A woman of ancient Mauretania visits her country’s Royal Mausoleum to pay respect to her ancestors.
Not to be confused with the modern West African country of Mauritania, the region known as Mauretania to the Romans would have covered the region of north-central Algeria and Morocco all the way south to the Atlas Mountains. One of their kings, Juba II, was buried with his wife Cleopatra Selene II (who was actually the daughter of the famous Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony) in a monumental Royal Mausoleum located in the area of modern Tipaza, Algeria.
Although the Ionic columns mounted along the Mausoleum’s circumference betray an obvious influence from Greek or Roman architecture, I thought the structure’s general shape (a stout cylinder with a conical roof) reminded me of a traditional African mud hut. Maybe that was the foundation for the design underneath the superficial Hellenic decor?