The incredible abandoned city in Africa with three miles of Roman ruins

When you think of a Roman ruined city, your thoughts probably jump to southern Italy, to Pompeii. It's in Italy, it's huge and beautiful, it makes sense.

But it's all too easy to forget how far the Roman Empire stretched. Cast your mind to northern Algeria. Here we find Timgad, also called Thamugadi . A little-known ruined city in the Aures Mountains.

It sits at the crossing point of six Roman roads and was founded around 100 AD by Emperor Trajan, nearly 2,000 years ago. It's one of the best preserved examples of the grid system used in town planning by the Romans.

Around three miles (5km) of Roman streets still remain in the town grid system, and there are several roads and other ruined buildings, like the Byzantine Fort, a chapel and a cemetery in the surrounding area, about a kilometre away.

The site is massive and filled with columns and archways that still stand after nearly two millennia since they were first erected there. The beautifully planned town orbits the classic Roman Amphitheatre in the centre, built into the hill there.

Columns line the main streets in and out of the town, and arches welcomed weary travellers of old on long, distant journeys. The city is also known as Thamugadi; Timgad is the modern name. The original Latin name for the city was a bit of a mouthful: Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi.

The city was founded as a military colony to defend against Berbers in the nearby Aures Mountains. It was initially populated by Roman veterans and colonists and is designed for around 15,000 people.

There was peace for several hundred years of Timgrad's existence, becoming a hub for Christians in the area in the Third Century. The inscription on the forum offers a quote summarising the ancient Roman ideal of living: "To hunt, to go to the baths, to play, to laugh: this is to live". The Latin is, "venari lavari ludere ridere occ est vivere".

However, this came to a violent end in the Fifth Century when the city was sacked by the Vandals - a Germanic People who operated in the area at the time. It is after them the word vandal, or vandalism comes from.

Timgrad fell into decline after the Vandals came and was destroyed by Berbers. It was rebuilt during the Mooring wars in 539AD by Byzantine general Soloman but it was again ruined this time by the Early Muslim Conquests and was never lived in again by the Eighth Century.

It was rediscovered by Scottish explorer James Bruce in 1765, likely the first European there in centuries. French colonists took over the site in 1881 and maintained and excavated there until 1960.

The UK government sadly advises against all travel in Algeria due to "Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran" that "could escalate quickly and pose security risks for the wider region". So, you may have to wait before your trip to the beautiful lost city in the desert.