven for maritime navigation. This strategic location may explain why the site is so similar to that of Icosium, just opposite in the Bay of Algiers, but exposed to north-west and north-east winds due to the openness of its bay.P. Salama, "Sites commerciaux antiques sur le littoral de l'Algérois", Mélanges de l'École française de Rome, 2006; p.529. In this context, it is worth recalling, as Salama did, Charles V's famous expedition against Algiers in October 1541. Faced with a fierce storm that resulted in the loss of many ships, the emperor himself was forced to return to Cape Matifou on foot. Later, in 1682, Duquesne, followed by Tourville in 1683 and D'Estrées in 1688, steered their fleet against the east wind off Rusguniae and sent bombardment ships to Algiers.Villegagnon, Nicolas Durand de. Relation de Charles-Quint contre Alger; suivie de la traduction du texte latin par Pierre Tolet; publiées avec avant-propos, notes biographiques, notes et appendices par H.-D. de Grammont. 1874. In particular note I, p. 84 [translated here as]: "One wonders how the Doria, these great men of the sea, so familiar with the Mediterranean, could have gathered such a quantity of galleys and transports on a coast without shelter, and in a place which the north-easterly winds make dangerous beyond all expression'". and Note V, p. 91: "'...and we can see that we had to take shelter at Cape Matifou as soon as the sea became a little rougher'.
Site classification In January 2008, a classification procedure was launched for the site known as "Ancient Rusguniae". The archaeological site, bounded to the north by the Aïn Taya road, to the south by the Ondines district, to the east by the Alger-Plage road and to the west by the chemin des ruines n°2, has had a protection zone extended to 200 metres from its boundaries.
History The region has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, with artefacts from the Mousterian and Neolithic industries being found on the cliffs of Cap Matifou."La Mitidja de l'antiquité", Société historique algérienne, Revue africaine, 1927, p. 420. La note 1 mentionne des instruments préhistoriques en quartz.Piroutet Maurice. La station préhistorique d'Aïn-Taya, près d'Alger. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France, tome 27, n°11, 1930. pp. 513-517.Marchand H. Quartzites et silex taillés du Cap Matifou (baie d'Alger). In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France, tome 31, n°1, 1934. pp. 83-87. A la page 86, on lit: "En résumé nous avons pu recueillir au niveau des falaises du cap Matifou les industries moustérienne et néolithique (l'industrie moustérienne prédominant néanmoins de beaucoup). La plupart des falaises escarpées [...] du cap Matifou n'échappent pas à cette règle."
Rusguniae, to the north-east of the Bay of Algiers and home to the Punic base of Tamentfoust, takes its name from the expression "Cap du Francolin".Rusguniae, in Brill's New Pauly Online: Ruthisia (?), Mela 1,31; colonia Augusti R., Plin. HN 5,20; Ῥουστόνιον/Rhoustónion, Ptol. 4,2,6; R. colonia, It. Ant. 16,1; Rusgume, Geogr. Rav. 40,43; Rugunie, Geogr. Rav. 88,13; Rusgimia, Guido, Geographia 132,22.Lipiński, E. 1992–1993. “Sites ‘phénico-puniques’ de la cote algérienne.” REPPAL 7/8: 305, 315–17.Vycichl, Werner. “Punischer Spracheinfluss Im Berberischen.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 1952, pp. 201. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/542638. BerbruggerLouis Adrien Berbrugger. De la nécessité de coloniser le Cap Matifou. Maulde & Renou, 1845. suggests that the origin of the name is a Berber word that was Latinised by the Romans to mean "cape of sleep" or "cape of sleepers", in reference to a local interpretation of the very popular theme of the sleepers of Ephesus. Mouloud Mammeri suggests that Rusguniae is composed of two roots: the Phoenician rus (the cape) and the Berber agouni (the cliff). Salama points out that Rusguniae already existed at the end of the fourth century BC, while the foundation of Icosium cannot be dated before the second century BC.P. Salama. "Chronique d'une ville disparue : «Rusguniae » de Maurétanie Césarienne". Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France Année 1999 1996 pp. 129-143. The process of Roman colonisation in Rusguniae seems to indicate competition, with continental rather than maritime interests. The Bay of Algiers provided access to the Mitidja plain and the Chelif valley, which was more accessible from Rusguniae than from Icosium. This, combined with the probably more important status of Icosium, may have led to the choice of Rusguniae for the Roman settlement, thus avoiding direct competition.
Punic era Lancel lists Rusginiae as one of the Phoenician trading posts that were "fairly evenly spaced every 30 or 40 km"S. Lancel, "Algérie"; in La civilisation phénicienne et punique, Brill 1994. pp. 790-791. along the Algerian coast. It was one of the main relay points for coastal shipping along the northern coast of the ancient Maghreb. Carthage's maritime empire, however, left no ruins. However, Salama highlights "the exceptional abundance of mixed amphora fragments dated between the 2nd century BC and the 7th century AD, proving that the coastal site was used extensively and continuously".Salama Pierre. "Sites commerciaux antiques sur le littoral de l'Algérois" In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome: Antiquité, tome 118, n°2. 2006. Antiquité. p. 534ff." In addition, about 100 Punic and neo-Punic stelae have been found in the area.Rusguniae: Brill's New Pauly Online, cit. op.
Roman era After the civil wars at the end of the Republic and as a result of an interregnum in the Mauretan kingdom, Augustus had a number of coastal and sub-coastal positions systematically picked out for the establishment of veteran settlements, the starting point for the future annexation of the territory. The colonisation of Rusguniae by the IX Gemella legion preceded 27 AD.P. Salama, La colonie de R., in: Revue africaine 99, 1955, 5-52Diverses inscriptions telles que CIL VIII 2, 9045; 9047; 9246-9255; Suppl. 3, 20849-20851; AE 1956, 160; toutes dans Rusguniae: Brill's New Pauly Online, cit. op. The list of these colonies, already formulated in the documentation of Pliny the Elder,Pline, V; commenté par Desanges (Paris, 1980), pp. 160-181. can be easily verified thanks to epigraphic documents. The most important one concerning Rusguniae comes from three inscriptions placed on the second mile of the Roman road Rusguniae-Icosium, which transcribe the complete title of the city: COL(onia) IUL(ia) PONTIF(?) CL(?) RUSG(uniae) IIIIV LEG(ionis).P. Salama, La colonie de Rusguniae d'après les inscriptions, dans Rev. afr., XCIX, 1955, pp. 5-20. Pliny the Elder, in his enumeration of the cities of Caesarean Mauritania, mentions Rusguniae among the colonies founded by Augustus.Pline l'Ancien, Hist. Nat., V,2, 20.
It is known that the settlement grewV. la bibliographie complète dressée par Gsell dans son Atlas arch. Alg, 5, 36. and prospered from the 1st century AD until the Byzantine period.N. Duval, "Les Byzantins à Rusguniae". In: Histoire et archéologie de l'Afrique du Nord, IIè colloque international, Congrès des sociétés savantes, 108è, Grenoble, 1983. P. 342. Duval writes: "Les traces indiscutables de la réoccupation byzantine sont si rares à l'ouest de Sétif qu'on est surpris de trouver dans ce port antique de la baie d'Alger, un petit groupe de documents épigraphiques qui attestent, sans discussion, [leur] présence [...]". In Roman times, Rusguniae was the site of a temple dedicated to Saturn, also known as the Roman Baal Hamon. In 419 its bishop, together with those of Icosium and Rusuccuru, represented the province of Mauretania Caesarea at a council in Carthage.Acta concilii Carthaginiensis anno 419 habiti, cognitio 4, § 433; 437; 510 f. Cf. Rusguniae: Brill's New Pauly Online
According to ancient writers, it was destroyed by the Vandals"La Mitidja de l'antiquité", cit. op., p. 420. or the Goths,Marmol y Carvajal, L’Afrique de Marmol de la traduction de Nicholas Perrot sieur d’Ablancour. Paris, T2, 1677; p. 409. although nothing seems to have survived to prove this.
Medieval and modern times