Punic Town of Kerkuane and its Necropolis

Kerkouane is a Punic city in northeastern Tunisia, near Cape Bon. This Phoenician city was probably abandoned during the First Punic War (c. 250 B.C.) and as a result was not rebuilt by the Romans. It had existed for almost 400 years.

Kerkouane, a bit off the beaten track, has the best ruins after the ancient Carthaginian country, as they were only partly destroyed. Excavations have revealed ruins from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.

Around the site where the layout is clearly visible, many houses still show their walls, and the coloured clay on the facades is often still visible. The houses were built to a standard plan in accordance with a sophisticated notion of town planning.

A sanctuary has some columns preserved, and in a small atrium parts of mosaics are found. Curbstones, doorsteps, thresholds, and floors of simple mosaic layers are found all over. Still archaeologists work on the Kerkouane site, but the best parts should be discovered by now.

Kerkouane was one of the most important punic cities, with Carthage, Hadrumetum (modern Sousse) and Utica.