14 101 x Carthage was built on the promontory between the lagoon of Sebkhet Er Rians in the north and the Lake of Tunisia in the south. It was strategically located close to Sicily and could therefore control all the sea trade routes of the western Mediterranean. The territory of Tunisia which Carthage controlled was fertile and rich for agricultural production.
# Map of Tunisia
-1 102 Z Carthage, founded by the Phoenicians in the late 9th century BC, was strongly fortified and had an excellent harbour. The city's population probably reached 400,000 at its greatest extent. It was the largest and richest city in the western Mediterranean until its almost total destruction by Rome in 146 BC: little now remains of the original city.
# City map of Carthage
4 101 A The acropolis of Byrsa was the centre of the city. On it stood the temple of Eshman. This place was the last refuge of the defenders of Carthage in 146 BC. It was once strongly fortified, but all that remains there now is a complex of houses which date to the 3rd century BC.
# The acropolis of Byrsa
1 101 x The city walls were 18 miles (30 km) in circumference with four-storey towers at intervals of 200 ft (60 m). On the western, landward side there were three parallel walls, described by the ancient historian Appian as being of equal breadth (33 ft - 10 m) and height (50 ft - 15 m). Stables for horses and elephants, store rooms and military barracks were situated within the wall itself.
# Walls
5 101 D The Tophet was the most important religious building in Carthage: it was the place where infants were sacrificed to the gods Tanit and Baal Hammon. The ashes of the children were collected and put in urns which were then placed inside the Tophet. Thousands of urns have been found.
# The Tophet
3 101 x An artificial harbour with a fortified rectangular dock for trading ships and a circular harbour with 200 sheds for warships, surrounded by arsenals. These harbours shared an entrance from the sea which could be closed with iron chains. Earth and timber slipways brought ships from the water's edge to an island in the military port.
# Photo of the harbour from the Byrsa
13 101 B In the gardens of the Antonine Baths are piled together stone catapult balls which were used in the siege of Carthage by the Romans in 146 BC. They are a physical reminder of the last, violent days of the city.
# Stone catapult balls
6 101 C A number of stone stelae (carved monoliths) are scattered around the city, including the port areas and particularly on the Tophet. They were mostly decorated with religious motifs or scenes of sacrifice. Not much else was left when the Romans sacked the city in 146 BC.
# Stone stele
2 101 x To the west of the Byrsa are the remains of cisterns. Consisting of seventeen great barrel vaults, rain water for the city was stored here. In the 2nd century AD, the Romans built a vast aqueduct to supply the cisterns, starting from the mountains of Zaghouan, 50 miles (80 km) to the south of Carthage.
# Cisterns.
11 101 x The cemeteries of Carthage were located in the necropolises ('cities of corpses) of Bordj El Djedid and Ste Monique. The tombs consisted of vast chambers which were cut into the rock on the sides of a deep shaft. Footholds cut into the sides of the shaft gave access to the burial chambers.
