Carthage archaeological site

Carthage is an ancient Punic city which was destroyed by the Romans and then rebuilt. Its importance remains in the multiplicity of these archaeological sites … which has made it one of the sites listed in the UNESCO World Heritage.

The history of Carthage alone deserves pages and pages. An ancient Punic city built in the 9th century BC, which radiated throughout Tunisia thanks, not only to its maritime importance, but also commercial military.

This city was first attacked by the Romans in 256 BC, then again and again in what we call the Punic Wars… Finally, the city finally had to give in to its attackers after the three Punic Wars and was completely destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC.

In the year 29, the Romans will use the remains of ancient Carthage to rebuild it.
Of this past greatness, Carthage has preserved only ruins which nevertheless deserve to be visited.

The hill of Byrsa, which occupies the site of the ancient Punic city, thus offers a sumptuous view of the ports.

At the end of the 19th century, it was given a cathedral, St Louis Cathedral, on the border of Byzantine and Moorish styles and used today to host concerts. The place is also very visited due to the presence of the remains of the ancient Punic city.
During your visit to Carthage, you will also appreciate letting yourself be drawn into the district of Roman villas on the Odeon hill, where there is also a theater built in the 2nd century: the building, which could accommodate more than 5,000 spectators, has undergone a major renovation. The Antonine Baths, founded by the sea in the 2nd century, there is not much left either, except for a few vestiges on the ground floor. Same observation for the amphitheater of which only the arena remains. But no matter: these vestiges nevertheless deserve a necessary detour to apprehend the past magnificence of Carthage.

TOURS IN CARTHAGE

The visit to the archaeological site of Carthage is really worth it. It’s not just a simple visit, it’s rather a journey through time, between the Punic Empire and the Roman Empire… An escape into history at through different monuments such as:

1- The Antonine Baths:

A rich and diversified site which includes a cemetery and Punic ovens, a chapel, tombs, mosaics but above all the ruins of the largest Roman baths found outside Rome itself.

2- Byrsa Hill: Saint-Louis Cathedral and the Acropolium:

The majority of the remains of excavations and ruins are stored in the museum located on the hill of Byrsa. This same hill which offers a magical view of the city and the coast and where you find the house of Hannibal Barca and the village of Barcides.

3- The American cemetery:

The cemetery where 2841 American soldiers and servicemen who died during the North African War are buried.

On the walls of the cemetery, inside, we can read the names and each hero of this war, sorted in alphabetical order … then a few meters away from large marble and ceramic maps representing the operations carried out in Africa …

4- The cisterns of Malaga:

Built at the time of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD to store the water that came from Zaghouan via the famous Aqueduct, these cisterns are formed by several parallel, vaulted and elongated tanks.

Their dimensions are very considerable: 816 m long and 8 m wide.

Other visits are essential such as:

– the amphitheater
– the circus
– the Damous Carita basilica
– the Antonine baths
– the theater of Carthage
– the so-called Odéon district