A new study proposes that the 'Idol' of Cádiz, a monument destroyed in 1145, may have been a cenotaph erected by Juba II, king of Mauritania, in memory of his father, Juba I, the Numidian king. The research, led by Professor Manuel Álvarez Martí-Aguilar at the University of Málaga (UMA), suggests the monument served as a commemorative structure and possibly a visual reference for Atlantic navigation.
The study, published May 7, 2025, analyzed Arabic literary traditions alongside Roman textual and iconographic evidence. This comparative approach indicates the 'Idol,' once located on the island of Gades, was likely a cenotaph featuring a statue of Juba I. This places the monument within the tradition of Numidian royal funerary monuments.
The reinterpretation highlights the cultural and political connections between Hispania and North Africa during the Roman Empire. It also suggests the cenotaph may have supported Juba II's economic activities on the North African Atlantic coast and celebrated Numidian identity within the Roman world. The research opens avenues for understanding Numidian royal memory and Cádiz's historical landscape.