Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip
Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)·Bronze Age–Classical·🇹🇳 Tunis, Carthage, Tunisia
About
About Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip
Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip in Tunis, Carthage, Tunisia is a Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE) submerged city attributed to Bronze Age–Classical. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal submerged area 450 × 280 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 36.8420N 10.3280E controls access to Tunis resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey submerged city for Tunis, Carthage, illustrating Bronze Age–Classical construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Harbour drowned by co-seismic subsidence vs eustatic rise
- 02Continuity of anchorage location
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1500 BCE–200 CE
- Period
- Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)
- Culture
- Bronze Age–Classical
- Purpose
- Coastal settlement and harbour now submerged by sea-level change/subsidence
- Rediscovered
- 1987 survey
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 1500 BCE–200 CE
Initial construction of Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip main structure
c. 1927
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
1987–2017
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
36.8420° N · 10.3280° E · -9 m · 3 mapped features
Carthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip — Main Structure
structurePrincipal submerged city — Submerged area 450 × 280 m with diagnostic masonry/panel
36.8428° N · 10.3289° ECarthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip — Ancillary Complex
harbourAncillary harbour mole and anchorage surrounding main feature
36.8410° N · 10.3273° ECarthage Circular Harbour Submerged Slip — Peripheral Feature
outlierPeripheral feature with outlier deposit and burial
36.8435° N · 10.3292° E