Byrsa

Byrsa was a walled citadel above the Phoenician harbour in ancient Carthage, Tunisia, as well as the name of the hill it rested on.

Legend

In

Dido's founding of Carthage, when Dido and her party were encamped at Byrsa, the local Berber chieftain offered them as much land as could be covered with a single oxhide. Therefore, Dido cut an oxhide into tiny strips and set them on the ground end to end until she had completely encircled the hilltop of Byrsa (Greek

: βύρσα, "oxhide").

History

The citadel dominated the city below and formed the principal military installation of Carthage. Its name appeared on

Carthaginian currency under the form 𐤁𐤀𐤓𐤏𐤕‎ (bʾrʿt).^[1]

It was besieged by

Justinian reconquered the province

in 533.

St Louis Cathedral was built on Byrsa Hill starting in 1884, atop an ancient temple. Today, it serves as a cultural centre.^[2] Byrsa Hill itself is part of the archaeological site of Carthage. In addition to a cathedral monument, the Carthage National Museum

was erected atop it.

Archaeology

In 1994, the body of an ancient Carthaginian individual was excavated from a 2500-year-old Punic tomb in Byrsa Hill. In 2016, he was found to belong to the rare

Iberia to the Maghreb.^[3]

References

Citations

^ Head & al. (1911), pp. 879–881.
^ "Cathedral, Carthage, Tunisia". World Digital Library. 1899. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
PMID 27224451
. Retrieved 26 May 2016.

Bibliography

Head, Barclay; et al. (1911), "Zeugitana", Historia Numorum (2nd ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 877–882.

Authority control databases
International

FAST

VIAF

National

Israel

United States

Geographic

Pleiades

36°51′08″N 10°19′26″E / 36.85222°N 10.32389°E / 36.85222; 10.32389

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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byrsa&oldid=1193785137"

[FOOTNOTEHead_&_al.1911879–881-1] Head & al. (1911), pp. 879–881.

[WDL1-2] "Cathedral, Carthage, Tunisia". World Digital Library. 1899. Retrieved 2 March 2013.

[3] PMID 27224451
. Retrieved 26 May 2016.

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