Sétif's amusement park is still partly enclosed by a stretch of Byzantine wall , the scant remains of the ancient town, built when Sétif was retaken from the Vandals and before it fell to the Arabs. There is more history on show at the Archaeological Museum and although locals may not be aware of its existence, it is worth seeking out this bunkerlike building, fronted with canons, because although small, it holds a couple of treasures. As well as cabinets filled with pottery and lamps from Roman Sétif, and a good selection of pieces from the Byzantine and Fatimid periods, the real stars here (and more than enough of a reason to stop in Sétif) are the mosaics in the ground floor central court. One depicts the Triumph of Venus, a 4th- to 5th-century work showing the goddess sitting in a shell, naked but for her jewellery, surrounded by monsters and cherubs. The masterpiece, however, is the Triumph of Dionysos, the theme being a triumphal procession to celebrate the god’s conquest of India. All sorts of exotic and bizarre creature are here including tigers, elephants, camels, lion and the only known Roman-period North African portrayal of a giraffe. Another section of the same mosaic, displayed nearby, shows a wild boar hunt. Both have an extraordinary subtlety, a stunning range of skin colour and tone, muscle definition and facial expression.
