I have absolutely no knowledge of either location, so please forgive me if I find misguided information on either area.
To begin I will speak of the Roman city of Thamugadi.
Conquered in 100ce, Thamughadi was created
as a military encampment. The Roman emperor Trajan stretched the Roman rule far
throughout Europe and into North Africa. Thamughadi is located in the province
of Numidia of Algeria. The Romans would take the very best of their grand architectural
achievements of the city of Rome and recreate this in a grid-like formation in
centralized locations of their empire. Thamughadi has many of the same
structures as we find in the Roman Forum. The temples, regia, and victory
arches that were erected to signify power and control. This area is considered
an area of colonialization. Algeria, has a history of constant invasions by
many civilizations throughout history. The building projects, such as Trajan’s
Arch reminds us of a lost history before settlers claimed the area as their
own. This has been copied over and over in all continents.
A grid like formation of settlements is
also witnessed in the area of Pikallacta in Peru. Archaeologists and scholars
have questioned how the space has functioned over the past few hundred years. What
Pikallacta signifies to the west is a need for a constant educational process
through discovery. Based in Lucre Basi at the eastern end of the valley of
Cuzco, the area has thought to be an administrative complex engineered by Wari
warriors. However, over the years people have thought it to be a storage
container for the Inca, due to indicators of spiritual sacred spaces within the
area. As opposed with Thamughadi, Pikallacta seems to no longer identify with a
group of people because there are very small indicators of one time inhabitants.
Thamughadi, we know was settled and through the architectural Roman program we
can base the structures on Roman norms of the time. However, due to its very
organized manner of formation scholars such as Edmund Thomas confirm that it
could only have been used for military purposes. Wari architectural style was
known for rigid, geometric rectangular plans,(Ross, p.15) and Pikallacta is a mathematical experience.
Compounds are seen to have been home to administrative centres and elite
residences, with a definite route of access between each. It is very calculated
and this can only be referenced in terms of control.
Disclaimer: I am unsure of how to properly insert reference points on blogger ... I have found information and used a couple of sentences from class texts and online sources.
http://archive.org/details/lesruinesdetimga00balliala
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/algeria/timgad/sights/archaeological-site/timgad
http://archaeology.about.com/od/pterms/g/pikillaqta.htm
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