Subway excavation uncovers Algeria's past

Reuters ^ | Aug 17, 2009 | Christian Lowe

[decimon]

ALGIERS - Work to build a subway line through Algeria's capital has given archaeologists a chance to uncover traces of their country's ancient history that they thought had been erased by French colonial rule.

When engineers closed off part of Algiers' bustling Martyrs' Square to build an underground railway station, archaeologists seized the opportunity to investigate the site and, beneath layers of concrete, found a 5th century basilica.

They also found Ottoman-era metal forges and recovered cannonballs and a primitive pistol - an echo of the period in the 16th and 17th century when Barbary pirates used Algiers as a base to terrorize shipping in the Mediterranean Sea.

[decimon]

Digging the Kasbah ping.

[DonaldC]

“...when Barbary pirates used Algiers as a base to terrorize shipping in the Mediterranean Sea.”

Was there ever a time muslims were not trouble makers?

[fieldmarshaldj]

I wonder what their pre-Mo ancestors were like...

[Trailerpark Badass]

Much like South Africa, Algeria was quite sparsely populated, until the pied noir made it someplace worth living in.

Then it became some kind of ersatz ethnic Arab homeland.

[hellbender]

North Africa was populated by Berbers and was largely Christian until the Muslim conquest.

Was there ever a time muslims were not trouble makers?

Nope. Islam began as an absurd cult with ideas plagiarized and corrupted from Judaism and Christianity, and plunder, rape, slavery, and murder have been fundamental traits since Mo himself.

[SunkenCiv]

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic ·
	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks decimon. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
·Dogpile · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society · · Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·

[annalex]

That structure was fresh evidence that Algeria's natives adopted Christianity. "It's true today that we are Muslims but perhaps before, the population came to worship God in the Christian style in the 5th century," said Stiti.

And one day they will be kicked out back where they came from.

[decimon]

I wonder what their pre-Mo ancestors were like...

Seems that everyone was there.