INP announces Carthage Punic ports project on 21 October
Published on 10/24/2026 at 14:22 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSResearch project and heritage setting
- The National Heritage Institute and NACA announced the Punic ports project at Carthage on 21 October 2026.
- Fieldwork from 15 October 2026 to 8 January 2027 includes excavations, surveys and archaeological inventory work.
- UNESCO inscribed the Archaeological Site of Carthage on the World Heritage List in 1979.
- The heritage property covers 498.08 hectares and includes the Punic ports, Byrsa and the Antonine baths.
INP announces Carthage Punic ports project on 21 October 2026, bringing a new research and conservation programme to the archaeological site in Tunis, Tunisia. The National Heritage Institute, known as INP, said the work had started on 15 October 2026 and would continue until 8 January 2027.
Research begins at the Punic ports in Tunis
The project is being carried out through cooperation between Tunisia's National Heritage Institute and China's National Archaeology Centre, known as NACA. Researchers, heritage specialists, conservators and students from both countries are taking part in the mission, which focuses on the Punic ports and their immediate surroundings.
The programme includes archaeological excavations, studies of the remains, modern geometric and topographical surveys, and the study and inventory of archaeological collections discovered during the work. The National Heritage Institute said the fieldwork is intended to support future presentation and conservation measures for the port area. the 21 October announcement names both the site and the project dates.
How the Punic ports fit into Carthage
The Punic ports are one of the principal components of a large archaeological landscape on the Gulf of Tunis. UNESCO describes the property as including the acropolis of Byrsa, the ports, the Punic tophet, necropolises, a theatre, an amphitheatre, a circus, residential areas, basilicas, the Antonine baths, cisterns and an archaeological reserve.
The site was founded in the ninth century BC and later became a major centre of Punic civilisation and Mediterranean exchange. Its remains represent several successive cultures, including Phoenico-Punic, Roman, Vandal, Paleochristian and Arab phases. The new research programme is therefore concentrated on one part of a wider historical landscape rather than on a single enclosed monument. UNESCO's heritage record confirms the site's World Heritage inscription in 1979 and records a property covering 498.08 hectares.
That connection gives the October announcement a practical significance for visitors. Work at the ports is not presented as a festival or a temporary show, but as a research operation whose findings are intended to shape later conservation and presentation of the remains.
Visiting Carthage: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Punic ports project runs at the archaeological site from 15 October 2026 to 8 January 2027.
- The announcement concerns excavations, surveys and conservation planning; it does not state a changed entrance or a closure for visitors.
- The site lies on the Gulf of Tunis in Tunis, Tunisia, and the ports form one component of a wider archaeological landscape.
- The terrain is spread across several archaeological areas, including Byrsa, the tophet, the amphitheatre and the Antonine baths, rather than one single ruin complex.
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Frequently asked questions about Carthage
When does the Punic ports project take place at Carthage?
The fieldwork began on 15 October 2026 and is scheduled to continue until 8 January 2027.
What is the Punic ports project at Carthage?
It is a Tunisian-Chinese archaeological and conservation programme involving excavations, surveys and the inventory of finds.
Where is Carthage and how do you get there?
Carthage is on the Gulf of Tunis in Tunisia, within the wider urban area of Tunis.
