More African Architecture
Until after 1000 BC, Egypt was the only place in Africa where people were building in stone. But when the Phoenicians invaded and colonized North Africa about 800 BC, they brought with them the idea of building in stone, and there were many stone temples to the goddess Tanit and other Phoenician gods in Carthage and the Carthaginian empire, all along the North African coast, from 800 BC down to 146 BC. The city of Carthage had stone houses, with drains and pebble floors.
A drain from a Carthaginian house
A lot of people built cisterns under their houses, to store water so they could get through the long dry summers. Even though some houses were built in stone, however, most people in North Africa continued to live in mudbrick houses. Both the stone and the mudbrick houses were usually like Egyptian houses, built around a courtyard and only one or two stories tall.
Carthaginian houses on the Byrsa hill, in Carthage
When the Romans conquered Carthage and destroyed it in 146 BC, they actually didn't destroy all of the houses completely. Archaeologists have found the remains of many Carthaginian houses under the Roman houses that the Romans built on top of them.
More African Architecture
To find out more about the architecture of ancient Carthage, check out these books from Amazon or from your local library:
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More African Architecture
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