CARTHAGE today.

 

The Punic harbors

Visiting Carthage nowadays can be delusive. It gives you the impression of being in a quiet and prosperous suburb. Its spotless streets and avenues are lined with trees and flowers. Secret gardens hide behind the high walls of its many luxurious mansions. The former Punic lakes look like an integrated landscape planning, where a few fishermen throw their lines to catch fish. A tiny sandy beach runs along the coast with palm trees giving the illusion of being in an exotic seaside resort. 

Indeed, this is what Carthage looks like today. Yet, some of its Unesco-protected vestiges set the clock back in time. The most conspicuous monuments are Roman: the Baths of Antoninus by the sea or the Theater and Odeon by the hillside. The former Amphitheater lies in a hollow on the way to Sidi Daoud and La Marsa. A magnificent Aqueduct used to bring fresh water from the hills of Zaghouan in the south. The field of its intricate ruins is still an impressive sight, just outside La Marsa. But perhaps, the most fascinating site is what is known as the Roman Villas. For the curious visitor, there is a collection of outstanding mosaics hidden under a hill hollow near the entrance. One may regret that there is still no place to keep this secret collection in full view of the public!

Carthage Roman ports

In Rome, Cato the Censor kept repeating: "Carthago delenda est" to fuel the total destruction of Rome's most famous rival. But in reality, Carthage was not fully destructed as the legend goes. Punic ruins are still lying underground. The Tophet was only discovered in the 20th century. Its name stands for a cemetery dedicated to children. The imaginative fiction of Gustave Flaubert's 'Salammbô' spread the myth of a place for children's sacrifices. But the archaeologists have demystified the assumption. We know now that it was

most certainly a cemetery for disabled children or animals put under the protection of the Phoenician patron goddess Tanit(h). This deity was worshipped by both the Phoenicians and the local Berbers. The fusion of this encounter gave the Punic appellation. 'Kart-Hadasht' means 'new city' in the Semitic Phoenician language. Carthage was founded in 814 BCE by Elissa - a Princess of Tyre - later called by the Greeks 'Dido' meaning either the 'beloved' or more commonly the 'wanderer'. As it should, Carthage is sealed by a well-known myth of foundation. Part of the former Punic walls was found by German archaeologists as well as house foundations nearby.

The most obvious Punic legacy remains the former naval ports that seem so integrated into their surroundings that we tend to believe they are simply a natural section of the local landscape. But sadly, the ruins of ancient Carthage still lie underground. For obvious reasons, they cannot be dug out.

The Antiquity is not the sole past of Carthage. The place became also a major hub for early Christianity. Carthage was the home of the Christian Fathers of the Latin Church: Tertullian (c.160-225), or Cyprian (200-258 CE), as well as Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). The latter was born in Tagaste, currently Souk-Ahras in eastern Algeria. On the road leading from the Presidential Palace to Sidi Bou Said, you can still view the ruins of St.-Cyprian church and the nearby Ste.-Monique's (St.-Augustine's mother). The top of Byrsa Hill ('bursa', a Greek word for an ox hide), is linked to the myth of Carthage), and is crowned by the former St. Louis Cathedral (built in 1890), which is now called the 'Acropolium' of Carthage. During the Eighth Crusade, Louis IX of France died there of dysentery in 1270. The archaeological museum of Carthage used to stand there as well but it has currently been closed for renovation. However, Paleochristian art can be seen at the Roman and Early Christian Museum, on Carthage's main central road.

But the history of Carthage rarely mentions its early inhabitants: the Berbers. They were here before the Phoenicians arrived. They owned the land and the founding of Carthage was submitted to a lease, which the Phoenicians duly acquitted. As the Tyrians spoke a Semitic language, it was not too hard for each of them to communicate, as the Berbers spoke a Libyco-Berber language of Chamito-Semitic origin. The ancient Egyptian language was of the same linguistic branch. The local social diversity blended into what we call the Punics. But it is useful to mention that the city of Tunis had long been a steady Berber settlement even before the founding of Carthage. Yet, when the Romans colonized this area in northern Africa, they Latinized the name of the indigenous group as the 'Afri'. Since the continent had still not been named properly, it became Africa, the land of the Afris. At the time of early Christianity, Tertullian, Cyprian, Monique, and Augustine were all of Berber origin. 

Exploring the ruins of Ancient Carthage

Evidently, Carthage has long been a crucial hotspot in the Mediterranean, both geopolitically and historically speaking. We are not far from believing that it has also profoundly affected the hearts and the minds of Tunisian people.

Christian Sorand

A residential home

The Bay of Tunis

Fishing boats at the Punic ports

Seafront beach

Mosaic design

 

The caption at the Paleo-Christian Museum

Another view of one of the Punic naval ports