Archaeological Site of Carthage, World Heritage Site in Tunisia

In the suburbs of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, the ruins of Carthage, a city that ruled the entire Mediterranean Sea, still remain.Carthage was founded around the 9th century B.C. and developed as a trading city that dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 6th century B.C. onward. However, after being destroyed by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C., it was completely abandoned in the 7th century, although it was restored several times.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why Archaeological Site of Carthage are a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner. Read this and you will definitely learn more about the ruins of Carthage!

What is the Archaeological Site of Carthage? Where were they located?

The Phoenicians, who were based in what is now Lebanon, built colonial cities to serve as bases throughout the Mediterranean, and Carthage was one of them. The town was founded around the 9th century B.C. in what is now northern Tunisia, located on a hill facing the Gulf of Tunis, and legend has it that it was built by Dido, Queen of Tyrus of Lebanon. In the 6th century B.C., Carthage became the center of the Phoenician cities and dominated trade throughout the western Mediterranean. The city prospered to the point where it was called “the world’s supreme power”.

However, the century-long Punic Wars broke out over Sicily, the granary of the time, with the gradual rise of Republican Rome on the Italian peninsula. In the Second Punic War (218 B.C. – 202 B.C.), the general Hannibal Barca marched to the Italian peninsula, but was ultimately defeated. The town was thoroughly destroyed in the 2nd century BC.

When the Romans came to rule, the area became an African province and the city was rebuilt on the ruins. Later, the Vandals made it the capital of their kingdom and the Eastern Roman Empire conquered it, but in the end, the town fell to Islamic forces.Since then, the center of the city was moved to present-day Tunis and completely abandoned.

Carthage was ruled by various powers, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Christians, and Muslims, and the town was a center of interaction with the Mediterranean world.

The ruins of the city preserve relics from each period, from the time of the Phoenicians to the Arab period when the town was destroyed. The remains of a high-rise mansion on the hill of Bursa, which is believed to be the birthplace of Carthage, were also excavated.It is believed to have had a very high level of architectural technology for its time. Other surviving structures include the Baths of Antonius, which were the third largest in Rome, and a basilica built after the spread of Christianity. Furthermore, the Magon area, which is considered an early residential area, is also characterized by the fact that defensive walls and other structures can be seen.

Is it true that salt was sprinkled during the Carthage collapse?

The Third Punic War (149 BC-146 BC) led to the destruction of the city and the complete destruction of Carthage as a state by the Roman Consul Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio the Less). Originally, in the ancient Orient, it was customary to sprinkle salt on the ruins of a city when it was destroyed, and it has become a well-known episode that he sprinkled salt on the ruins.

However, there are no documents from that time to indicate that this is true. In fact, this story is said to have been described in historical documents from the 19th century onward, and it is not even mentioned that it was in Carthage. It is also believed that this is due to confusion with an episode in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament, in which salt was sprinkled in a town called Shechem.

For what reason are the Archaeological Site of Carthage on the World Heritage List?

The Carthage site was evaluated for the following

Registration Criteria (ii)
The fact that Carthage has been a center of trade and cultural exchange for more than 10 centuries, including art and architecture.

Registration Criteria (iii)
That the Carthaginian ruins indicate the presence of Carthage, a city-state that ruled the entire Mediterranean Sea.

Registration Criteria (vi)
The point is that Carthage has produced many famous people, including Hannibal Barca, a brilliant man, and Hanno the Navigator, an explorer who reached central Africa.

Conclusions and Impressions of a World Heritage Maniac

Carthage, which conquered the western Mediterranean world to the extent of becoming “the world’s champion,” was a city-state that produced many outstanding human resources, including Hannibal Barca, who left his mark on history.　Although only ruins remain today, traces of the city where trade, culture, and religion developed for more than 10 centuries can still be seen here.

Incidentally, Hannibal Barca was a general who continued to terrorize the Roman people of his time, including crossing the Alps. He was so terrifying that even today, when children misbehave, parents scold them, “Hannibal will take you away!and parents would scold them”. He is treated like an ogre, but even though Carthage was destroyed, Hannibal’s presence continues to linger in the hearts of Italians more than 2,200 years later.

*The contents of this article are based on the research conducted by a World Heritage enthusiast. As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the medium.