What Roman city in Algeria is famous for its grid plan and well-preserved ruins? The answer is Timgad.
Founded by Emperor Trajan around AD 100, Timgad was established as a colonia for Roman veterans in the Aurès Mountains of modern Algeria. Its formal name, Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi, honored members of Trajan’s family, while Thamugadi came from the local Berber place-name.
The city is celebrated for its remarkably regular orthogonal layout. The east–west decumanus and north–south cardo structured the original streets, blocks, forum, public buildings, and gates. Timgad also had a theater, baths, a basilica, a library, and a temple of Jupiter. Its grid was later extended irregularly as the settlement grew beyond its planned footprint.
Timgad is sometimes compared with Jerash or Pompeii, but those are different archaeological sites: Jerash is in Jordan, Leptis Magna is in Libya, and Pompeii is near Naples. Timgad was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 and is often called one of the clearest surviving examples of Roman town planning.