Chullu, modern Collo, was the main city on Cape Bougaroun, ancient Promontorium Metagonium (Mel. 1.33). It was mentioned by Pliny (HN 5.22) as a part of Numidia or the land of the Metagonians, and also occurs in the Antonine Itinerary (19.1) as Chulli. It has been proposed that the name of the city comes from a Semitic root kl’ (“block”) (Lipiński 1992–1993: 291). It contains a necropolis dating from the middle of the third century to the beginning of the first century bce, according to the coins found there (Hélo 1895).
On the modern Ras Skikda was ancient Rusicade (Pliny HN 5.22), part of the land of the Metagonians. The name is from the Semitic r‘š ‘cape’ and yqd “beacon or signal fire” (Lipiński 1992–1993: 290, and 2004: 393n293), possibly due to the presence of a lighthouse. This would have been the natural port for the city of Cirta located 87 km inland (Lipiński 1992–1993: 290).
In this same area must have been Thapsus, “iuxta Rusiccade” according to the Roman geographer V. Sequester. The term is interpreted as a Libyan name with a prefix tha- (Lipinski 1992–1993: 290), although it contains the same root as the Punic tpsr in Tunis. It is attested in the periplus of Pseudo-Scylax (111) as “the city of Thapsa with its port.” The town is also mentioned at the end of the third century bce, when Masinissa returned from Spain and attacked Lacumazes in the area of Thapsus before defeating him and taking the city (Liv. 29.30.5–6). Two neo-Punic stelae containing the emblem of Tinnit have been found here (Leglay 1966: 13–14n3).
The last good port before the modern border with Tunisia is Hippo Regius, the modern ‘Annaba, one of the royal residences of the Numidian kings (Sil. Ital. 3.259–60) since the time of Masinissa (Strab. 17.3.13). The name may derive from the Punic p’ or the Libyan ’pwn, “nose,” with an ending in -n like Cirta-krtn (Lipiński 2004: 389). The name is present on neo-Punic coinage as ’pwn (Manfredi 1995: 282, nn. 88–90). The bay sits between Cape Garde and Cape Rosa. On Saint Augustine Hill, a temple dedicated to Saturn with neo-Punic stelae and a tophet dating to between the second century bce and the second century ce have been found. The occupation there, however, dates back to at least the sixth century or the beginning of the fifth century bce, as evidenced by an Attic bowl (Morel 1968: 81). It is possible that this is the Hippo Akro conquered in the campaign of the general Archagathus beside Agathocles (Diod. Sic. 20.57.4–6) at the end of the fourth century bce.
Conclusions
Early Phoenician occupation from the beginning of the eighth century bce is clearly attested archaeologically only at Lixus, which was the main center of population in the region with a size of 12 hectares. Its importance was connected to the presence of a Phoenician temple with an altar dedicated to Melqart at the mouth of the Lixo River, where there was a small island. It is possible that Tingi also was occupied in archaic times as suggested by the mention of its control by Herakles in the ancient sources, but excavations are still to be carried out there. However, at Septem Fratres (modern Ceuta), a Phoenician presence along with temporary structures began at the end of the eighth century bce.
In the second half of the seventh century bce, this presence becomes more intense, with settlements creeping up the main river valleys in order to control agricultural, cattle production, and trade in exotic goods. These towns include ancient Sala on the Bou Regreg, Banasa on the Sebou, Kuass on the Gharifa, Kach Kouch on the Lau, Mersa Madakh at the mouth of the Madakh, and Les Andalouses on the coast. An alternative was to occupy small islands close to the coast such as Mogador on the Atlantic or Sidi Abdselam del Behar and Rachgoun on the Mediterranean. The island of Icosium (modern Algiers) may also belong here, which Solinus claimed was founded by comrades of Herakles.
A growth in the Phoenician presence took place in the first half of the sixth century bce, as settlements on the major rivers become more widespread, such as Thamusida on the Sebou and Azib Slaoui on the Lucus. Meanwhile, the less important rivers were occupied for the first time by settlements such as Ksar as-Seger on the al-Kasar, perhaps Tamuda on the Martil, Emsa and Sidi Dris at the mouths of the Emsa and Amekram Rivers, Rusaddir on Cape Three Forks, and Bouhout on the Muluya River. These served as new ports on the route between the major centers. The Phoenician commercial strategy prioritized the acquiring of raw exotic materials of great value such as ivory, purple dye from the snail Stramonita haemastoma, luxury citron wood, ostrich eggs, and sheep or goat hides, while gold dust came by land from Senegal and Gambia (Mederos and Escribano 2015a, 2015b).
There is no clear evidence for the presence of Carthaginian military bases, whether on the Mediterranean or the Atlantic coast. There seem to have existed tributary cities where mercenaries were recruited, however, such as in the region of Metagonia where Hannibal drafted mercenaries according to Polybius. Silius Italicus also attests to a large number of North African troops. In fact, a large part of the “Punic” presence on the Algerian coast belongs to the period of the Numidian kings beginning in the third century bce, although in general our evidence is still slim and much needed further excavations in Algeria will surely change this picture.
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Chapter 42
Phoenician Exploration
Duane W. Roller
The Phoenicians were the first great explorers of the Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Homer called them “famous for their ships” (ναυσίκλυτοι; Hom. Od. 15.415), and their excellence in seamanship meant that they went throughout the Mediterranean. Only the Adriatic and the Black Sea seem to have been untouched (for Phoenician navigation, see chapter 27, this volume). There was also Phoenician exploration of the coasts of Africa. As Phoenician power faded by the sixth century bce, their successor Carthaginians carried on the tradition, going as far as the British Isles and probably the Azores, and into equatorial West Africa. Although much of the Phoenician knowledge of these remote places was assimilated by the Greeks and Romans—and one must rely on their literary sources for the data—at their peak the Phoenicians knew of a world that extended from their Levantine homeland into the Atlantic and along much of the East African coast (perhaps even including the route around the continent; Hdt. 4.44). Allegedly, the Phoenicians were the first to sail on the Atlantic, and at some early date were driven by storms to an island, perhaps one of the Madeiras, effectively discovering the “External Ocean” and making it known to the Mediterranean world (Diod. Sic. 5.20.3).
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