The Roman Triumphal Arch of Caracalla in Tébessa

In present-day Tébessa, Algeria, the Arch of Caracalla stands as a Roman triumphal arch of the tetrapylon type. Constructed during the early 3rd century, the monument was funded by a testamentary donation from Gaius Cornelius Egrilianus, the Prefect of the XIV legion, who was originally from the city of Thebeste. He set aside 250,000 sesterti for the construction of the arch.

The structure is roughly cubical, measuring 10.94m on each side to the top of the entablature. Its pylons feature pairs of columns with Corinthian capitals, detached from the wall and supported by a podium. Medallions containing the busts of divinities are located above each of the spans, and the main entablature continues in the recess above these spans. Inscriptions on three sides are dedicated to the deified Emperor Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, and Caracalla.

During the Byzantine period, the arch was reused as the northern gate of the city wall. At that time, the lateral arches and the northern arch were walled up, remaining closed until French military engineers reopened them during the colonial period. A reconstructed Byzantine inscription found in the infill of the vaults refers to this incorporation as the work of the magister militum Solomon.

At the center of all four sides, the entablature once supported an aedicula holding a statue. Scholars debate the reconstruction of the arch's very top; some suggest it may have featured an octagonal lantern with a hidden base, while others propose a low dome. Another theory suggests that four aediculae connected by railings once contained statues of the deified Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla, and Geta.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons