570 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1925 



was bein<2: l)rou<rht back to the civilized world. Tn di<r^ing up this 

 temple this winter, we had constantly in our minds the vivid descrip- 

 tion of the temple that makes one of the most wonderful episodes of 

 Flaubert's " Salammbo." 



The excavation was started by the " Services dcs Antiquites," and 

 this year we were able to procure the site after many months of 

 deliberation and difficulties on the part of the owners of the coveted 

 piece of land. 



The sanctuary is remarkable in being composed of four distinct 

 levels, floors of votive altars, inscriptions, and vases of many new 

 forms. 



Each level corresponds with a different period of Carthaginian 

 history. The sanctuary dates from the foundation of Carthage, 

 which is lost in the night of time, but it is only in the termination 

 of the present excavations that perhaps some clue to the real date of 

 the foundation of Carthage may be found. Most historians place 

 the legendary foundation of Carthage by Dido at about 850 B. C. 

 With the termination of the present excavation we hope not only 

 to solve the mystery of ancient Carthage, but also to solve the prob- 

 lems of the great Egyptian influence we have found there, of the 

 practice of human sacrifice, and many other historic questions. 

 The sanctuary existed until the destruction of Carthage by Scipio 

 146 years B. C. From it we are learning new indications of the re- 

 ligions and customs of a lost empire. The site of the city of Hanni- 

 bal and Hamilcar has long been a m3'stery, but the tombs discovered 

 by Father Delattre have shed certain light on the great people who 

 once challenged Rome for the mastery of the ancient world. But 

 nearly everything is yet to be achieved in Carthage, as regards the 

 scientific exploration of the vast antique metropolis of Africa, that 

 once had a population of a million inhabitants and whose area is 

 said to have been 24 square miles. 



The Temple of Tanit is our first clue to the Phoenician city that 

 disappeared from the face of the earth during the dreadful con- 

 flagration when the city burned for IT days and the smouldering 

 ruins were plowed through by the revengeful Romans. The ex- 

 cavation is producing thousands of beautifully painted urns, con- 

 taining rare and j^recious amulets and other treasures, and elegantly 

 sculptured inscriptions of the days of Hannibal, and hundreds of 

 strange votive altars unlmown as yet to archeology. Each time 

 that this great cemetery was filled with offerings it was covered 

 over with a layer of protecting clay and refilled. 



HUMAN SACRIFICES AT CARTHAGE 



It is hoped that the completion of the excavation of the "area" 

 of I he Temple of Tanit may lead to the discovery this coming season 



