Carthage - Punic Quarte Quartier Punique

To the south of the Museum in Carthage is the Quartier Punique (Punic Quarter). Excavation has shown that in the earliest period the hill was used as a burial-ground. In the fifth century the Carthaginians built workshops here, which later gave place to houses. After the destruction of Carthage the hill remained unoccupied. It was only in the reign of Augustus (30 B.C.-A.D. 14) that the summit of the hill was leveled off - involving the destruction of the Punic remains, including a temple of Eshmun (Asklepios) which stood here - and work began on the construction of a huge forum and Capitol.

This was the starting-point of the two main axes of Roman Carthage, the decumanus running from east to west and the cardo from north to south. During excavations under the church and the monastery various Roman remains were found: the foundations of temples, mosaics and the altar of the Gens Augusta which is now in the Bardo Museum in Tunis. Visitors' eyes will be caught first by the two rows of piers running at an angle to the Punic street pattern - the foundations of a platform on which the Capitol was to stand. Two sections of the Punic town have now been excavated, giving an excellent impression of the layout of the houses. Usually of two storys, they had round underground cisterns, with fountains on the floor above to provide a water supply for the house.