Image Details

Hershel Shanks

Squat, gray funeral stelae line the grounds of Carthage’s most sacred precinct, known as the Tophet (shown here, compare with photo of cinerary urns). Beneath the stelae are thousands of cinerary urns containing the ashes of infants, small children and animals. Some stelae are inscribed with texts saying that the burial is an offering to the gods; many stelae are inscribed with the triangular symbol of the goddess Tanit (see photo of stelae inscribed with the triangular symbol of the goddess Tanit).