The construction of the building cannot compare with that of the great aqueduct of Carthage; the arches are irregular in form, where irregularity does not appear to have been necessary. The masonry is of cut stone only as far as the spring of the middle arches, above which it is of rubble; all the superstructure above the bottom of the specus has disappeared, but at the south end there still remains a circular basin, intended, no doubt, to break the fall of the water, which descended at a steep incline, and to collect the stones and other substances which might be washed down by it, and thus allow only a stream of clear water to flow over into the duct beyond.
Plate III.
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
AQUEDUCT OF JULIA CAESARIA (CHERCHEL)
FAC-SIMILE OF FINISHED INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE (AND BALUGANI?)
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.
The dimensions given by Bruce of this aqueduct are as follows:—
| Ft. | in. | lines. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height to keystone of lower arch | 39 | 9 | 0 |
| Thickness of keystone | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Height to keystone of middle arch | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| Thickness of keystone | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Thence to keystone of upper arch | 38 | 9 | 0 |
| Above intrados of upper arch | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Total height | 116 | 6 | 4 |
| Breadth of first pier | 11 | 7 | 2 |
| Breadth of first arch | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| Breadth of second and third piers | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| Interval between them | 19 | 6 | 4 |
| Thickness of pier of first series | 14 | 7 | 3 |
Cherchel is easily reached in one day from Algiers by railway and omnibus, and is well worthy of a visit. It is pleasantly situated on the sea coast in a very picturesque plateau west of the Oued Billah, and between the mountains of the Beni Manasser and the sea. Ruins of former magnificence exist in every direction, and wherever excavations are made, columns and fragments of architectural details are found in abundance; unfortunately, little or no regard has been paid to the preservation of the numerous remains which existed even as late as the French conquest. Most of the portable objects of interest have been removed to museums elsewhere, and nearly all the monuments have been destroyed for the sake of their stones. The large amphitheatre outside the gate to the east still retains its outline, but the bottom is encumbered with twelve or fifteen feet of débris, and is at present a ploughed field; the steps, excepting in one small corner, have disappeared, and every block of cut stone has been removed. The theatre or hippodrome near the barracks is now a mere depression in the ground, though in 1840 it was in a nearly perfect state of preservation, and was surrounded by a portico supported by columns of granite and marble, to which access was obtained by a magnificent flight of steps. Here it is said that St. Arcadius suffered martyrdom by being cut in pieces. Magnificent baths existed both in the vicinity of the amphitheatre, where is now the Champs de Mars, and on the opposite side of the town overlooking the port. Even as late as my first visit to Cherchel a curious old fort existed on the public place, built, as an inscription in the museum testifies, by the Caïd Mahmoud bin Fares Ez-zaki, under the government and by order of The Emir who executes the orders of God, who fights in the ways of God, Aroudj, the son of Yakoob, in the year of the Hejira 924. This was built out of older Roman materials found on the spot by the celebrated corsair Baba Aroudj, surnamed by Europeans Barbarossa.