On a hill near Sidi Rached in Algeria’s Tipasa Province, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania rises above the Sahel landscape with views toward the Mediterranean. The national heritage authority places it about 60 kilometres west of Algiers and gives its elevation as 261 metres. It is not inside the better-known coastal ruins of ancient Tipasa itself: UNESCO identifies the mausoleum as a separate component of the serial World Heritage property, about 11 kilometres southeast of Tipasa.
The monument is commonly called the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, while the older name “Tomb of the Christian Woman” is also recorded by Algeria’s heritage office. The latter label should not be treated as proof of a Christian origin. The official description dates the structure to the first century BCE and connects it with the history of ancient Mauretania, including the reign of Juba II. It does not establish that a particular named ruler’s remains have been identified inside.