Things to see and do Carthage

If you had to see only one archaeological site of Carthage, it would be this one! The Baths of Antonin are of great beauty. You first enter the site by crossing a large park planted with trees. Just after, the view on the thermal baths and the high preserved column is breathtaking, with the turquoise of the sea in the background. These baths date back to the 2nd century AD. By their size, they are the most impressive remains of Roman Carthage and the third in the Roman world after those of Caracalla and Diocletian in Rome. Only the underground part and some remains remain today. The column of the frigidarium (15 m high), one of the twelve that once supported the ceilings of the baths themselves, has been straightened, allowing us to appreciate the splendor and grandeur of the thermal building. The site covered 16,000 square meters and, when in use, the baths could accommodate up to 200 to 300 people at a time. One can imagine the Romans coming here to take their baths, but also to take advantage of the many amenities on site. Around the thermal baths were located in particular stores. This site today in ruin was a great center of leisure, relaxation but also of business. The Romans came there once a week and stayed from one hour to half a day. The Baths of Antonin were a place of hygiene but also and especially of daily life. A visit not to be missed during your trip to Tunisia!

The theater, which was built during the reign of Hadrian (2nd century), occupies a basin at the foot of the hill. It was damaged and restored many times. Several statues, of which a colossal one of Apollo, today exposed to the museum of Bardo, were discovered during excavations. Today it hosts the famous international festival of Carthage (every year in July and August). Outside the festival, the site is less interesting because it is totally rebuilt, but it gives a good impression of the dimensions of the site at that time.

The tophet of Salammbô, also called tophet of Carthage, is the oldest Punic place in Carthage. In this sanctuary were buried, for seven centuries, small urns containing the ashes of the first-born of the noble families of the city, immolated in sacrifice. With this act, the Carthaginians hoped to see their wishes fulfilled or thanked the divinities for those already realized. Fans of the comic books on the adventures of Alix relive here The Spectre of Carthage. We regret the lack of information and the lack of maintenance of this site.

Located on the seafront, slightly south of the famous Antonine Baths, the Magon district was the last one that had escaped urbanization. The excavations that were carried out there allowed the discovery of the only visible part of the ramparts of Carthage, dating from the end of the 6th or the beginning of the^5th century B.C., with its foundation blocks, one of which weighs more than 13 tons! The excavators were able to determine that there was then an organized urbanism, with streets three meters wide and a way nine meters wide!

It is from afar that we realize their importance: these ports were the guarantors of Carthage's power. In ancient times, the city was often referred to as the "empire of the sea". The smallest was the commercial port, the other was the military base. At the time, high walls separated the two ports, but nothing remains of these fortifications that defended them from the maritime threat. During the excavations, Punic remains were brought to light: columns, pavements, objects... Nearby is the Carthage Salammbô oceanographic museum.

Set of aristocratic villas. One of them, named the Volière because of a beautiful mosaic that paved the courtyard, is a peristyle villa with a splendid view of the beach. A stone path following the ancient Roman streets will lead you there. Below it, another villa called "de la Rotonde" has a similar layout and, on the other side of the street, another house called "du cryptoportico" with its beautiful garden has been restored. They are a testimony of the luxury in which the aristocrats of the city lived.

It is slightly below the museum, on the southern slope of the hill of Byrsa, and it appears as it was after the destruction of the city by the Romans. Built at the time of Hannibal, its streets intersect at right angles. From the four viewpoints located on the large Roman foundation walls, one can better appreciate the plans of the different housing units. The district of Byrsa was destroyed and burned down, along with the entire city, in 146 BC.