Abstract
Carthage, located near modern-day Tunis (Tunisia), is an iconic city that was inhabited continually from 800/750 BCE onwards and has played a major role in the history of the Mediterranean region. While many aspects of Carthage’s history are known in meticulous detail, from both archaeological excavations and written sources, knowledge about plant diversity, plant use and landscapes in and around Carthage is sparse. From 1975 to 1984, various countries participated in the UNESCO excavation campaign “Save Carthage”. As part of this campaign, the British Academy and the American Schools of Oriental Research, directed by H. Hurst and L.E. Stager, respectively, excavated parts of the archaeological excavations of the Tophet of Tanit, the commercial harbor, and the naval harbor in Carthage, which revealed Punic and Byzantine contexts. A team from the Biological-Archaeological Institute of Groningen University was responsible for the archaeobotanical analyses of these excavations, resulting in publication of the macrobotanical and palynological data and a summary of the charcoal data from the Tophet. However, so far, most wood and charcoal data have remained unpublished; the data being currently revised and prepared for publication. In this contribution, we present the project, some of the archaeological contexts and preliminary anthracological and dendrochronological results, focusing on vegetation development, use of woody resources and import of wood.