A first. For the first time in history, the National Museum of Antiquities has been able to put together an exhibition about the ancient city of Carthage. The museum displays more than 300 objects, both from their own collection and on loans from Tunisia and well-known European museums. Kennislink is very curious how the makers tell the exciting story of the rise and fall of Carthage.
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Map Mediterranean Sea
A large colorful map greets you at the entrance of the exhibition. Carthage… The name of this ancient city still rings a bell, but whoever knows where it is, may say it… In Tunisia, near the current city of Tunis. The dot in the capital C refers to the military port of the city:a walled circle with an island in the middle on which ships could be built or restored.
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Map of Punic Carthage
This reproduced map of Punic Carthage clearly shows the location of the ports. Everyone was allowed to enter the elongated regular harbor, but the round military harbor next to it was closed to unauthorized persons and prying eyes by a high wall. In the middle you can see the island with slipways and a building where 170 ships could be housed for maintenance.
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Room 1 inner circle
The exhibition is divided into two rooms, both in the form of the military port of the Punic Carthage. In the middle circle of the first room is a sarcophagus of a woman. Furthermore, in the circle objects can be seen with a link to the world of the dead and worship of the gods.
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Room 1 outer circle
In the outer circle of the 1st exhibition room, the history of the city is told on the basis of prints from later times (on the right on the wall). On the left are archaeological objects showing the migration flows of the Phoenicians. Standing in the back by J.E. Humbert purchased and excavated objects. Whoever walks further comes to showcases with jewelry and finally the portrayed story of Hannibal.
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Projection screen 1
In addition to archaeological finds and prints, the exhibition tells the story of the city per theme on the basis of a digital four-part screen. On the far left you can see the map of the old city, on the middle two screens the explanation of the objects found there and on the right screen you can see how the location is today. The projection is continuous and lasts 6 minutes.
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Projection screen 2
On the 2nd floor, which highlights the period of Roman Carthage, there is also a digital four-part screen. This shows the city rebuilt by the Romans (left), on the middle 2 screens the makers give extra explanation about the found objects per location and on the right you can see the current situation in Carthage.
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Sundial
This marble sundial was found in Carthage, although it is not set to the latitude of this city. The light beam through the hole indicates the day:the Roman calendar is carved on the inside. A beautiful example of the luxury and wealth, which could also be found everywhere in the city during Roman times. (Loan from the Louvre, 1st-2nd century AD).
Carthage rediscovered
Carthage, that famous ancient city, is located near present-day Tunis on the Mediterranean coast. The Tunisians appear to have been very generous in lending masterpieces for this exhibition. They are proud that their cultural heritage is considered so important abroad and are even better acquainted with the Dutchman Jean Emile Humbert than the Netherlands itself. This engineer discovered the first remains of ancient Carthage in 1817 and some of his finds are also part of this exhibition.
Humbert went in search of the city that had fallen into disrepair after its capture by the Vandals in AD 439, but was never forgotten. Stories about Hannibal and his elephants, the legendary Queen Dido or the three Punic Wars have lived on in European literature and visual arts for centuries. In addition to archaeological objects, it has therefore been decided for this exhibition to show plenty of examples of prints and paintings that tell the Carthaginian story.
Military harbor as inspiration
The exhibition is spread over two floors and the special design immediately catches the eye upon entering. The hall is divided into an inner ring and an outer ring, just like the military port of Carthage. The outer ring shows the myth of the founding of Carthage, as depicted centuries later in European prints. On the other hand, there are archaeological objects that show the cultural similarities between the seafaring Phoenicians and other cultures in the Mediterranean.
In the back are objects that were excavated and purchased by Humbert. Different subjects together, but it works:they complement each other nicely. If you walk straight into the inner circle upon entering, you will come face to face with a beautiful, almost intact sarcophagus of a woman. She is a real eye-catcher in the room and also one of the masterpieces on loan.
Latest insights processed
This first room tells chronologically the story of the founding of the city in the 9 e century until the Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC), when Hannibal crossed the Alps with his elephants, towards Rome. The archaeological evidence that the city could have actually been founded in 814 BC, Virgil's version of Dido in his Aeneid, has only recently been provided and is confirmed here. The inhabitants were in any case the Phoenicians from Lebanon. They built trading posts all over the Mediterranean coast.
The makers have chosen to compose objects around themes, such as death and everyday life. Many archaeological finds come from tombs and show the rites surrounding death. For example, the dead were shaved to be delivered clean and tidy in the afterlife. Grim masks were to prevent evil spirits from traveling with them. You can also marvel at a display case full of jewelry.
The second room mainly tells the story of Roman Carthage. After the Third Punic War, the Romans razed the city to the ground in 146 BC and the few inhabitants still alive sold them into slavery. The cultural heritage of Carthage, such as the library, disappeared in the flames of the burning city. The Romans had defeated their major competitor, but the city's influence on the region did not disappear. Religious rites were adapted to Roman custom, but retained Punic elements.
The fact that Carthage lived on longer in the collective memory is one of the recent scientific views that this exhibition aims to propagate. That is why the image with the lion's head as a symbol was chosen. The statue does not come from Carthage itself, but it does have typical characteristics of a Punic deity, which are clearly different from Greek or Roman gods. The Punic influence on the African hinterland continued even after the destruction of the city.
The lore
What we still know about Carthage comes from archaeological finds and from the texts of the victors:the Romans. They rebuilt the once thriving port city after its destruction, with Carthage becoming the third city of the Roman Empire. Writings of the Carthaginians themselves have only been largely lost. Today, scientists are still investigating the archaeological sites in Tunisia and excavated objects and inscriptions, which is also reflected in the exhibition. One of the highlights is a unique Punic ship's ram, sunk in 260 BC.
The ship's ram belonged to a ship that sank during the First Punic War. The Carthaginians had been tried and tested as seafarers. During a naval battle against the Romans, everyone assumed that the superior Carthaginians would crush the smaller and inexperienced Roman fleet. Nothing turned out to be less true. The Romans, superior in land combat, had a boarding bridge (corvus ) invented. This allowed them to fight hand-to-hand, instead of having to perform difficult tactics with their ships. Completely unexpectedly they won this naval battle off Sicily.
Eleven ship rams were recovered off the coast in 2010, of which only one was Punic and the rest Roman. At first you would think that the Romans must have lost the naval battle because of these physical losses; the conclusion from this is quite different, according to Professor Roald Docter:“The Carthaginians deployed ships during this naval battle that they had previously conquered over the Romans. The fact that the Punic ship's ram was actually used during the battle is clearly visible from the dents in the bronze. In this way, history comes very close.” Carthage specialist Docter (Ghent University) is one of the driving forces behind the exhibition and co-author of the accompanying book Carthage. Rise &Fall .