Kerkouane

12km/7.5mi from Djebel Abiod a road goes off on the left to Kerkouane (signposted). The excavations here are among the most important in the whole of North Africa, bringing to light the remains of the only large Punic town so far discovered.

History

Kerkouane is believed to have been a Phoenician port of call long before the foundation of Carthage. At least as early as the sixth century B.C. this developed into a small village of fishermen and dyers, the name of which is unknown. In the second century B.C. the town was taken by Scipio, and in the Third Punic War it was razed to the ground by the Romans. Unlike Carthage, it was never rebuilt, so that the layout of the Punic town has been preserved intact.