RUSGUNIAE
(Tametfoust) Algeria.
At Cape
Matifou, which closes the bay of Algiers to the E, ruins
have been identified as those of this site, known from
Pomponius Mela, Pliny, and the ancient itineraries. The
root
Rus suggests the existence of a pre-Roman center,
possibly linked to the development of the Carthaginian
empire, but no remains of this original occupation have
been found.
A colony was founded on the site, perhaps by Lepidus, at the latest during the reign of Augustus. Inscriptions attest its existence to the Byzantine period. In the Middle Ages, the site was ruined and the stones were
used for building in the neighboring town of Algiers.
Excavations in the 19th c. brought to light a large
Christian basilica with three naves and eleven bays.
The central nave was decorated with figurative mosaics,
pieces of which are in the Algiers Museum. In the
Byzantine period the building was remodeled and expanded to five naves. The monument had a counterapse, perhaps from its foundation.
Public baths were noted as early as the 19th c. In
the last few years one of these (the SE) has been excavated and the hot and cold rooms have been cleared
and carefully restored. Part of a mosaic pavement has
been found, and in the course of the work remains of
late dwellings were noted.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
S. Gsell,
Atlas archéologique de l'Algérie (1911) 5, no. 36; P. Salama, in
Revue africaine, 99
(1955) 5-52; 101 (1957) 205-25; R. Guéry, in
Bulletin
d'archéologie algérienne 1 (1962-65) 21-40; N. Duval, in
XVII corso di cultura sull'arte ravennate e bizantina
(1970) 133-38.
P-A. FÉVRIER
