Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-06-08


accustomed to put iewelry and other
relics and imagine that The deslruc-
ton was such that much OF the be-
lcngings of the people were left In the
debris
1t is now more than 200 years
since the first buildings OF Carthage
We're erected and many of the OBJ
jacts / saw today We're more IMAM
1000 years old. As ! went over the
ruins | observed the Arab farmers
blowing up bits OF pottery and pieces
of marble, which were parts Of houses
more than 20 centuries ago, and /
have been bothered all day by dark
faced Mohammedans begging me 60
buy Carthaginian coins I'm use long
before Christ and canoes the size of
my finger nail which We're probably
worn in the rings Of those punlc
maidens whan all the world was
young.
can't begin To describe the extent
of the ruins BY this do not mean
the remains of great temples ana pol-
aces. of thcaters and tombs. These
are comparatively few but there are
vast tracts covered with hita Of pot
tory. pieces of broken marble, hair
ground up bricks and bits of mosaic.
such remains cover the ground. The
sheep and goats feed among them,
and They are plOWed and narrowed
and pulvori2cd by cultivation to Ger
tilize the crops Of the present
IN THE THEATERS,
NV way to Carthage was over IN cx-
cellcnt road which runs around the
bay. The scenery Is beautiful ANA the
namingOes hy over the water, showing
their pink plWnagc as they probably
did in the past An along the roads
we saw Arabs blowing their farms.
Here and .hcre was a little Camp of
Bcdouins watching their floclSs; and
V hen We left the road and drove
across the plovcd fields we passed
through a flock of fat-tailed sheep
and black goats driven by natives.
Nearly all our way was over the
ruins of Carthage, and we We're now
I'm what was almost the heart of the
ancient city. The ground was 50 COW
cred with marble and pottery that we
felt like getting out and looking for
relics. and, indeed, during the whole
day my eyes have been moving about
among the stones with the hope to
find treasure. | have picked mp many
heautiful pieces of marble, j have
clawed out bits of mosaic from the
stone floors and have had opportunity
to purchase all sorts OF coins and clap
lamps, some OF the time of the Ro-
mans and some dating back to the
days of the Phoenecians.
We first visited the amphithoater
where the GladiatOrial shows were held.
1t lies near an Arab village, ana, as |
stood in it, / heard the shrieking OF
spanked baby filling the air which once
resounded with the cries OF the Chris
tian martyrs The amphltheater has
been only partially eXcavated. The
cages for the wild beasts can he plainly
seen and the great vaults below IN
which the martyrs waited. Tho arena
was clliptical in shape and Its area is
more than an acre, paced II from one
end to the other. and according to my
estimate il liz about 800 feet long and
900 feet wide II contains marble col-
unns broken and battered, Some of the
seats and a few OF the arches are still
to be seen.
This theater was described by an
Arab historian who was here about 500
years ago. He says that there were five
galleries and that the building was
. the most beautiful of its kind ever
known. Today l saw the sheep and
goats feeding on the edge OF what
must have been at one time the second
gallery and a donkey brayed while l
paced the arena.
THE GREAT CIsTERNs OF CAR
THAGE.
The Oldest and best known of the
Carthaginian ruins are the great els
terms which were built to supply the
CITY with water. There We're two sets of
them, one at each side of the town.
They were of vast dimensions, enor-
nous barrel shaped caVernS, 4Si reef
long and more than so feet in diameter.
They were surmounted by cupolas and
were connected with pipes for distrlb-
uting the water The largest of these
cisterns are near AN Arab village
and they are now used as stables and
dwellings by the Arabs. They num-
Der "a and cover many acres. Went
down into some OF them. In one ROUND
n tiny gray donkey with a little ARAB
girl standing beside IL, and IN another
an old hen with flock of little chickehs
feeding about her. A part of one els
torn has been walled off as hay NOV
another is now an Arab house and IN
the third 1 saw Bcdoun woman grind
in. meal upon two stones which rested
on the ftOor,
THE dust of ages has half filled these
great caVerns and they make an excel
lent protection from The weather. A
| / made my notes within them heard
the cry of prayer from Mohnmmedan
tomb nrrby. The cry was, There Is no
| God but God and Mohammed IS his
prophet" AS | listened / could not
| but think OF the people who drank from
| these cistems 800 years before the
Christian era, ana more 7nhu i,UVO
years before Mohammed first saw the
| light of day IN the deserts Of Arabia,
| 900 YEARS OLD AND STILL IN
USE.
Later IN the day 7 visited the cis-
terms on the other side OF the town.
| They are $500 years old but the Frenoh
have repaired them and they now sup
| ply water 10 the villages and towns
| about. The water comes from Tunis.