Guelma, town, northeastern Algeria. It lies on the right bank of
the Wadi el-Rabate just above its confluence with the Wadi
Seybouse. Originally settled as pre-Roman Calama, it became a
proconsular province and the bishopric of St. Possidius,
biographer and student of St. Augustine. Among the town’s Roman
ruins are baths and a theatre, and 5 miles (8 km) west, at el-
Announa, are the remains of Thibilis. Parts of the Byzantine
walls still encircle the town, and the museum and the public
gardens contain Roman relics and epigraphy. The modern town was
founded by Governor Bertrand Clauzel in 1836 as a French
military base.  Enclosed by mountains rising to nearly 2,000
feet (610 metres) and covered by olive groves, the town is laid
out in the French style of wide, tree-shaded streets, with the
Casbah and military quarters to the south and the Arab quarter
to the west. Although it has some light manufacturing
(chinaware, bicycles, motorcycles, and small motors), Guelma is
mainly an agricultural centre with a large