Tipasa

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Tipasa is located 70 km west of Algiers. It is a serial property comprising three sites: two archaeological parks located in the vicinity of the present urban complex and the Royal Mauritanian Mausoleum, on the west Sahel plateau of Algiers, at 11 km south-east of Tipasa.

The archaeological site of Tipasa regroups one of the most extraordinary archaeological complexes of the Maghreb, and perhaps one which is most significant to the study of the contacts between the indigenous civilizations and the different waves of colonization from the 6th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D. This coastal city was first a Carthaginian trading centre, whose necropolis is one of the oldest and one of the most extensive of the Punic world (6th to 2nd century B.C.). During this period, Tipasa played the role of a maritime port of call, a place for commercial exchanges with the indigenous population.  Numerous necropolis testify to the very varied types of burial and funerary practices that bear witness to the multicultural exchange of influences dating back to protohistoric times. The monumental, circular funerary building, called the Royal Mauritanian Mausoleum, associates a local architectural tradition of the basina type, to a style of stepped truncated roof covering, the result of the different contributions, notably Hellenistic and Pharaonic.

The Roman period is marked by a prestigious ensemble of buildings, comprising very diversified architectural typologies. From the 3rd to the 4th centuries A.D. a striking increase in Christianity is demonstrated by the multitude of religious buildings. Some are decorated with high quality mosaic pavings, illustrating scenes from daily life, or geometric patterns. The Vandal invasion of the 430's did not mark the definitive end of prosperity of Tipasa, but the town, reconquered by the Byzantines in 531, gradually fell into decline from the 6th century. 

Criterion (iii): Tipasa bears exceptional testimony to the Punic and Roman civilizations now disappeared.

Criterion (iv): The architectural and archaeological vestiges of Tipasa reflect in a significant manner the contacts between the indigenous civilizations and the Punic and Roman waves of colonization between the 6th century B.C. and the 6th century A.D.

Integrity

The boundary for the three sites has been clarified and approved by the World Heritage Committee (Decision 33 COM 8D, 2009). It includes the ensemble of vestiges that bear witness to the exceptional town-planning, architectural, historic and archaeological values of the property. The property is vulnerable due to the impact from urban development, unregulated tourism and population growth.

Authenticity

The town-planning and architectural attributes, the decoration and construction materials, all retain their original aspect that express the values, as defined at the time of inscription of the property. However, they are vulnerable through lack of conservation, encroachment of the vegetation, illegal grazing and uncontrolled visitor access.

Protection and management requirements

The legal and management framework of this property includes Laws 90-30 (regional law), 98-04 (concerning protection of cultural heritage), the Permanent Safeguarding and Presentation Plan of the site (PPSMV), the Ground Occupation Plan approved by the communal assembly of Tipasa (POS) and the Protection and Presentation Plan of archaeological sites and their buffer zone (PPMVSA), under preparation codified by executive decree N° 324-2003. A new establishment, the Office of Management and Exploitation of Cultural Properties, in coordination with the Directorate for Culture of the Wilaya (province) now manages the archaeological sites of Tipasa.

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