Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-18
PILGRIMS VISIT
ANCIENT CARTHAGE
Few Sites of Antiquity Have
More IIIustrious History
Than Punic Empire.

The site of ancient Carthage, in
Northern Africa, where 10000 pilgrims
are meeting for the thirtieth ipterna-
tional Eucharistic Congress Of TIE Cath
s. .olic Church, is the subject cl the fol-
lowing bulletin from the National Geo.
graphic Society, based on s communica-
ton from Count Byron Khun de Pro-
rok, who has unearthed many secrets
buried on the shores Of the Mediter-
ranean for centuries.
Traces of Half Dozen Races.
"Few sites of antiquity have more
illustrious history" says the bulletin,
"than the peninsula on which lie the
accumulated ruins of the dead cities of
Carthage. Phoenicians, Berbers, Nu-
indians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantine
crusaders and lastly, the Arabs have all
left their traces and today In the strata
Of 80 centuries lie the mute evidences
Of long racial warfare and the dethrone-
ment of past splendors.
Here where peace now reigns over
the marble dust, is q natural beauty and
grandeur equal to any OF the famous
scenes along the Mediterranean shore,
and the panorama viewed from Cape
Carthage explains Queen Dido's selec-
ton of the site. in the ninth century,
BIC, for the first Punic city OF Car
thage. ,
"From the summit of the ancient hill
called Byrsa (meaning hide and remi.
fiscent of the Dido story of the bull
skim is unfolded the landscape which
was once the scene of the great Tragedy
of the Mediterranean. To the east lies
the magnificent Gulf of Tunis, OF azure
blue shading off into emerald green near
"On the opposite bank rise the ma
iestic twin SUBMITS of the sacred noun
tain of the Carthaginians, the Bou-
Kornein, There stood the temple deoi-
Gated to Baal, but only Few stones
mark the spot where the flames OF votive
offerings once paid homage TO the IN
satiable Phoenician gods.
ITO the south, in an amphitheater
surrounded by purple mountains. its
hundred minarets reflected In the Tunis
lagoon. lies the White Mantle of the
Prophet as the Arabs car the city OF
This is the scene 50 often gazed
mon by Dido, Pyrrhus, Hasdruoal.
Hamilcar, Hannibal, Scipio, Caesar
Cyprian, Augustine, Genseric, ana 81.
Louis, and its history is made stll more
ELOQUENT by the resurrection OF its
buried ruins. 80
dThe excavation of Carthage is dim
cult because Of the great Typographical
changes that have taken place since
P1Inic DAYS. For these changes the
aIluvial deposits of the Medjerda River
are responsible to considerable degree:
There has been an accumulation OF
earth, sand and debris in the hoiloWs
between the hills at the rate OF yaro
n century. It requires little imagina-
ton to appreciate the difficulty Of un-
covering al, edifice buried, say, 20 CEN
turtles ago.
Had Million Inhabitants.
"Under the Barcas family (Hasdrubal,
Hamilcar. Hannibal, etc. Carthage was
a great center of wealth and commerce,
with a population which has been estl-
mated variously between 100000 ana
1000. 900. It's immense palaces and
temples In astonishing number were
the envy Of other nations, and great
triple wall was built to protect the
city on the land side. 1t was from
SO to so feet high and more than 30
feet thick. with easements az the
ground level for 800 elephants, ana
above these stalls for 1000 horses, vast
storage space for food and supplies, ana
quarters for $4,000 men.
"The buildings of Carthage, prior to
its destruction by the Romans In 146
BIC. were in some cases seven stories
high. From the accounts Of Cato the
Elder, the implacable foe Of the city,
whose 'Delenda est Carthage Is UNI
forsettable, the construction Of the city
must have been Of admirable sound
ness-in fact, such that the conhagra-
ton Of Is days can scarcely have de-
molished entirely the gigantic eolnces
and strong foundations. 1t u expected
that part of these will be found intact
ut q great excavated depth.
"The utter devastation and oblitera-
ton of Carthage which for centuries
following the Punic wars were thought
to have taken place have been recently
contradicted by exploration. Over the
ruins, long untouched, dirt and SAND
had drifted, but mercifully preserving
innumerable objects of art which es-
capped destruction; 20, 40 and 80 feet
below the surface have been unearthed
the vestiges of Byzantine, Roman ana
Phoenician occupations.
1.-THE most sensational discovery IN
recent years was the Temple OF Tanlt,
where human sacrifices were offered by
the Carthaginians to the goddess OF
orally hundreds Of urns were Iouno
containing the bones of children from
4 to IL years OF age who had been
burned alive.
1.-THE shocking ceremony Of human
sacrifice was especially resorted to when
Carthage was in great danger from ner
enemies. Hundreds Of children OF the
MODEST IamllleS were Ouclcu NY w
placate the rage of the hideous god
Baal. whose horned and bull-headed
image stood in the temple in constant
readiness to receive his living food.
Many Ruins In North Africa.
''No land has more wondrous or more
beautiful Christian ruins than North
Africa. From Shershel, in Algeria, to
Carthage, In Tunisia, the pilgrim fol-
lows the sacred way Of the routes OF
the basilicas, where every step treads
on holy ground sacred to the blood OF
saints and martyrs. Few, indeed, know
the importance of the African ruins.
which are the oldest remains OF Chris
tan ediflces In the world.
"If one wishes to see what the nrst
Christian churches were like, 1t is not
to Rome one should go, but to Africa.
They do not exist any more In Rome,
for they have all been destroyed or built
over; but at Carthage and Tebessa one
can still see the largest basilicas in the
world and easily imagine what they
were in the days of st. Augustine.
1.-TWO hundred and nifty basilicas,
churches and chapels have been discov-
cred and partly explored. Thousands
OF Christian inscriptions, tombs and
1t t1av-a ~