The National Museum of Carthage5 min read

By Contributing Editor April 12, 2022

Written by Contributing Editor April 12, 2022

Carthage National Museum contains a wide collection of items and displays from the Punic, Roman and Byzantine eras of Carthage. It is a good place to begin your exploration of the ruins of this ancient city.

Tunisia’s Carthage National Museum is one of the country’s most important cultural treasures. It is one of the region’s two most important archaeological museums, alongside the Bardo National Museum. In the center of Carthage, the building stands on Byrsa Hill. The museum was founded in 1875 and has several artifacts from the Punic and earlier eras.

Close to Carthage’s Saint-Louis Cathedral stands the Carthage National Museum. Visitors can get a sense of the city’s grandeur throughout the Punic and Roman periods. Limestone and marble carvings, including those of animals, plants, and even humans, have been uncovered during excavations. Special attention should be paid to the 3rd century BC sarcophagus found at Carthage necropolis.

The National Museum of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia.

The Museum also houses a notable collection of cast-glass masks and jewelry, Roman mosaics, and a vast collection of Roman amphoras. Byzantine artifacts from the region are also included in this collection. Objects made of ivory will also be on show.

History of the Carthage National Museum

Originally named as the Museum Levigerie and housed in an old monastery, it was founded in 1875 by Cardinal Charles Martial Lavigerie in light to European archaeological excavations in the area.

The museum was renamed in 1956 and reopened as a national museum in 1963. It was significantly restructured in the 1990s and currently has enough room to accommodate ongoing discoveries from the Carthaginian site.

Carthage Museum today

Among the numerous exhibitions are those that explore life in ancient Carthage, the wars with the Roman Republic, and the Punic city’s eventual destruction by Rome.

Additionally, the new Roman city and the Roman era are discussed, as is Byzantine rule and the Arab conquest.

The museum houses an array of fascinating discoveries, ranging from jewelry and weaponry to tombs and death masks, as well as Roman mosaics and everyday domestic goods. Additionally, an intriguing replica of the Punic city is on display. Keep an eye out for the marble sarcophagus of a priest and priestess uncovered in Carthage’s necropolis in the third century BC.

Carthage National Museum serves as a great starting place for seeing the rest of ancient Carthage’s monuments, and offers breathtaking views of the remains and modern city.

Getting to Carthage National Museum

Carthage Museum is located on the outskirts of the Carthage archaeological site, near Tunis. The site is approximately a 20-minute drive from Tunis downtown.