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A votive stele made of grayish limestone that stands out from most other steles due to its rectangular shape, its design, the absence of a pediment and acroteria, as well as any other decoration aside from the so-called “Tanit symbol,” which is not incised but carved in bas-relief. While the triangle with a circle resting on its apex is certainly present, the bar above it ends in a semicircle—evoking a crescent—rather than taking on the fairly common anthropomorphic form created by the addition of connected arms. The dedication is in honor of Tanit and her consort, Lord Baal Hammon. This stele confirms the Punic people’s preference for geometric figures and symbolic imagery: the so-called “sign of Tanit” resembles the Egyptian “ankh” and shares its vital significance. Although we possess more than 7,000 stelae (including 1,000 at the Louvre) and more than 6,000 dedications, depictions of Tanit and Baal Hammon in forms other than their symbols are extremely rare (H. 59 cm, W. 33.5 cm, Tophet, Carthage, 4th century BCE, Carthage Museum).© Images de Tunisie — watermarked preview

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A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.A Punic residential quarter on Byrsa Hill in Carthage. At the summit of Byrsa Hill, the site of the Roman forum, a Punic residential quarter dating from the city’s final century of existence—more precisely, the early 2nd century BCE—has been unearthed. The settlement is typical and even stereotypical, with a room facing the street that could be used as a store, a cistern installed in the basement to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right-hand side leading to a courtyard with a well, around which a series of small rooms of varying numbers are arranged.
RM

A02-089

A votive stele made of grayish limestone that stands out from most other steles due to its rectangular shape, its design, the absence of a pediment and acroteria, as well as any other decoration aside from the so-called “Tanit symbol,” which is not incised but carved in bas-relief. While the triangle with a circle resting on its apex is certainly present, the bar above it ends in a semicircle—evoking a crescent—rather than taking on the fairly common anthropomorphic form created by the addition of connected arms. The dedication is in honor of Tanit and her consort, Lord Baal Hammon. This stele confirms the Punic people’s preference for geometric figures and symbolic imagery: the so-called “sign of Tanit” resembles the Egyptian “ankh” and shares its vital significance. Although we possess more than 7,000 stelae (including 1,000 at the Louvre) and more than 6,000 dedications, depictions of Tanit and Baal Hammon in forms other than their symbols are extremely rare (H. 59 cm, W. 33.5 cm, Tophet, Carthage, 4th century BCE, Carthage Museum).

ReferenceA02-089
CategoryVilles et Régions / Tunis and its suburbs / Carthage
LicenceRM — rights managed
Photographer© Nicolas Fauqué / www.imagesd
Copyright© Nicolas Fauqué / www.imagesdetunisie.com

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