Tipasa - Carthago Nova: relaciones hispano-mauritanas a través de la pintura mural

A recent Hispano-Algerian archaeological project has uncovered evidence of previously undocumented connections between Tipasa, Algeria, and the Iberian Peninsula through Roman mural painting. Among the findings is a distinct incised decorative technique, characteristic of Southeast Spain's Carthaginian region but hitherto unseen in North Africa. This technique, attributed to a local workshop from the first half of the 1st century CE, suggests cross-Mediterranean artistic exchange and circulation of craftsmanship between Tipasa and Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena). The study employed systematic prospection along a coastal strip, including the UNESCO-listed Colonia Aelia Augusta Tipasensium and the Mauritania Caesarensis Mausoleum, revealing residential structures with thermal baths. This discovery sheds new light on understudied regions of Roman North Africa and challenges assumptions about artistic development in the Maghreb.

Khellaf, R., Quevedo, A., Bensaidani, Y., Castillo Alcántara, G., Fernández Díaz, A., & García Sánchez, J. (2023). Tipasa - Carthago Nova: relaciones hispano-mauritanas a través de la pintura mural. Lucentum, (42), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.14198/lvcentvm.23267