Résumé
Carthage, located near modern Tunis (Tunisia), was one of the major urban and political centres of the ancient Mediterranean, continuously occupied from the late 9th century BCE onwards. Despite the richness of archaeological and textual documentation, knowledge of plant resources, woody taxa and landscape dynamics in and around Carthage remains limited.The Tophet of Carthage, located in the Salammbô district near the Punic harbours, constitutes a unique ritual precinct dedicated to the deities Tanit and Baal Hammon. Archaeologically interpreted as a hybrid space between sanctuary and necropolis, it is characterised by thousands of urns containing cremated remains of infants and animals, associated with votive stelae and inscriptions. The function and meaning of the Tophet have long been debated, oscillating between interpretations of child sacrifice and specialised funerary practices.Between 1975 and 1984, the UNESCO “Save Carthage” campaign led to extensive excavations of the Tophet, the commercial harbour and the naval harbour. Archaeobotanical analyses were initiated by the Biological-Archaeological Institute of the University of Groningen, resulting in the publication of macrobotanical and palynological data and a preliminary synthesis of charcoal remains. However, most anthracological material has remained unpublished and is currently being systematically revised. This contribution presents the research framework, archaeological contexts and first results of a large-scale anthracological study conducted on more than thirty stratigraphic contexts from the Tophet. The results reveal significant variability in the selection of woody taxa for cremation practices: while some urns contain charcoal from a single taxon, others include up to seven taxa. Olive (Olea europaea) and Anacardiaceae, particularly Pistacia, dominate the assemblages, alongside a range of taxa likely representing local woodland formations and cultivated fruit trees.