Carthage: une metropole chretienne du IVe a la fin du VIIe siecle (review)

For nearly twenty-five years Liliane Ennabli has been conducting epigraphical and archaeological studies on Christianity in Roman Carthage, and numerous article-length studies testify to her status as a foremost authority on this topic. In this book, the first part of her thèse d’état for the University of Aix-Marseille, Ennabli summarizes over a century of investigation into Christian cities—from the work of Père Delattre in the late nineteenth century to the recently published results of the UNESCO “Save Carthage” campaign. Her goal is to provide a panorama of the monumental—with regard to cemeteries, basilicas, baptisteries, and monasteries—establishment of Christianity in the city from the fourth to the seventh century, and she achieves it admirably.

This work makes a major contribution to knowledge of the Christian topography of Carthage by juxtaposing ancient textual witnesses to Christian monuments with archaeological evidence. In the first major section Ennabli draws from the scant references found in literary sources to enumerate thirty-five Christian monuments in Carthage. These are discussed in the chronological order of the evidence mentioning them as a means of highlighting the development of Christianity in Carthage during these four centuries. This section is clearly presented, well organized, and concise, and constitutes a handy reference tool for the church historian. Ennabli demonstrates due critical sensitivity to the complications behind enumerating the monuments, and so is clear that her list of thirty-five different appellations does not necessarily indicate the existence of that many monuments. Interesting questions are posed regarding the names of monuments. For example, was Cathedral Restituta known by this title because it was erected by bishop Restitutus, named after the martyr Restituta, or restored to the Catholics after a period of Donatist occupation?

The lengthiest section is dedicated to reviewing the archaeological evidence of Christian, or possibly Christian, monuments that have been uncovered over the past century. It is organized according to the location of the discovered monuments, first inside and then outside the city walls, and consequently is not as easily consulted as the first section. Ennabli’s general pattern is to describe the site in detail and summarize the work of past archaeological studies, then to discuss the results of more recent digs, and finally to correlate the archaeological findings, where possible, with the textual witnesses. Diagrams, maps, photographs, and artistic reconstructions abundantly illustrate the text, making it more accessible to the non-archaeologist.

In her conclusion, Ennabli draws upon the confrontation between textual and archaeological evidence to take a groundbreaking step toward providing a narrative of the physical establishment of Christianity—particularly Catholic Christianity—in Carthage. Beginning with the cemeteries of the early third century, Ennabli proceeds to give an impression of Christian construction during the time of growth and prosperity dominated by Archbishop Aurelius and Augustine, the architectural reversal of the Vandal period, and finally the Byzantine reconstruction. The second part of this thèse d’état, in which Ennabli promises to develop further the archaeological problems and the import of possible solutions, will likely be a major contribution to knowledge of the historical development of Christianity in Carthage.