About the Museum

Carthage National Museum (Arabic: المتحف الوطني بقرطاج) is a national museum in Byrsa, Tunisia. Along with the Bardo National Museum, it is one of the two main local archaeological museums in the region. The edifice sits atop Byrsa Hill, in the heart of the city of Carthage. Founded in 1875 as the "Musée Saint-Louis" within the Chapelle Saint-Louis de Carthage in order to house the finds from the excavations of Alfred Louis Delattre, it contains many archaeological items from the Punic era and other periods. In 1975, excavations exposed a Late Roman house with fragments of Roman mosaics and further off the property was a large church dating to the 5th century. Building plans to create a site museum went into effect in 1983; a year later the museum opened through financial donations from 59 members of a non-profit organization EARTHWATCH. The museum is a collaboration of specialists and volunteers who dedicated their talents and resources to preserve the threatened site of the ancient Mediterranean, Carthage. The Carthage National Museum is located near the Cathedral of Saint-Louis of Carthage. It allows visitors to appreciate the magnitude of the city during the Punic and Roman eras. Some of the best pieces found in excavations are limestone/marble carvings, depicting animals, plants and even human sculptures. Of special note is a marble sarcophagus of a priest and priestess from the 3rd century BC, discovered in the necropolis of Carthage. The Museum also has a noted collection of masks and jewelry in cast glass, Roman mosaics including the famous "Lady of Carthage", a vast collection of Roman amphoras. It also contains numerous local items from the period of the Byzantine Empire. Also on display are objects of ivory. The museum is currently closed for an indefinite period.