Soumaa d'el Khroub

Soumaa d'el Khroub: tomb of a Numidian king, perhaps Micipsa, south of ancient Cirta.

Soumaa d'el Khroub

Tomb of a Numidian king

Some fifteen kilometers southeast of Cirta, situated on a hill, is the monument that is known as the Soumaa ("tower") of a village that is now known as El Khroub. What survives is just the base of what must have been a Punic tower tomb, comparable to those at Dougga, Sabratha, Msletten, the other Msletten, or the southern cemetery of Ghirza. The needle-like superstructure is lost.

Archaeologists have discovered many objects, including a disk with a splendid representation of the god Neptune. The presence of Italian amphoras from the late second century BCE makes it possible to date the monument to that period. The man who was buried in the Soumaa d'el Khroub may have been the Numidian king Micipsa, a son of Massinissa.

The monument

Finds

Comparable monuments