Tophet in Tunis, Carthage resort
Rating: 7,9/10 (320 votes)  Tophet is a very controversial place in Carthage. The graves of several tens of thousands of children under the age of two were discovered here. There is a lot of controversy among scholars about this place. Some say that Tophet is a sacred place where they sacrificed their first-born children in order to appease the gods Tanit and Baal-Amon ... Urns with ashes were placed in several rows, and above them there were burial steles, which we can see today. The most famous stele is considered to be the one that depicts a priest preparing to sacrifice a baby. This stele is now housed in the Bardo National Museum. Others argue that Tophet is a children's cemetery, where children no older than two years old were buried, who died of natural causes. Most of the children died in the womb or in the first half of the year after birth. Researchers note that even today the mortality of children of this age group is quite high, and in ancient Carthage it was even higher, especially during the war and crop failure. The total area of Tophet is about 2 hectares , but most of it is built up, only a small part of it is still being excavated.    We also recommend reading Roman villas in Tunis, Carthage resort Topic: Tophet in Tunis, Carthage resort. |
