Abstract: “The Roman ruins of Djemila (Cuicul) provide a typical example for limestone weathering in semi-arid and continental climate. Investigations on the Septimius Severus family temple located in this antic city are conducted, with the aim to determine the mechanisms of the major decay patterns of building limestone. The role of both intrinsic factors (limestone petrography, and porosity) and environmental factors (moisture variation, thermal gradient) are studied. The investigations demonstrate that the weathering process is mainly triggered by rain-dry cycles combined with thermal gradient”

Keywords: Djemila, limestone, decay, conservation, semiarid