Jedars

The Jedars are thirteen Berber funerary monuments near Tiaret, Algeria, dating from the 4th to 7th century AD. Three stand on Jabal Lakhdar and ten on Jabal Arawi, with square bases ranging from 11.55 to 46 metres and original pyramidal tops reaching up to 13 metres. Built using dry stone methods with local sandstone and limestone, they represent indigenous Berber architecture incorporating Roman techniques and Mediterranean Christian iconography. The largest jedar contains polychrome religious murals, and inscriptions appear in both Latin and Tifinagh script. Their commanding hilltop positions indicate they were royal tombs of a dynasty that rose during the disintegration of Roman power in North Africa.