Page:Archaeologia volume 38 part 1.djvu/232

 XV. On Recent Excavations at Carthage, and the Antiquities discovered there by the Rev. Nathan Davis. By AUGUSTUS WOLLASTON FRANKS, M.A., Director. Read March 14, 1859. AMONG the various sites memorable from the greatness of the cities which once occupied them, there are few that equal in 'interest or surpass in historical associations that of Carthage. The myths respecting the foundation of that city, and the fate of its unhappy queen Dido, have received from the creative fancy of the poet such a semblance of truth as to make them assume a place in our recollections with the actual events of history. The extraordinary rise of Carthage and its equally extraordinary fall, the utter destruction of its records, the obscurity in which its language and art are enveloped, all concur to excite in us an interest and a curiosity in regard to everything connected with it, which is hardly awakened by the history, real or fabulous, of any other city of Pagan antiquity. The best authorities appear to agree in referring the origin of Carthage to the ninth century before Christ; when a Tyrian colony, partly driven by political circumstances, partly led by the love of gain and enterprise, laid the foundations of a city destined to rival and even surpass in greatness Tyre herself. The territory they selected seems to have been ceded to them peaceably by the natives, to whom they long rendered an annual tribute. The early history of the colony is enveloped in the deepest obscurity ; which is the more to be regretted as it must have been full of stirring incidents, fearful crises, and daring adventures. We can well imagine the slights shown by the mother city, the jealousy of neighbour- ing and older Phoenician settlements, in addition to the usual difficulties attending the foundation of a colony. At length, the superior merits of the site having been ascertained, the arrival of fresh colonists from home, and immigrations from the older settlements in Africa, would bring wealth and experience to strengthen the rising state.