Third Carthage: Struggles and Contestations Over Archaeological Space

Employing a value-belief-norm framework to gauge Carthage residents’ intentions to support sustainable cultural heritage tourism

“…Though UNESCO was swift to dedicate roughly two-thirds of Carthage as World Heritage Sites at three different points in time (i.e., 1985, 1994, and 1996), conflict surrounding land disputes has upset the balance of sustainability among residents, resources, and visitors over the last half-century (Altekamp & Khechen, 2013;UNESCO, 2019b). Most recently, illegal land acquisitions, artifact removal, and land demolition in Carthage have caught the attention of a globally-engaged audience (Reuters, 2019), as UNESCO is tasked with preserving the integrity of cultural heritage while the Tunisian local and national government entities wrestle with how to promote and provide opportunities for tourists to experience the city and its numerous sites.…”

“…According to a Reuters' (2019) columnist, many homes have been developed illegally through corruption and nepotism since the Tunisian Revolution of 2011-in some cases on top of ruins (e.g., Roman Cisterns of La Malga) or in close proximity to ruins (e.g., Carthage Circus). As a F o r P e e r R e v i e w result, many residents are paying the price by having their homes demolished as they are faced with acknowledging the consequences of their actions and the realization that their developments have global impacts (Altekamp & Khechen, 2013). Despite the wide publicity Carthage and the world heritage sites have received, no one has assessed the degree of support Carthage residents have for cultural heritage tourism within their community.…”

The Roman circus and southwestern city quarter of Carthage: first results of a new international research project

“…The city has been extensively studied, mainly in the 1970s–90s when a number of international teams worked in part simultaneously in the city at a time in which ongoing urban development seriously threatened the integrity of the site. Although Carthage has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1979, the political and social situation specific to the site has left much to be desired concerning its protection, preservation and presentation (Altekamp and Khechen 2013). In 2015, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Rome and the Tunisian Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) started a new joint archaeological project, continuing a tradition of cooperation that had started in 1974 and resulted in the creation of two archaeological parks, the Quartier Magon and the Quartier Didon, and respective publications (monographs: Rakob 1991; 1997; 1999; Dolenz and Flügel 2012).…”