Carthage – Antonine Baths

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The Baths of Antoninus, also called the Baths of Carthage, are Roman baths in Carthage, Tunisia. They are the largest set of Roman thermae, or public baths, built on the African continent, and one of the three largest in the whole Roman Empire. They are the largest outside mainland Italy. They are also the only baths of Carthage left from the time of the Roman Empire.

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At a glance

Country: Tunisia
Location: Carthage, Tunisia
Built: 162
Height: 15 m
Type: Ancient site

Quick answers

Where is Carthage – Antonine Baths?

Carthage – Antonine Baths is in Carthage, Tunisia.

When was Carthage – Antonine Baths built?

Carthage – Antonine Baths was built in 162.

How tall is Carthage – Antonine Baths?

Carthage – Antonine Baths is about 15 m tall.

Seaside ruins of the largest Roman baths in Africa, marked by a single re-erected towering column.

Building began under Emperor Hadrian, and the baths took the name of the next emperor, Antoninus Pius. They stood right beside the Mediterranean Sea in the south-east of the archaeological site, near the presidential Carthage Palace. The baths are now part of the Archaeological Site of Carthage, which is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Today they are mostly ruins, with a few parts preserved.

Roman Carthage

Carthage was once the capital of a Phoenician-founded empire that dominated much of the southwest Mediterranean. The Roman Republic destroyed the city after a nearly three-year siege in the Third Punic War, in 146 BC. Roman customs took hold, and about a century later the city was re-developed as the major city of Rome's Africa province. The baths were built in this later Roman city.

A taller bath on soft clay

The baths were built differently from most Roman bathhouses. The ground by the sea was soft clay, which needed a larger foundation. Normal baths had service areas in the basement, but the soft clay could not hold such cellars. So the designers raised the whole building up, making it taller than other Roman bathhouses.

After the Romans

The baths were used until the Vandals invaded Tunisia and destroyed them in 439 AD. Digging at the site began during World War II, and was followed by the creation of an archaeological park around the monument. In 2012 Tunisia also proposed the Roman water system of Zaghouan to Carthage, which the baths belong to, as a future World Heritage site.

Fun facts

They were the largest Roman baths ever built in Africa.
They are the largest Roman baths built in Africa and the largest outside mainland Italy.
They were named after Emperor Antoninus Pius.
The soft clay ground forced builders to raise the baths higher than usual.
The Vandals destroyed them after invading Tunisia in 439 AD.