Reconsidering the Ancient Algerian Basilica of Chlef and its Mosaics

An early Christian basilica, discovered in the Algerian city of Al-Asnam and excavated and studied from the mid-nineteenth century until most of its remains were wither covered or lost by the last quarter of the twentieth century, provides some important evidence for the practice of Christianity in Mauretania Caesariensis in the fifth century. Among this evidence is a dedicatory inscription referring to the church’s foundation; a shrine to a local bishop, placed in a counter apse; a mosaic indicating the probable placement and design of the church’s altar; and two additional mosaics that may reflect aspects of the church’s situation within certain theological and political conflicts of the fourth through sixth centuries (i.e., between Donatists and Catholics, between Vandal Arians and Africans Nicenes, and between the Mauri (Berbers) and both Vandals and Romans). This brief essay summarizes and supplements existing publications on this basilica by exploring the connections between the design and décor of the basilica and the theological and ecclesial context of its particular time and place.