The Punic Ports of Carthage
About
Two adjoining harbors on Carthage's old lagoon — a circular naval basin 325 meters across that once sheltered over 200 Punic warships around a central island, paired with a rectangular commercial port beside it. Scipio Aemilianus filled both with rubble when he destroyed Carthage in 146 BCE, but Augustus's refounded colony dug them back out. By 117 CE they were working merchant harbors again, loading North African grain onto ships bound for Rome.
What happened here
Sailing season runs roughly from spring to autumn and the port lives by it. Ships anchor in the outer basin and warp in, or are unloaded by lighters if they draw too much. Cargo comes ashore under the eye of a customs officer taking a percentage, is weighed, and goes into warehouses along the quay. Grain for Rome is the priority and everything else waits behind it. Amphorae are stacked, checked, and the broken ones dumped. Gangs of porters work by the load; shipping agents and guild offices cluster round the harbour square, advertising routes in mosaic on the floor. Divers work the bottom for dropped cargo. In winter the ships are hauled out and the whole place goes quiet.
Sources
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →