La Malga Cisterns

Carthage


The restored and extremely impressive remnants of the huge 2nd-century-AD cisterns that housed Roman Carthage’s water supply are located at the foot of Byrsa Hill. The original complex was nearly 1km long and fed by a huge aqueduct carrying mountain spring water from Zaghouan.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Carthage attractions

1. Roman Amphitheatre

0.3 MILES

This Roman-era amphitheatre was once one of the largest in the Roman Empire, with a capacity of 36,000. Today, only the overgrown oval of the stage…

2. L’Acropolium

0.47 MILES

The architect of this now deconsecrated 19th-century French-built cathedral employed an unorthodox mix of Moorish, Byzantine and Gothic architectural…

3. Byrsa Hill

0.52 MILES

In Punic times, Byrsa Hill was occupied by a temple to the Carthaginian god Eschmoun. The Romans destroyed most of the Punic structures – all that remains…

4. Carthage Museum

0.53 MILES

Sitting on the crest of Byrsa Hill and housed in an early-20th-century building that once functioned as a Catholic seminary, this museum is one of the…

5. Roman Theatre

0.61 MILES

This Roman-era theatre has been almost totally – and very unsympathetically – reconstructed, so unfortunately it's one of Carthage's most disappointing…

6. Roman Villas

0.66 MILES

A visit to this former residential enclave gives a real sense of refined ancient Roman life in Carthage. The reconstructed Villa of the Aviary is the…

7. Damous El Karita Basilica

0.72 MILES

The ruins of this once-monumental church are 400m north of the massive Mosque Malik Ibn Anas Carthage. The basilica was 65m by 45m, with nine aisles, and…

8. North Africa American Cemetery

0.75 MILES

Around 750m along the road from La Malga Cisterns, a striking forest of white crosses bears testament to the Americans killed in North Africa during WWII…