Des randonneurs ont décelé une action de destruction en direct d’une partie du versant de la grande montagne de « Sounine », appelée communément « Fartasa el-kabira »
Pétition « Non delenda Cartago ! » : pour la defense du site culturel de Carthage-Sidi Bou Said,
Écrit par – 12 février 2011
Cet appel est relayé depuis Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_187740004578415&id=194657807219968
N’hésitez pas signer la pétition : http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/—page-margin-2cm-p-margin-bottom-021cm—-call-for-the-defense-of-the-carthage—sidi-bou-sad/
La Carthage antique et le village historique et traditionnel de Sidi Bou Said, site culturel par excellence, magnifiquement intègre dans les paysages du golfe de Tunis font partie intégrante de la mémoire des peuples de la Méditerranée.
Soucieux du devenir de ce site de prés de 400 hectares, au moment ou les poussées de l’urbanisation perturbaient les territoires, le Ministre de la Culture de la République tunisienne et le Directeur General de l’Unesco lançaient en 1972 la campagne internationale de fouilles ; ce qui a permis de mettre au jour nombre de vestiges et de mieux comprendre l’histoire urbaine aux époques punique et romaine.
Les découvertes ont été spectaculaires et au vu de ces résultats, l’Unesco inscrivait Carthage-Sidi Bou Said sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial de l’humanité en 1979.
Le site a fait l’objet en 1985 d’une procédure de classement définissant les zones non aedificandi – c’est à dire non constructibles- en vertu de l’intérêt archéologique, historique, esthétique et naturel.
Cette consécration juridique nationale et internationale n’empêche pas, que le site soit, aujourd’hui, en 2011, en péril, faute d’approbation du Plan de Protection et de Mise en Valeur finalise en 2000.
En effet, et malgré les inquiétudes de l’Unesco et les mises en garde des archéologues et urbanistes, de nombreuses atteintes a ce patrimoine ont été commises par les membres des familles liées au régime déchu qui ont obtenu :
le déclassement d’une vaste zone du territoire archéologique pour construire un complexe immobilier aux fins spéculatives, les Résidences de Carthage !
- La dérogation de construire dans des zones non aedificandi
- l’accaparement de palais et demeures historiques ainsi que de pièces du patrimoine.
C’est ainsi que des personnes protégées par le régime déchu, avaient détourne le domaine public de l’Etat a leur seul profit, avec le consentement de l’administration portant ainsi une grave atteinte aux richesses patrimoniales du pays.
A travers la presse nationale et internationale qui s’est déjà fait l’écho de ces malversations, l’opinion réclame maintenant et, toutes affaires cessantes, enquêtes, justice et réparations des dommages causent au site.
Les nécessaires enquêtes administrative et judiciaire permettront a la commission nationale chargée des affaires d’abus de pouvoir, de détournement de biens et de corruption, de mettre en évidence les responsabilités des uns et des autres et de procéder a des poursuites judiciaires
En attendant la mise en œuvre de ces procédures, les soussignes appellent M. Le Ministre de la Culture, a prendre, en urgence, les mesures suivantes :
- la mise sous séquestre des biens détournes
- la suspension de tous les travaux de construction illégale en cours dans le site archéologique de Carthage et le village de Sidi Bou Said
- l’engagement de la procédure d’approbation du Plan de Protection et de Mise en Valeur du site de Carthage-Sidi Bou Said
- Que toutes celles et ceux qui sont indignes par le détournement des biens publics
- Que toutes celles et ceux qui ont a cœur la transmission de ce patrimoine culturel universel aux générations futures apposent leurs nom, qualité et signature sur la présente pétition.
Jellal Abdelkafi, urbaniste – Abdelmajid Ennabli, archéologue
Longue vie à Carthage et honneur à ses martyrs
Écrit par – 15 janvier 2011
Que la révolution du jasmin, la révolution du palmier honore les martyrs qui ont payé de leurs vies pour libérer cette république.
Cabiria – 1914 – film de Giovanni Pastrone
Écrit par – 6 janvier 2011
"Cabiria" (Pietro Fosco, alias Giovanni Pastrone, 1913)
C’est à la veille de la Grande Guerre qu’était sorti en Italie Cabiria de Giovanni Pastrone, qui l’avait réalisé sous le pseudonyme de Piero Fosco. Engagé par la Société turinoise "Carlo Rossi" – qui devait devenir "L’Itala" aux environs de 1907 -, devenu son président en 1908, l’ingénieur G. Pastrone n’était qu’occasionnellement metteur en scène. C’est au début de 1913 qu’il avait pensé à un film intitulé Le roman des flammes, qui se situerait au temps des Guerres puniques. Quelques 20.000 m de pellicule furent impressionnés, et seulement 4.500 m conservés lors du montage. D’une durée originale de 4 heures (10), le film avait coûté 1.250.000 lires. Cette vaste fresque – nous l’avons dit – retraçait la Deuxième Guerre punique, montrait Hannibal franchissant les Alpes avec ses éléphants (-218), Archimède défendant Syracuse avec ses miroirs ardents (-212), l’épisode dramatique de Masinissa et Sophonisbé, le siège de Cirta (-203) et s’achevait avec la victoire de Scipion l’Africain à Zama (automne -202). Seize années de guerre condensées en une narration serrée. Sur cette vaste toile de fond se surimpressionnait une histoire d’amour qui n’était pas sans faire songer au roman d’Emilio Salgari (11), Carthage en Flammes (1908). Cabiria, jeune grecque de Catane en Sicile rescapée d’une éruption de l’Etna, était enlevée par des pirates cathaginois et, grâce à l’intervention de Fulvius Axilla (un jeune patricien romain espion de Rome à Carthage), échappait de fort peu d’être sacrifiée à Moloch. Au cours de ces aventures mouvementées, le rôle de Maciste, l’esclave noir d’Axilla, était déterminant. Après bien des péripéties qui les séparaient momentanément (Maciste restait captif à Carthage plusieurs années, condamné à tourner une meule), les trois héros pouvaient enfin se réunir : Cabiria épousait Fulvius et retrouvait ses parents, qui n’étaient pas morts dans la destruction de Catane. A certains égards, ce film n’était qu’une démarque de Quo Vadis ? (Enrico Guazzoni, 1912), Maciste tenant un rôle de géant protecteur de l’héroïne promise au sacrifice suprême, ce qui le rendait assez semblable à Ursus (12).
Son scénario terminé, Pastrone s’était mis en rapport avec Gabrielle d’Annunzio, alors réfugié à Paris, afin de le lui soumettre, de lui demander de le parfaire et de le signer. Poète et dramaturge, mais aussi nationaliste fervent et héros d’aviation à 53 ans, G. d’Annunzio (l’homme qui en 1919 à la tête des Arditi - ses partisans qu’il avait organisés en corps franc – reconquerra Fiume pour la rendre à la couronne italienne) était harcelé par ses créanciers.
Dans des déclarations faites en octobre 1949, Pastrone raconte que d’Annunzio se contenta de signer chacune des 30 pages du scénario, sans les relire, ce qui ne devait pas l’empêcher d’en revendiquer la paternité. "D’Annunzio m’accueillit - raconte Pastrone - et daigna m’écouter. Il me dit : « Il est écrit dans le Livre de Job : Le nombre des imbéciles est incommensurable. Mais de toute évidence nous n’appartenons pas à cette catégorie, ni vous, ni moi. Combien me donnez-vous pour signer votre film ? » Nous avons discuté. Je lui ai donné 50.000 francs. Je devais lui en donner autant par la suite pour qu’il me laisse tranquille."
Moyennant une copieuse rétribution, donc, Gabriele d’Annunzio, avait accepté de signer de son nom le scénario de Pastrone. "De quoi acheter de la viande rouge pour mes chiens", susurrera-t-il après coup, ce qui ne l’avait point empêché de déclarer à l’époque au Corriere della Serra : "Une firme turinoise, dirigée par un homme cultivé et énergique, doué d’un extraordinaire instinct plastique, prépare un essai d’art populaire d’après un sujet inédit que je lui ai fourni."
Quoi qu’il en fut, il semble que les noms des héros furent inventés par d’Annunzio : Cabiria, qui voulait dire "Celle-qui-est-née-du-feu" (13), Maciste, etc. et que le poète rédigea des intertitres du film (14).
Film capital de l’histoire du cinéma, Cabiria fut un authentique chef d’œuvre et son succès partout considérable. Pastrone innova constamment durant le tournage de cette superproduction qui, pour reprendre l’expression des historiens du cinéma, "consacra la conquête de l’espace par le cinéma", en imposant définitivement le décor construit et en bannissant les trompe-l’œil, afin que la profondeur – la troisième dimension – fut perceptible par le spectateur. Et il fit breveter un nouveau dispositif dont il a été l’inventeur : le carello, mieux connu aujourd’hui sous le nom de travelling ! Il usa systématiquement de la lumière artificielle des réflecteurs pour créer des effets et non pas tant pour suppléer à la lumière solaire.
"Cabiria fut l’apogée du cinéma italien à grand spectacle et son influence sur D.W. Griffith évidente. Il semble établi que le metteur en scène américain (Intolérance, 1916-1919) fit l’acquisition d’une copie du film de Pastrone pour en étudier la technique"
Auréolé de mystère, le site antique « El Médéina » livre ses secrets
Écrit par – 8 décembre 2010
Carthage, 7 déc 2010 (TAP) – Au 19ème siècle, on ignorait tout du site antique d’Althiburos, l’actuelle "el Médéina" (diminutif du mot arabe médina) à part le fait qu’il fut exploré pour la première fois en 1848.
Niché au nord-ouest de la Tunisie, dans le gouvernorat du Kef, et plus exactement dans la délégation de Dahmani, il a été identifié en 1874, et localisé sur le terrain une année plus tard grâce à une inscription néo-punique mentionnant Baal Hammon d’Althiburos. S’ensuivirent les premières campagnes de fouilles en 1895.
L’ensemble de l’activité archéologique menée par la suite a permis de dégager le centre monumental de la ville : le forum, son portique, ses abords, le capitole, un temple tétrastyle, l’arc d’Hadrien, une fontaine monumentale, une maison appelée "aux seize bases" ornée de reliefs, la maison des muses, l’édifice des Asclépieia où fut découverte la fameuse mosaïque de batellerie romaine, la maison de la pêche à deux étages avec une belle mosaïque du Dieu Océan, (lesquelles sont exposées au musée du Bardo), un théâtre et une série de mausolées aux limites du site.
Au 21ème siècle, l’effort de quadriller, piocher, bêcher, trier, collecter et inventorier, ainsi que le désir de savoir et de connaissance est encore plus poussé, pour faire le point sur une cité au long passé préromain dont témoignent son nom libyque, son hypogée et les nombreuses stèles néopuniques révélant l’existence du Tophet de Baal Hammon, une cité sufétale à l’instar de la cité punique de Carthage.
Depuis 2006, cette cité qui fut pour longtemps auréolée de mystère, connaît un vaste chantier d’investigation mené par l’Institut national du patrimoine (INP, Tunis) en étroite collaboration avec des partenaires espagnols et italiens, dans le cadre d’accords de coopération dans les domaines de la recherche scientifique et de la mise en valeur.
L’ensemble de ces projets est conçu comme une sorte d’école-laboratoire par l’association de plusieurs intervenants de l’INP surtout des jeunes, parmi les chercheurs, architectes, ingénieurs et topographes ainsi que des universitaires, doctorants et étudiants en licence bénéficiant de stages de recherches à Barcelone ou à Rome.
Coopération tuniso-espagnole : fouilles et mise en valeur du site
C’est en 2006 qu’a débuté le premier projet de coopération avec l’Université de Barcelone impliquant plusieurs institutions de Catalogne et d’Espagne.
Ayant pour thème "L’évolution sociale et formation de l’Etat numide: les populations autochtones de la région Sicca Veneria (Le Kef) et ses rapports avec la civilisation phénico-punique", ce projet a été renouvelé en 2009 pour trois ans (2012).
Il consiste à approfondir la connaissance des sociétés autochtones préromaines de la région et d’appréhender les processus de mutations socio-culturelles.
De ce fait, le projet comprend deux volets: fouilles et prospection. Les résultats obtenus jusque-là révèlent que la présence humaine sur ce site remonte au 9ème siècle avant J-C avec une économie vivrière (céréales, arbres fruitiers, élevage de porcs et de chevaux) et une activité artisanale (poterie et travail de métal).
Pour ce faire, plusieurs procédés d’investigation avancées ont été mis en oeuvre pour ne citer que la zoo-archéologie, l’anthropologie physique et la céramologie ayant permis de dégager une grande richesse de céramique faisant un faciès particulier et propre à cette ville.
Dans ce sens, la céramique numide identifiée constitue pour l’INP, un résultat de grande importance pour connaître la production artisanale et l’économie des Numides althiburitains mais aussi des numides d’une façon générale.
Outre le volet recherche, le projet comprend un volet de mise en valeur qui a consisté d’abord en la mise en place d’une station de panneaux signalétiques en plus d’une présentation sommaire à haute voix, actionnée par l’énergie solaire.
Coopération tuniso-italienne: étude et anastylose du théâtre
Signé en 2007 avec l’Université italienne de Macerata et impliquant aussi l’université de Bari, le deuxième projet porte sur l’étude et l’anastylose du théâtre, avec un plan d’intervention en trois volets: le relevé topographique et architectural, le catalogage des blocs écroulés et la fouille de l’intérieur du théâtre. Les résultats des trois campagnes déjà réalisées ont permis notamment de dégager des gradins en bon état de conservation.
Outre sa mise en valeur, l’objectif ultime est la restauration du théâtre afin de pouvoir y organiser des manifestations culturelles.
Le troisième projet porte sur le Tophet-sanctuaire de Baal Hammon-Saturne. Signé avec l’Institut de la civilisation italienne et de la Méditerranée antique (iscima) le projet a été renouvelé en 2010 pour trois ans encore (2013). Il consiste à fouiller le Tophet, à l’étudier et à entreprendre sa muséalisation en faisant appel à des spécialistes de la muséalisation et de la mise en valeur.
Il est à rappeler que la localisation de ce Tophet était inconnue jusqu’en 2006 avec la découverte de 10 nouvelles stèles de Baal Hammon et une autre de saturne avec une riche iconographie spécifique (signe dit de Tanit, caducée sphinx dauphins) ainsi que des urnes funéraires.
L’action est menée actuellement au niveau de l’analyse des ossements des urnes et de leur contenu par une approche anthropologique zoo-archéologique et carpologique. La réflexion portera par la suite sur la présentation du Tophet au moyen de la monumentalisation et muséalisation à la fois virtuelles et matérielles de ce sanctuaire.
Science des origines, l’archéologie n’est pas l’apanage des amateurs de vieux cailloux. Elle fascine aussi tous les curieux qui veulent comprendre le fonctionnement des sociétés humaines et lever le voile sur les énigmes de l’archéologie.
Carthage was indeed destroyed
Écrit par – 17 novembre 2010
Carthage was indeed destroyed
By Dr. Bent Nørby Bonde
Introduction to Carthage
According to classical texts (Polybe 27) Carthage’s history started with the Phoenician queen Elissa who was ousted from power in Tyre and in 814 BC settled with her supporters in what is now known as Carthage. There might have been conflicts with the local population and the local Berber kings, but the power of the Phoenician settlement Carthage kept growing. The Phoenicians based in the coastal cities of Lebanon constituted in the Mediterranean Sea a large maritime trade power but Carthage gradually became the hub for all East Mediterranean trade by the end of the 6th century BC.
Thus Carthage evolved from being a Phoenician settlement to becoming the capital of an empire (Fantar, M.H., 1998, chapter 3). The local and the Phoenician religions mixed (e.g. Tanit and Baal) and in brief Carthage developed from its establishment in roughly 800 BC and already from 6th century BC had become the centre for a large empire of colonies across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Spain, and the islands of Mallorca, Sardinia, and Sicily (Heimburger, 2008 p.36).
The empire of Carthage prior to the 1st Punic war in 264 BC, encyclo.voila.fr/wiki/Ports_puniques_de_Carthage 2010
Following two lost wars with the rising Rome (264-241 BC and 218-201 BC) Carthage was deprived of its right to engage in wars but experienced a very prosperous period as a commercial power until Rome besieged the city in 149 BC and in 146 BC destroyed it completely 25 years later Rome decided to rebuild the city but not until 43 BC was Carthage reconstructed as the centre for Rome’s African Province. The vandals conquered the city in 439 AD and held it for a century, until it became a Byzantine stronghold and finally by the end of 7th century AD was invaded by Arab and Ottoman powers, eventually losing its position as a national, regional or imperial centre and was left and forgotten by the Arabs who instead settled in Tunis.
What makes Carthage particularly interesting is that for centuries it was the centre of a large empire, the adversary in two preventive wars waged by omnipotent Rome (Mondot, Jean-Francois and Nehmé, Najat, 2008, p. 113) and was ultimately deliberately destroyed during the third and last mythical war. After what genocide scholars have described as the first genocide in history (Kirnan, Ben, 2004, p. 27-39) Carthage was again completely rebuilt as a prosperous centre for the African province of the Roman Empire. Carthage had until the Save Carthage Campaign primarily been described within a Hellenistic-Roman framework and based on their literary sources whereas little attention had been afforded the ancient Semitic based history of the Carthaginian Empire itself. (Ennabli, A. and Rebourg, 1994, p. 17).
In archaeological terms the biggest challenge of UNESCO’s Save Carthage campaign starting in 1972 was not to excavate, save and analyse the Roman ruins but rather below these ruins to find, excavate and search for an understanding of Punic Carthage that reaches beyond literary sources and provide information about into the civilisation that once was on the brink of toppling the Roman Empire. The research on the Punic town played “…a central role and the choice of excavation sites was determined by that.” (Lund, John, 1986, p.364). By searching for the remains of the completely destroyed Punic Carthage UNESCO’s Save Carthage campaign also served to change the focus from earlier excavations. Similarly, the methodologies and approaches employed during the UNESCO Save Carthage Campaign (SCC) differed. This point will be elaborated further below.
Excavations in historical perspective
The excavations in Carthage are evidence of changing European traditions for collection and searches for antiquities as described by Dyson (Dyson, S.L., 2006).
Historians visiting Carthage in 12th century described how excavations all over the area had found valuable remains in marble and used them for constructions. Nobody left Carthage without bringing considerable amounts of antiquities with them. Through centuries, precious marble and other constructions from Carthage were used in Northern Africa as well as Pisa, Vienna, and Constantinople (Fantar, 1995 p. 10).
In the early 19th century the French writer and diplomat François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand, described how the very few inhabitants living in Carthage cultivated their fields, selling medallions and other remains to visitors to the area (CONOR, M., 1918, p. 337-348). Even though archaeological research was not a scholarly discipline at the time, Carthage would attract a number of collectors digging for sculptures and other works of art on the ground.
In Recherches sur l’emplacement de Carthage in 1833 the Danish Consul in Tunis, Christian Tuxen Falbe, published a city map so precise that it is still useful for archaeologists in Carthage (Fantar 1995, p. 11). Four years later, France initiated a society for research and excavation of ancient Carthage. Encouraged by the Danish crown prince, Christian Frederik Falbe excavated antiquities for the King’s personal collection and brought back more than 700 finds in an attempt to create interest from collectors to invest in larger excavations in Carthage (Lund 2008, p. 126).
Through the second half of the 19th century a number of British and French archaeologists arrived in Carthage according to Ennabli and Rebourg (1994, p. 15-16) and Fantar (1995, p. 13-14) mainly to collect things for museums in London and Paris. In 1874 l’Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres in France sent a mission to Carthage to collect as many Punic inscriptions as possible. Unfortunately more than 2000 steles with Punic inscriptions were lost in a shipwreck and only a few have since been recovered.
Individuals like Père Blanc, Delattre and other Frenchmen went to Carthage to carry out investigations in order to gain a better understanding of Carthage and its civilisation (Fantar 1995, p.14).
Missionaries from Algeria searched in 1875 for remains of Christian churches according to Ennabli and Rebourg (1994, p.16) because hopes were high among European missionaries that a Christian revival would take place in Tunisia For this reason, the Catholic church became an active agent for archaeological excavations (Dyson, S.L., 2006, p. 62-63), and constructed the Saint Louis Cathedral on top of the ancient Punic metropolis and Roman Acropolis on the Byrsa hill in the late 19th century in connection with these aspirations to Christianise Africa. However, from the end of 19th century until 1972 a number of serious French archaeologists excavated primarily the Roman sites in Carthage and writing about Roman Carthage.
The UNESCO Save Carthage Campaign
Through the 20th century Carthage developed into an attractive suburb for wealthy Tunisians and French colonial rulers because of its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and the lake of Tunis and its ancient roots Following Tunisian independence in 1956 the presidential palace was built on a former temple plateau in Northern Carthage, and new houses were built covering the grounds. For the new nation state Carthage was a potential symbol because of its past as the seat of the Punic Empire .
By 1972, the situation in Carthage was typical for historic cities where the economic development becomes a threat to the historic remains. . The director of the Museum of Carthage, Abdelmajid Ennabli, managed to secure support from the Tunisian government to prevent further demolition of the historic site and engage UNESCO in an international rescue campaign to secure internationally funded archaeological excavations. A dozen countries(Bulgaria, Germany, Canada, Denmark, the U.S.A., France, Poland, United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Tunisia and the Netherlands) took part in the excavations (Lund, J. 1986 and Ennabli, A.1987) primarily carried out between 1974 and 1984.
One of the reasons that the Save Carthage campaign was particularly stimulating was “because it has brought together archaeologists from such different backgrounds and traditions that they have had constantly to justify, to themselves, if not in print, their methods and priorities.” (Wells, C.M. 1982). Many of the teams working in Carthage were multidisciplinary, engaging not only general and specialised archaeologists, historians and epigraphists but also geophysical and other technical methods in the work to get an understanding of the Punic and Roman remains (Ennabli, A. 1987).
“The Carthage project embodied many of the best developments in post-war classical archaeology. The archaeologists from a newly independent state and several former colonial powers worked together to salvage information on one of the great cities of antiquity. The full range of new archaeological approaches, from field survey to nautical archaeology, were applied.“(Dyson, S.L. 2006, p. 248). In addition, the campaign made it possible for the archaeologists to transcend their national traditions and objectives for publishing reports and study results . They exchanged knowledge by working together and by publishing the results of individual excavations. The explicit goal of a team from the University of Michigan was to publish the results as soon as possible and to produce at least annual reports to benefit the archaeological community in general: “The rapidity with which the present volume has been compiled and printed may be justified, in terms of the wider archaeological efforts which are now being made at Carthage… It is plainly in the interest of all those involved to be able to profit from the work of others while their own researches are still proceeding”. (Wells, C. M. 1982)
The Save Carthage Campaign (SCC) was coordinated by the Institut National d’Archéologie et d’Art and UNESCO supported a documentation center (CEDAC) with an archive of microfilmed records of all contributing teams whichpublished the Bulletin CEDAC Carthage until 2002. Unfortunately, it has not been possible through the Institute National du Patrimoine, Tunisie to identify plans and priorities from its predecessor Institut National d’Archéologie et d’Art indicating exactly the institute’s preferred excavation sites and preferred participants. However, national and personal traditions and interests have obviously played a role in the excavations. Archaeologists from the United States focused primarily on the mercantile harbour, like the American archaeologists in Athens have focused on the Agora. The Danish team chose to excavate point 90 on Falbe’s map of Carthage from 1832, a spot at the beach outside the ancient city walls where Falbe found a mosaic. This mosaic has since been on display at the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen (Ennabli, 1987 p. 413). The French team continued their ongoing excavation on the South slope of the Byrsa Hill. A German team examined the only field that had never had any constructions on the coast between the Baths of Antonin and the Punic Ports – later named the Quartier Magon.
Detailed map of the archaeological plan of Carthage. The map indicates where the archaic settlement as well as a Punic Agora are expected to be situated. img527.imageshack.us/img527/8936/karthago3ip1.jpg
The SCC has focused on identifying remains from Punic Carthage and its private architecture, its harbours and its necropolis. In addition, it has focused on the Roman public buildings like the Antonine Baths, the Amphy theatre, the Odeon and the Roman villas. Thus, the SCC questions and examines many earlier interpretations of places and their meanings which will be discussed further below.
In the perspective of the classical world, it is interesting to study Carthage as the capital of the Roman African Province, but studying the remains from the Punic era in Carthage in connection with findings from the Western Mediterranean might provide new understanding of not only the function of Carthage but as well of all the other areas of the empire. Interestingly enough, the already known Phoenician and Punic remains across the Mediterranean Sea seem not to have formed the basis for formulation of research hypotheses to be tested in the excavations. After the SCC the findings were however outlined and interpreted in a Mediterranean perspective by Serge Lancel and M’hamed Hassine Fantar among others in their books (Lancel 1992 and Fantar 1998).
The Save Carthage Campaign took place more or less at the same time as many of the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum. However, while the excavations in Pompeii revolutionised the archaeological analysis of everyday life and living conditions and contributed significantly to a new emphasis of ordinary people’s life, the SCC was less elaborate on this point. An obvious explanation for this difference is that the family houses and shops were almost intact in Pompeii and Herculaneum due to the volcanic destruction of the place in 79 AD, whereas Punic Carthage had been thoroughly destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC.
Areas and issues to be examined during the SCC:
Carthage was placed on a fertile peninsula between the Mediterranean Sea and a salt water lake. For the Phoenicians with their strong tradition for sea based trade the town was ideally placed centrally on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea on a relatively narrow passage between Carthage and Sicily and between East and West Mediterranean Sea. The center of the Punic town was the Byrsa Hill about 1000 meters from the coast close to the smaller Junon Hill. Between the hills and the sea was a plain in which two harbour basins were dug during the late Punic period. No evidence of habitations before Phoenician settlement in late 9th or early 8th century BC have been found.
At the time of its destruction in 146 BC, Carthage is estimated to have had 200.00-400.000 inhabitants (Kiernan, B 2003, p. 32-48),and by the 3rd Century AD, when the town was the centre of the Roman-African Province, it had approximately 300.000 inhabitants.
Two areas were particularly interesting and attractive to examine – namely the Byrsa Hill and the Punic and later Roman Ports.
The Byrsa Hill hosted a citadel on its top during the first Punic settlements and an acropolis within its walls. When Rome conquered Carthage, the Byrsa Hill remained the religious and civic centre and was fitted with a large forum platform, a basilica for judicial hearings, temples and a capitol (Ennabli, A and Rebourg, A 1994, pp. 25-6). Excavations prior to the SCC had found not only structural remains from the Roman city but also Punic graves on the southern slopes of the Byrsa and Junon hills.
The Punic Ports, or rather two lakes in the lower plain, – a rectangular and a circular one with an isle in the centre – had already attracted considerable attention by archaeologists. (Beschaouch, A, La legend de Carthage, p. 68, 1993, France). It was not quite clear whether the lakes were the old harbours from the Roman siege in 149-146 BC, described by Appian, quoting Polybius (Hurst, H & Stager, L.E., 1978 p. 341), and what purpose the island in the middle of the circular lake had served. Nor was it known when the lakes had been established as harbours for Punic Carthage and if they were manmade or natural phenomena.
To increase the knowledge of the development of Punic and Roman Carthage and to understand the Punic artefacts it was essential to continue excavating Punic graves and the Punic necropolis. Excavations carried out in the first part of the 20th century had identified an early Punic necropolis situated on the north and northwest part of the Byrsa Hill (Lancel, S 1999, p. 43-5). Another particularly interesting spot is the Tophet close to the Punic harbours. Since the beginning of the 20th century several archaeologists have discussed whether and to what extent child sacrifices have taken place in the Tophet during different Punic periods. The Tophet has also played an important role in attempts to date the earliest Carthaginian settlement from the ceramics found in the graves. This attempt of finding archaeological evidence of the Phoenician settlement in 813-14 BC claimed by written sources has continued through the Save Carthage Campaign to the present.
Finally, it was important for the SCC to identify and analyse the structures and architecture of pre-Roman buildings in Carthage. In 1952 the remains of the coastal town Kerkouane were found east of Carthage. M’hamed Hassine Fantar, former director of research at l’Institut National du Patrimoine claims that Kerkouane was originally a Libyic-Berber settlement that later became part of the Punic Empire. This town dating from pre-310 to 256 BC was destroyed by the Romans as well but unlike Carthage, not rebuilt by the Romans. In Kerkouane, Fantar finds a specifically Punic type of urbanism with modest buildings and a clear city grid dominated by private housing rather than public facilities (Fantar, M H, 2007). Despite this Punic heritage common also to Punic Carthage, the city plan of Punic Carthage was not at all known before the Save Carthage Campaign.
A number of excavations in Carthage dealt with particularly the Roman but also the Byzantine and Vandal periods. Among the well known excavations from these periods are the Antonine Baths, the Roman Villas and Odeon, the Amphitheatre, the Circus, the Antiquarium and the Circular Monument. However, the Save Carthage Campaign has contributed primarily to the interpretation of the Punic era. The summary below of the main findings on the excavation sites already mentioned will therefore focus on Punic Carthage.
What did we learn
Ennabli (1987, p. 410) defines the overall chronology of Carthage as divided in two – the Phoenician-Punic and the Roman-African periods. Within these main periods, the Phoenician-Punic one may be divided into sub-periods – the archaic (9th-6thcentury BC), the classic ( 5th-4th century BC) and the Hellenistic (the Punic wars 3rd-2nd century – 146 BC) and the Roman-African one into the Republican-Augustin-Roman High Empire, Roman Low Empire, an intermediate Vandal period, followed by re-conquest by the Byzantine Empire and finally the Arab period.
Ennabli’s and others’ use of the term “archaic” to signify the first Phoenician-Punic sub-period seems a bit odd. No physical remains found during the excavations before, during or after the SCC suggest that a town has existed before the 8th century BC. He uses the term about the original Phoenician settlement in Carthage indicated by its trade with also the East Mediterranean area soon after the foundation of the settlement. How and when the identity changed from being Phoenician to becoming Punic seems partly a linguistic change. Punic is a Roman word for Phoenician (Fantar, 1997) and partly to be caused by Carthage evolving into an empire in its own right. . Punic Carthage also seems to have relied more on producing agricultural products than was the Phoenician tradition, which was primarily based on sea trade. The question of transitional economic, political ethnic and religious identities in Carthage remains a fascinating topic for further investigation, however.
A stele from the Tophet, picturing Tanit, the patron goddess of Carthage also associated with the Semitic Patron Baar Hammon (photo 2010 bnb).
The Hellenistic period of Carthage is characterised by the wars against Rome. The period following the second war, when Carthage was forced to agree to ask Rome’s explicit permission to declare any wars in the future, was characterised by steep economic growth and increased wealth. The reason for this development may be that mercenaries were no longer a burden to the Carthagenian economy but it may also be a result of successful trade activity.
Archaic Carthage ( 9th-6th century BC)
By the beginning of the 20th century, the early archaic necropolis were known to be situated on the southern and northern slopes of the Byrsa and Junon Hills, reaching out to the Dermech quarter, and habitation of the time was expected to be placed between the necropolis and the coast. (Lancel, S. 1999, p. 44 and illustration Lancel, S. 1985, p. 728).
Based on the ceramics found in the graves of the Tophet Lancel estimates that the earliest archaic graves at the Byrsa Hill date from the 7th century BC, while graves have been found at the nearby Junon Hill dating from the late 8th century, implying that the oldest graves known are 100 years younger than the literary claims about Carthage being established in 814 BC.
At the Tophet some of the oldest evidence of Phoenician settlement in Carthage was found by P. Cintas though the dating of the remains has been extensively discussed as has also the theory supported by e.g. Lawrence Stager (Stager, L, 1982) and several others (Mattingly, D. J., Hitchner R.B., 1995, p. 180) that the place has been dedicated to child sacrifice.
Steles from the Tophet (Photo 2010 bnb)
French archaeologist P. Cintas has claimed that the Tophet dates back to the end of the 9thcentury (Cintas P., 1948, p. 1-31 and 1970, p.324) while Laurence Stager (Stager, L 1979) and several others according to Serge Lancel (Lancel, S, 1985, p. 729) instead suggest the last quarter of the 8th century as the earliest date based on finds at the Tophet. In other words, the artefacts found at the Tophet cannot be seen as support to the literary claim that the Phoenicians arrived at Carthage in 814 BC. Before the SCC the discussions about the different dates centred on one specific vase and one specific lamp found by P. Cintas below the basis of a chapel. Serge Lancel gives a fine presentation of the discussion (Lancel, S, 1992, p. 48), favouring the majority judgement that all remains in the Tophet are to be dated later than the last part of the 8th century.
Interestingly, P. Cintas himself writes in his Manual to Punic Archaeology (Cintas, P 1970, p. 309-10) on the chronology of the archaic town that “a priori il est incroyable d’esperer jamais recueillir in situ des témoignages concrets datant du début ».
However, Ennabli (Ennabli, 1987, p. 418) writes that « P. Cintas, un homme d’expérience, disait vrai. La quête des lieux de vie, en raison même de l’activité des hommes, est infiniment plus complexe que celle des tombes, figées et scellées avec leur mobilier. Mais peut-être a-t-il trop désespéré de la science et ce qui pouvait dépasser la capacité d’un homme solitaire peut être atteint par une équipe et avec une méthode moderne. » Ennabli is confident that modern methods and archaeological teams have done substantial progress during the SCC, among these O. Teschaver, M. Vegas and M.F. Rakob that have found not only ceramics but also bases of buildings from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, thus approaching the legendary date for the foundation of Carthage.
After the Save Carthage Campaign much indicates that the Carthage Bir Massouda terrain with excavations carried out by Ghent University/Institut National du Patrimoine, University of Hamburg, University of Amsterdam, University of Cambridge, Universités de Tunis et de Sfax contains the earliest remains that yet have been found (Docter, R.F., Chelbi, F, Telmini B.M. 2003). Please note the indication of Roman insula structure.
Carthage Bir Massouda, Please note the indication of Roman insula structure. www.archaeology.ugent.be/carthage/maptrenches.jpg – seen 20.7.2010
The Carthage Bir Massouda terrain is situated in the centre of present Carthage, on the eastern slopes of the Byrsa Hill. The northern part of the terrain turns out to have been densely built from the second half of the 8th century BC onwards. The southern half, however, shows signs of large-scale metallurgical activities typically found in non-residential areas outside the city. If they dated from the same period a city wall would often have separated the two areas. Indeed, this has also been the case on the Carthage Bir Massouda, but the city wall seems to have been similar to the wall found in the Ibn Chabâat excavation a bit closer to the coast and therefore probably dates from the last part of the 7th century. Below the city wall are the remains of a building from the second half of the 8th century or the first half of the 7th century.
Following the 2003 excavations, different samples of cattle bones some of which were mixed with Greek Geometric pottery were submitted to a radiocarbon test. The calibrated C14 tests seem to indicate dates of just before 800 BC (Docter, R.F., Chelbi, F, Telmini B.M. et al. 2006). It is, however, important to keep in mind that the Greek Geometric pottery originate in a variety of islands and regions and is from different time periods. For this reason, additional analyses are called for which should compare the finds at the Tophet and at the Bir Massouda terrain before the dating of the latter excavation may be confirmed to just before 800 BC as suggested or to use the C14 analyses from this test to challenge the conclusions about the Tophet. This said, however, we can conclude that the Carthage Bir Massouda terrain substantiates the findings from the SCC indicating that Carthage existed at least in the last half of the 8th century BC. No remains have been found on the site suggesting that a city was located here before the arrival of the Phoenicians.
Yet, apart from unearthing household artefacts, the SCC added little new information on the living quarters, architecture or households in early Punic Carthage, in contrast to the information gained from the excavations of the later Pompeii undertaken at the same time as the SCC. The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD covered Pompeii and left it virtually untouched for 1800 years. In contrast, remains from Archaic Carthage first experienced 600-700 years of habitation with construction and re-buildings, then the complete destruction in 146BC, followed by 800 years of Roman, Byzantine and Vandal reconstructions and finally served as a quarry for construction material for Arabian Tunis and Kairouan as well as for various collectors of antiques. Under these circumstances it would amount to an archaeological miracle to find any significant remains of archaic buildings on the site.
The Classic Punic Period ( 5th-4th century BC)
In the early part of the Classic Punic Period the metallic workshops as well as the necropolis are outside the habitation area, following the indicated boundaries found in Lancel’s illustration of archaic Carthage (Lancel 1985, Fig. 1 p. 730).
Through the 5th and 4th centuries BC the Carthaginian Empire peaked, controlling approximately 300 cities along the coast of North African, the Iberian Peninsula, France, parts of Sicily and other islands now belonging to Italy. The city state of Carthage had grown to become the centre of Mediterranean trade. Despite this, we have no indications of where the port of Carthage was situated before the 4th century BC.
During the SCC a polluted, brackish water channel was discovered later to be known as the Ilôt de l’Amirautè – the island in the middle of the circular naval port – and remains of a channel were also identified close to the Tophet. The channel was sufficiently broad and deep for boats but may also have been used for drainage. If the two identified parts of channel are connected it shows that the channel was parallel to the coast and probably accessed the Bay of Kram.
Analyses of sea level changes and remains suggest that the channel was filled in the mid 4th century BC. Analyses of seeds at the bottom of the channel indicate that the advanced agricultural hinterland of Carthage provided the inhabitants of the town with pomegranate, fig, grape, olive, peach, plum, melon, Cyrenean lotus, almonds, pistachios, filberts and cereals (Hurst, H and Stager, L.E.,1978 p. 340).
According to Hurst and Stager, the excavations during the SCC confirm the description by Appian in 146 BC that a rectangular commercial harbour with access to the sea was connected to a circular naval harbour situated behind it. The naval harbour contained an island in the centre replete with shipyards for up to 220 vessels. It remains a paradox that the navy would be based behind the commercial port, thus reducing its rapid deployment against sea based enemies and its efficient defence of the commercial fleet. However, there is no archaeological indication that the naval harbour had direct access to the sea in 146 BC or previously.
Illustrated reconstruction of l’Ilot de l’Amirauté in the Punic period. encyclo.voila.fr/wiki/Ports_puniques_de_Carthage
However, Hurst and Stager conclude that there is no evidence of any sort of harbour or harbour side settlement in the area of the late Punic port prior to this date. They suggest that the ports were established on this site following an environmental change of lower sea level and which had drained the marshland making it possible to expand the city toward the sea and undertake the huge construction of the two harbours. Based on the imported pottery the authors believe the harbours were constructed in the 3rd century BC. Their conclusions obviously refute previous hypotheses that Phoenician Carthage was originally situated around the Punic ports and the Tophet, which has traditionally been assumed to be much older than it now seems to be the case.
The German excavation of the Quartier Magon found that the city of Carthage in the 5th century BC boardered on the coast and that a huge city wall protected Carthage from enemies challenging it from the sea. Interestingly, as described above an archaic city wall from a previous period marking the Southern boundary was found in the Carthage Bir Massouda. Through the 5th century the city of Carthage had grown in the direction of the coast and been protected by a large wall with watchtowers, but in the Quartier Magon was also found a major road leading to a double gate at the sea.
Foundation stones of the Punic Sea wall in the Quartier Magon (Photo 2010 bnb)
The Quartier Magon itself consisted of modest Punic houses placed in a grid structure reminiscent of the structure found by Fantar in Kerkouane. By the end of the 4th century the area from the Byrsa Hill towards the coast had been urbanised (Lancel 1983, p. 742) including not only the Quartier Magon, but also in the direction towards the site of the harbours established later. From the 2nd century BC the Punic Quartier Magon seems to have changed which will be elaborated further below. The German excavation of this site is characterised by not only research of a large area but also by digging deep, offering information about all the periods and levels of habitation in the particular area.
Diodore de Sicile (Diodore, livre XX, chapter XLIV 1865) describes the attempted coup d’état in 308 BC by general Bomilcar in the Nea Polis in which thousands of soldiers and mercenaries gathered before marching towards the old town. When passing a large square they were shot at from citizens in high buildings surrounding the square and the streets. Lancel believes that this Nea Polis is a suburb on the Odeon plateau which does not include the habitations bordering to the coast, while Henry Hurst and Lawrence E. Stager (Hurst E. & Stager, L.E. 1978, p. 340-1) believe the Nea Polis was situated on the coast from the Byrsa Hill towards the site of the Punic Ports. It is not clear whether the square mentioned by Diodore is an Agora on the coastal plain of Carthage, north of the later harbours, or rather a square on the slopes of the Byrsa Hill.
Roman street on the Odeon plateau where a Punic suburb, possibly the Nea Polis, was situated before the Roman villas were constructed on the site. (Photo 2010 bnb)
The period of Hellenistic and Punic wars (3rd century BC to 146 BC)
The period from the 3rd century to the destruction of Carthage shows a marked growth in the wealth of Carthage.
The German excavations in the Quartier Magon suggest that the previously modest buildings were restructured to larger, sumptuous houses of at least two floors. The city wall was moved further towards the sea and the gate between the city and the sea was by then closed. The Quartier Magon had obviously become a wealthier artisan quarter than it had been in the preceding periods.
Street with Roman houses with basements constructed on top of old Punic buildings (photo bnb – 2010)
In the Punic Ports, comprehensive constructions on the Ilôt de l’Amirautè facilitated surveillance of the Sea and the habitation around the ports increased.
Probably the most interesting find from this period was the Punic habitation, constructed between 200 and 146 BC at the Byrsa Hill excavated by Serge Lancel. Having originally housed a necropolis through the 7th and 6th centuries metallic workshops were established on the site and finally private accommodation was built during the first part of the 2nd century (Ennabli, A & Rebourg, A, Carthage The Archaeological Site, p.22, Cêrès Productions, Tunis 1994). Though most of Carthage was completely destroyed in 146 BC, the base of the habitations at the Byrsa Hill survived because they were reused as part of the foundation of the Roman religious, civilian and political centre constructed 100 years after the destruction of the Punic citadel perched on the Byrsa Hill. The foundations of several blocks of Punic houses are clearly seen within the street grid.
Punic houses on the Byrsa Hill that survived the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC later reused as part of the foundation for the Roman platform on top of the Byrsa Hill (Photo 2010 bnb).
Whereas the Punic streets in the Quartier Magon run parallel or perpendicular on the coast the Byrsa Hill habitations follow the lines from a previous peak of the Hill levelled by the Romans. The buildings on the Byrsa Hill had draining channels and a cistern for each house.
The successful excavation of a Punic living quarter at the Byrsa Hill required the removal of substantial amounts of rubble and soil from the levelled platform originally constructed by the Romans.
Illustration from Museum of Carthage showing the Roman levelling and constructions of the Byrsa Hill. In the foreground the diagonal remains of the Punic habitation are depicted which were buried under the platform with Forum, Capitol, and Basilica etc. (Photo 2010 bnb)
The Early Roman Period (49 BC – 3rd century AD)
Not much has been found from the transitional period. However, Gibbins (p. 219) emphasises Fulford’s suggestion (Fulford & Peacock 1984, p. 53) that some of the Punic cooking wares found in Augustan and later contexts are not residual, but instead represent a continued local production, implying that socio-economic structures have survived despite the physical destruction of the town. Punic Carthage had been characterised by a substantial production and export of pottery in addition to its important export of olive oil and grains.
Below a presentation of the archaeological layers from the Byrsa Hill as exhibited in the Museum of Carthage. The first layer is from Punic Archaic necropolis, the second layer from Punic metallurgic activity, the third layer from Punic habitations including the layer of destruction from 146 BC, the fourth layer from the fill for the Roman platform on top of the Hill consisting mainly of Punic objects, the fifth layer from Roman, Vandal and Byzantine time until 698 AD, and the sixth layer from the Islamic period during which Carthage was not populated. The large archaeological teams measured the amount of pottery from different periods when excavating in Carthage. (Photo 2010, bnb)
Despite the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC, Julius Caesar established a Roman colony on the site one hundred years later. The Save Carthage Campaign found no archaeological evidence concerning the years following the destruction of Punic Carthage until the establishment of the Roman colony. Just before year 0, under the reign of Augustus, the Byrsa Hill was completely reshaped when the top of the hill was levelled to a platform of 336 x 323 meters. This facilitated the establishment of a forum and the construction of a basilica for juridical hearings as well as a capitol and a library. Approximately 150 years later, a new platform- platea nova - was built on the southern slope of the Byrsa Hill, probably in order to substitute an old forum that either had been placed on the island in the naval port or between the ports and the Byrsa Hill (Ennabli A and Rebourg A, 1994, p. 26). If this analysis is correct one would believe that Caesar or Augustus, as they did in Athens, would have established the traditional Forum in the middle of the habituated city of Carthage between its ports and the Byrsa Hill.
Reconstruction of the port of Roman Carthage, 2nd century AD. It used the same structures of the Punic port before 146BC. LookLex Tunisia http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/carthage01.htm, seen 20.7.2010
The SCC also confirmed previous assumptions that Carthage was divided into four parts by Roman roads having the Byrsa Hill as the centre of the circle and the living quarters divided into insulae as known from Rome and Pompeii. However, the excavation proved that Roman Carthage was not limited to this theoretical structure but adapted the city structure to existing streets when this was most feasible. In Quartier Magon, for example, the Romans constructed their houses on the remains of the Punic habitations and also to a significant extent complied with the orientation of the Punic streets. As one would anticipate, the early Roman colony constructed the future city modestly and pragmatically with the exception of the remodelling of the Byrsa Hill, reusing existing remains whenever possible (Ennabli 1987, p. 429).
Conclusions
UNESCO’s Save Carthage Campaign was indeed a rescue campaign for two reasons. By the beginning to the 1970s, historic Carthage, that had existed under Punic, Roman, Vandal and Byzantine rule and then been abandoned for centuries, risked having all physical remains buried below modern buildings in its transition to a prestigious suburb. Indeed, the campaign also provided a vanishing opportunity to learn about the Punic empire which had dominated the eastern part of the Mediterranean for 700 years and been considered a formidable opponent by the rising Roman Empire until its ultimate defeat in 146 BC .
Newly independent Tunisia would of course prefer to construct its historic identity as the centre of an empire rather than as a colony of somebody else’s empire. However, the national capital Tunis increased its population dramatically from approximately 300.000 to 2 million inhabitants between 1960 and 2000 (Bessis, s. 1999) which yields a continued tremendous economic pressure to build new houses in Carthage. The Save Carthage Campaign was waged at an opportune moment by a group of committed Tunisian archaeologists and archaeological institutions given sufficient local political support from the Tunesian government to enter a coalition with UNESCO and international experts well aware of the threat against Carthage.
This campaign managed to mobilise archaeologists from at least 12 countries bringing with them different methodologies, different scientific backgrounds and traditions for publication of their research. The key Tunisian archaeologist behind the UNESCO Save Carthage Campaign, the director of the Carthage Museum on Byrsa Hill summarises his impression (Ennabli, M.A. 1987):
“…la champagne a démontré, c’est que cette œuvre peut-être celle de l’ensemble de la communauté Internationale, et en cela la campagne qui vient de se dérouler est exemplaire. Elle est exceptionnelle aussi par l’apport technique d’une archéologie moderne qui a été introduite et appliquée » Une archéologie de la compréhension « …a distingué les niveaux d’occupation et les phases de destructions, repéré les fosses de pillage et les tranches d’exploitation, elle a déterminé les faciès des périodes par les modes et les matériaux de construction. Elle a confronté ses stratigraphies avec des échelles chronologiques déterminées par des éléments dateurs, tels les monnaies, mais surtout la céramique. Dans ces deux secteurs, un travail immense a été accompli. Et en cela la campagne a été pionnière et novatrice ».
These different approaches to ancient history and archaeology have impacted on the investigations of the significance and interpretation of the sites. The key findings from Punic Carthage have contributed to our knowledge about the original settlement of Carthage, but despite the innovative techniques employed in connection with the SCC we have not yet gained a comprehensive knowledge of social, political, economic and religious life in the Punic society. A visit to the sites and museums in Carthage in the 21st century does not provide us a virtual journey to a community of e.g. the 8th century BC but to archaeology as it was presented in the 1970s.
.
Overview of present Carthage and its archaeological sites. Missing is right north of Basilique de Dermech (20) the Carthage B ir Massouda excavation as well as the Ibn Chabâat site between no. 20 and no. 15. Illustration from encyclo.voila.fr/wiki/Ports_puniques_de_Carthage
Some places like the Museum of Carthage at the Byrsa Hill and in the German excavations in the Quartier Magon offer scholarly based introductions to the archaeological interpretation of some of the sites and their structures, but in most places the visitor will get very little information about the finds on the site. Nowhere the visitor is presented with in-depth information about Punic society, its economy, everyday life and people based on archaeological evidence, regional and global patterns, historical events and literary sources.
Since the UNESCO Save Carthage Campaign the Tunisian government has had plans to establish an archaeological park in Carthage which would include some of the previously excavated sites and excavating new parts of the suburb. What is needed now is not only a campaign to unearth material evidence similar to the first international campaign but a new international campaign to help save the ruins already discovered and assist bringing the presentations and exhibitions up to date by using the tools of modern museology and communication. The excavated physical remains must be preserved and presented in an appropriate modern manner, but the story of Carthage and its historical development should be more comprehensive and holistic than the approaches used during the Save Carthage archaeological campaign in the 1970s.
To improve our understanding of Punic society, more excavations of the countryside are called for. Most likely, we will have much better possibilities from excavations in the present countryside to gain valuable information about the people forming the backbone of the Punic Empire and the extremely interesting transition period from Punic to Roman Carthage.
Literature:
Diodore de Sicile. Tome troisieme : livre XX, chapter XLIV
Polybe .27
Andersen, Elga, Dietz, Søren, Kromann, Anne, Lund, John og Trolle Steffen Nye danske udgravninger i Oldtidens Karthago, Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark, 1978, Copenhagen
Appian, Libyca, Vol. I, Loeb Classical Library, translated by Horace White, 1912 London
Beschaouch, Azedine La legend de Carthage, 1993 Gallimard, France
Bessis, Sophie Carthage’s long-awaited rescue, The UNESCO Courier, September 1999
Cintas P., Un sanctuaire précarthaginois sur la grève de Salammbô dans Revue tunisienne, Paris 1948, p. 1-31
Cintas, P., Manuel d’archaéologie punique, Paris 1970, p.324
Conor, M. Chateaubriand à Tunis (janvier-mars 1807), Rev. tun., 25, 1918, p. 337-348
Docter, R Published Settlement Contexts of Punic Carthage p.37-76 in Carthage Studies I, Gent 2007
Docter, R. Chelbi, F. and Telmini, B. 2003. Carthage bir Massouda. Preliminary report on the first bilateral excavations of Ghent University and the Institut Nationale du Patrimoine (2002-2003). BABESCH 78: 43- 70.
Docter, R. Chelbi, F., Telmini, B. et al.2006. Carthage bir Massouda. Preliminary report on the second bilateral excavations of Ghent University and the Institut Nationale du Patrimoine (2003-2004). BABESCH 81: 37- 89.
Ennabli, Abdelmajid Communication: La campagne internationale de sauvegarde de Carthage. Fouilles et recherches archéologiques 1973-1987. Premiers Bilans, 1987.
Ennabli, A and Rebourg, A Carthage, the Archaeological Site, 1994 Cérès Productions, Tunis
Ennabli, A The Museum of Carthage: a living history lesson, Vol L, n°2, April 1998 in Museum International, Archaeological sites and site museums, Unesco Paris
Falbe, Christian Tuxen, Recherches sur l’emplacement de Carthage, 1833, Paris
Fantar, M’hamed Hassine Kerkouane A Punic town in the Berber region of Tamezrat, VI to IIIrd century BC, Collection Mediterranean Heritage, 2007 Tunis
Fantar, M’hamed Hassine Carthage Approche d’une civilisation, Tome I-II, Alif – Les éditions de la Méditerranée, 1998 Tunis
Fantar, M’hamed Hassine Carthage, la cité punique, Alif, Les Éditions de la Méditerranée, CNRS Éditions, Paris, 1995
Fantar, M’hamed H. in Presence Puniqueau Cap Bon (pp.51-94), Africa No. 5-6 1978
Foucher, L. Un sanctuaire néo Punique à Men zel Harb (pp. 119-130), Africa no. 1, 1966
Ferchiou, Naide in Troistypesdemonumentsfuneraires situesdansl’ancienterritoirede Carthage Punique (pp. 190-214), Africa No. 5-6 1978
Fulford, M.G. & Peacock, D.P.S. 1984. Excavations at Carthage: The British Mission I, 2: The Avenue du President Habih Bourguiba, Salammbo: the pottery and other ceramic objectsfrom the site. London: British Academy/Sheffield
Gibbins, D. 1997. Review Article. Deleta est Carthago? Antiquity 71: 217-219. [Available electronically through University of Leicester Library]
Heimburger, Naissance d’un Empire in les Cahiers de Science & Vie, 2008
Hurst H. and Stager, L. E. 1978. A metropolitan landscape: The late Punic port of Carthage World Archaeology 9:: 334-346. [Available electronically through University of Leicester Library]
Kirnan, Ben, The First Genocide,Carthage 146 BC, Diogenes, Vol. 51, No. 3, 27-39, 2004
Kiernan, B- Diogène, n. 203, juillet-septembre 2003: 32-48
Lancel, Serge Communication – La renaissance de la Carthage punique. Réflexions sur quelques enseignements de la campagne internationale patronnée par L’UNESCO, 1985
Lund, John Ny viden om det puniske Karthago, No. 56 (1984-1986), Klassisk arkæologiske Studier, Museum Tusculanums Forlag, Copenhagen
Lund, John ”En viid og riig Mark for Undersøgelser” Danmark og den t8idlige arkæologiske udforskning af Tunesien, Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark, 2008, Copenhagen
Mahjoubi, Ammar in L‘architecturedomestiquea Kerkouane etlamaisondel‘insula1 (pp. 71-94), Africa No. 5-6, 1978
Mahjoubi, Amar Nouveau Témoignage épigraphique sur la Communauté chrétienne de Kairouan au XI siècle (pp. 85-104), Africa No. 1 1966
Mattingly, D. J., Hitchner R.B., p. 180, Roman Africa: An Archaeological Review in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 85 1995
Mondot, Jean-Francois and Nehmé, Najat La guerre preventive de Caton à Bush, No. 104 April/May 2008 Les Cahiers Science & Vie
Stager, L, Carthage, a View of the Tophet in Phönizen im Western, Mayence 1982
Wells, C. M. 1982. Recent excavations at Carthage: A review article. American Journal of Archaeology 86: 293-296.
Le jeune homme de Byrsa réintègre sa Carthage natale
Écrit par – 29 septembre 2010
Revenant de Paris où il a été littéralement reconstitué »le jeune homme de Byrsa » a retrouvé vendredi 24 septembre 2010 sa terre natale et regagné aussitôt le musée national de Carthage.
Entouré de l’équipe scientifique, artistique et médiatique de l’administration du patrimoine national qui prépare son exposition événement du 15 octobre prochain, le jeune homme a reçu un accueil des plus émouvants.
D’un réalisme saisissant, la dermoplastie réalisée par le laboratoire français Draynés a réussi le prodigieux retour à l’apparence humaine du squelette retrouvé intact dans une galerie souterraine de la colline sacrée de Byrsa en 1994 par un groupe archéologique franco-tunisien.
Le jeune homme de 22 printemps, souriant, vêtu de sa tunique phénicienne en lin blanc, portant des sandales suivant la mode carthaginoise, semblait à ce point réel et proche que certains membres de l’équipe, réellement impressionnés par la performance scientifique, s’interrogeaient sur sa façon de parler, sur ses occupations quotidiennes au VI siècle av J.C.
La commissaire de l’exposition, Leila Lajimi Sebai, saluant les années de labeur de l’ensemble des intervenants tunisiens et français a promis que tous les aspects de la vie de ce témoin exceptionnel de Carthage à l’époque punique feront l’objet d’un catalogue et d’une série de films vidéos et d’émissions de radio qui rapprocheront tous les publics jeunes et moins jeunes de cet élégant ancêtre qui réapparaît après 26 siècles d’absence.
L’exposition du »Jeune homme de Byrsa » qui entre dans sa phase préparatoire finale sera sans nul doute un événement qui comptera dans la dynamisation de notre tourisme culturel. Tous les ans, près d’un million de visiteurs découvrent le site punique et romain de Carthage.
POENUS : Le carthaginois (Comédie) – PLAUTE
Écrit par – 23 septembre 2010
NOTICE SUR LE CARTHAGINOIS
On a reproché cette comédie à Plaute comme une insulte envers une nation vaincue, car la seconde guerre punique venait de finir lorsqu’elle lut mise au théâtre ; mais il suffit d’une lecture impartiale pour faire tomber ce reproche, contre lequel d’ailleurs ont protesté plusieurs critiques. Non seulement le vieillard carthaginois qui figure dans la pièce n’est pas tourné en ridicule, mais il est représenté comme un honnête homme, un tendre père, cherchant depuis longues années, par tout pays, deux filles qui lui ont été ravies en bas âge, et qu’il retrouve, pures encore, dans la maison d’un marchand d’esclaves. Sans doute son costume et celui de ses suivants sont l’occasion de quelques plaisanteries, comme il arrive de tout costume étranger; sans doute aussi, vers le dénouement, le poète lance un ou deux traits contre la foi punique ; mais qu’il y a loin de là à un parti pris de livrer à la risée de l’amphithéâtre un ennemi devant lequel les plus braves des Romains avaient pâli I Plaute n’a fait rien de tel; mais, l’eût-il fait, il est douteux que les spectateurs l’eussent supporté.
Je vous invite à lire la suite en cliquant sur le lien ci-contre : Suite
Magon, Vieux Magon… Mais savent-ils vraiment qui est Magon ?
Écrit par – 23 septembre 2010
Des noms familiers pour de nombreux Tunisiens habitués à déguster les fameux vins de Mornag. Mais savent-ils vraiment qui est Magon ?
Magon était un érudit carthaginois (un savant; qui connait beaucoup de choses de manière approfondie) du III ou du IIe siècle av. J.-C. Il rédigea un important traité sur l’agriculture en langue punique qui fut l’une des sources les plus importantes sur le sujet pendant plusieurs siècles. Ce traité était si fameux et estimé dans l’antiquité qu’il fut sur ordre du sénat, après la destruction de Carthage en -146 par les Romains, le seul ouvrage que ceux-ci ramenèrent à Rome.
D’après Wikipedia, ses 28 livres furent traduits du punique en latin sous la direction de Décimus Silanus. Mais le travail de Magon fut surtout connu et diffusé dans le monde antique par le biais des traités en grec que rédigèrent Cassius Dionysus au IIe siècle av. J.-C. et Diophane de Nicée au Ier siècle av. J.-C. L’œuvre originelle de Magon a été perdue ainsi que ses premières traductions. Nous ne connaissons son travail que par l’intermédiaire des auteurs romains postérieurs qui l’estimèrent, toujours, profondément (Pline l’Ancien, Varron, Columelle) et de la compilation en grec Geoponica.
En quels caractères écrire le Tamazight ?
Écrit par – 17 septembre 2010
"Est ce qu’on doit s’unir pour tuer une langue ou la faire revivre?" Kateb Yacine.
Il est curieux que le "problème" se pose aujourd’hui encore ,près de 50 ans après l’indépendance alors que le Tamazight est enseigné à l’école algérienne même en caractères latins utilisés par nos ancêtres dont tout le monde se revendique à ma connaissance : St Augustin,Dt Donnat, Apulée de Madore, Franton, JubaII Septime Sévère, Caracalla, hommes d’Eglise, écrivains, Empereurs….avant même le Français cible d’arrière plan dont on se sert par démagogie pour démolir la production, préférant alors les caractères dits "arabes", alors qu’il ne s’agit comme l’hébreu dont ils dérivent que de l’Araméen!
En 1952, une Commission au Caire, dont Ahmed Lakhdar professeur agrégé d’arabe représentait l’Algérie essayait de changer en vain les caractères "arabes" jugés peu modernes et peu pratiques (charriots de machines à écrire à l’envers, peu disponibles dans le monde, pas universels etc..) Et voici que maintenant parce que Tamazight est dans l’universalité, comme son calendrier solaire universel, ou l’agraire, contrairement au calendrier lunaire hégirien, purement religieux avec des saisons qui interfèrent les unes dans les autres, d’où impossibilité de s’en servir en agriculture,on voudrait faire accumuler un retard, empêcher l’essor de Tamazight, bref l’exclure de la modernité.
Si nous partons d’un simple constat, celui de la production, la première question qui se pose est: quelle est la production en caractères arabes, en Tifinaghs même adoptés par le Maroc, dans l’unique but uniquement d’empêcher la communication entre les Berbères marocains et ceux d’Algérie il ne faut pas se le cacher.
Ensuite, pourquoi toujours s’unir autour de l’arabe, pas de Tamazight ? A-t-on honte de son histoire ou veut-on un colonialisme culturel, un génocide culturel ?
Si on se place maintenant sur le plan légal, jusqu’où ira-t-on en ce qui concerne les droits d’auteurs? Les a t-on évalués, car la production est énorme, à tous points de vue,il n’y a qu’à voir les expositions à l’étranger pour se rendre compte : dictionnaires, romans, livres de proverbes, théâtre,etc alors qu’il n’y a pas d’équivalent en Tifinagh (que nous protégerons pour des raisons historiques) encore moins en caractères arabes.
A partir de ce constat, où est l’argent (il n’y en a même pas pour payer les professeurs de Tamazight qui ne travaillent que par honneur) pour permettre de recruter :des correcteurs, des traducteurs, des secrétaires, des imprimeurs, sans parler du matériel: papier, encre, photocopieurs, scanners, ordinateurs… enfin toute la logistique qui demain ,lorsqu’il n’y aura plus de pétrole, plongera le pays dans les bas-fonds faute d’argent,l’essentiel des recettes de l’Etat provenant des hydrocarbures?
Quel temps faudra t-il pour tout translater en caractères arabes?
Si Tamazight a survécu depuis des millénaires dans la Méditerranée ce n’est pas pour mourir dans les cinquante années qui viennent parce qu’on aura utilisé par démagogie, pour des raisons politico-religieuses, les caractères arabes, sans lendemain aucun, la meilleure preuve étant, cinquante années après" l’arabisation" personne en Algérie, Maroc ou Tunisie ne s’exprime en "arabe classique" dont on veut assurer la promotion.
Les Catalans abandonnant les caddies remplis devant les caisses des supermarchés (moyen pacifique et légal) parce que les produits ne comportent pas d’indications en Catalan. L’autonomie culturelle en Belgique peut servir d’exemple comme le proposent certains…lorsque l’on ajoute le bout de bois sur le bûcher.
Gana Mammeri