Punic Necropolis of Utica
About
Utica's Punic-period cemeteries, known as Ile and La Berge, held cremation burials dating from the 7th to the 5th century BCE. Grave goods and urns recovered here document the city's earliest Phoenician settlers, generations before Carthage rose to prominence nearby. The burial grounds fell out of use long before Rome's arrival. By 117 CE this necropolis had already lain abandoned for roughly 400 years, buried beneath the Roman colony above it.
What happened here
The dead are outside the walls because the law requires it, so the approach to every town is lined with them. Tombs face the road in rows, grand ones in front and simpler markers behind, all of them addressed to the passer-by. Burial clubs let ordinary people and slaves pay a monthly subscription for a place in a communal vault and a decent funeral; the alternative is a pit. Families come out on anniversaries and at the February festival, eat at the graveside, and pour wine into a pipe set into the ground. Undertakers, stonecutters and letter-cutters work nearby and compete on price. Ground is bought by the foot, and the frontage on the road costs the most.
Sources
Nearby
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 →