Bardo National Museum - Punic Treasures

Second in Africa only to Cairo's Egyptian Museum for the richness of its collections, housed in a 15th-century Hafsid palace. The Phoenician-Punic department displays grimacing terracotta masks, stelae with Semitic inscriptions, and treasures from Carthage excavations. The museum's Roman mosaics are world-famous, but don't miss the earlier Punic collections that reveal Carthaginian daily life. Reopened in September 2023 after a two-year closure, with some spaces enlarged and a new department of Islamic manuscripts.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Find the Concordia Statue — and Read What It's Really Saying History · Free

   On March 18, 2015, two gunmen stormed this exact building and killed 22 people — 21 tourists and one Tunisian police officer — in one of the country's deadliest attacks (ground floor immediately after main entrance at Bardo National Museum). Curators placed Rome's goddess of peace — an artifact from the civilization that destroyed Carthage in 146 BC — at the front door as their message to the world. The irony is intentional and devastating: Concordia, goddess of harmony, guarding a city burned by Rome, now protecting a place attacked by extremists. The plaque beside her names every victim. Arrive at opening (9 AM in summer, 9:30 AM in winter) before cruise groups arrive around 11 AM, taking Line 4 metro from Place de la République (~12 minutes) or a taxi from the centre (10–15 DT, 15–20 minutes).

   Backup: If you miss the plaque initially, museum staff at ground floor information can direct you to Concordia.

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2. 2 Decode the Stele of the Priest and Child — the 2,300-Year-Old Murder Mystery History · Price: low

   This 1.2-metre carved limestone stele sits at the centre of a long scholarly debate (Punic department; the museum reopened in September 2023). Discovered in Carthage in 1921 and dated to the 3rd century BC, it depicts a Punic priest carrying a child — almost certainly toward the Tophet of Tanit and Baal Hammon. For decades, archaeologists have argued whether the 20,000+ urns at Carthage's Tophet represent child sacrifice or natural infant deaths. Romans accused Carthage of burning children alive; modern scholars remain split. This stone centers that 2,500-year-old argument with no winner yet. Also find the grimacing terracotta masks — the Punic series runs back to the 6th–5th century BC — placed in tombs to ward off evil spirits. The Ksour Essef cuirass (gilded bronze breastplate) was long attributed to a Hannibal soldier but now predates the First Punic War entirely. Budget 45–60 minutes for this department alone, with an on-site guide genuinely worth it for the context.

   Backup: If audio guide is unavailable, the French-language printed guide has the best Punic section descriptions, available at the gift shop.

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3. 3 Stand Among the Punic Amphorae and Remember Mago's Lost Book Wine · Free

   In 146 BC, Rome burned Carthage to the ground; the salting of its earth is a later legend (Punic department, agricultural and trade artifacts section with amphorae displays). Of everything that survived — manuscripts, art, records — the Roman Senate decreed one thing must be translated and preserved: the 28-volume agricultural treatise by Carthaginian Mago. His work covered viticulture obsessively: plant vines on north slopes to shield from North African sun, dry grapes to concentrate wine. It was the ancient Mediterranean's most advanced winemaking manual, and Rome recognized it as irreplaceable despite being Carthage's destroyer. Not a single page survives today — both Mago's Punic original and the Latin translation vanished. But you can buy Magon Rouge from Les Vignerons de Carthage, named directly for the man whose life's work disappeared with his beloved city, in Tunisian supermarkets — except on Fridays, when the alcohol shelves close, and during Ramadan. A half-bottle costs about 13 DT. Look also for cigar-shaped Carthaginian amphorae found across the western Mediterranean, which carried wine and many other goods outward from this coast.

   Backup: If the agricultural section is temporarily rearranged post-renovation, ask staff for 'les amphores puniques' — the amphorae are prominently displayed and unmissable.

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4. 4 Discover the 1,648-Coin Hoard Archaeologists Found in a Clay Pot in 1993 History · Price: low · Optional

   On May 12, 1993, archaeologists digging survey trenches before a museum was built at Chemtou hit something: inside a clay jug sat 1,648 coins — 1,647 of gold and one of gilded silver — buried before 420 CE (Chemtou Hall, inaugurated October 2023). It is one of the most significant gold coin finds of Roman times. Scholars started planning this exhibition in 2013, then the March 18, 2015 attack stopped the project, then COVID, then political instability. The hall finally opened on 2 October 2023 — ten years after planning began, in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute. If you can't find it, ask a member of staff — say 'la salle du trésor de Chemtou' and they'll point you right. The hall is covered by standard museum admission (30 DT for non-residents, rising to 45 DT in January 2027).

   Backup: If temporarily closed for maintenance, the broader Late Antiquity department contains related coin and treasure displays from the same period.

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5. 5 Rest in the Courtyard Café, Then Find a Bottle of Magon Adventure · Price: low

   This courtyard is surrounded by architecture used as summer palace, royal court, and museum for over 600 years (the courtyard café in the Hafsid palace courtyard, accessed from inside the museum ground floor). The Hafsids built it; Ottoman beys took it over in the 17th century; the French made it a museum in 1888; gunmen attacked its visitors in 2015 and it reopened within days; after a two-year closure it opened again in September 2023. Get coffee or tea (tourist-priced but worth it) and think about the Punic department's revelations. For actual Tunisian wine today: head back into central Tunis by metro or taxi (it is too far to walk) and look for Magon Rouge or Blanc in a supermarket, such as the historic Magasin Général on Avenue de France near Beb Bhar. A half-bottle of Magon Rouge costs about 13 DT, and alcohol shelves close on Fridays and during Ramadan. The Magon Rouge is Merlot-Shiraz from Mornag AOC, named for a man who wrote 28 books on farming so good that Rome preserved them while burning everything else — though not one page survived. The bottle represents the closest thing to Mago's legacy that exists.

   Backup: If courtyard café is closed, the gift shop sells reproductions and French-language Punic guides — buy one and sit on the museum steps instead.

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Insider tips

• Closed Mondays. Open 9am-5pm (summer) or 9:30am-4:30pm (winter)

• Allow 2-3 hours minimum; Phoenician section often overlooked by mosaic-focused visitors

• Take Metro Line 4 to Bardo station