[wideawake]

Infant sacrifice by fire in Phoenician cultures and Carthage in particular is well-attested.

There is a ton of archaeological and significant documentary evidence.

But it seems as if Tunisia will now conveniently misplace much of the existing evidence.

Shameless revisionism.

[Graymatter]

Exactly. There's evidence. Nobody ginned it up special just to make Carthage look bad, or to justify the Romans.

[ReadyNow]

Arab honesty.

[Oberon]

Not only is there a ton of evidence, but some of it bears the symbology later adopted by Islam. Say hello to the moon-god, folks...

The Tophet to the south of Carthage and west of the harbors was the area where children (up to 4 years old) were sacrificed and buried. Sometimes animals would be substituted in place of children, but as Carthage's fortunes began to wane, the substitution became less common. As Diodorus Siculus records:

"They were filled with superstitious dread, for they believed they had neglected the honors of the gods that had been established by their fathers. In their zeal to make amends for their omission, they selected 200 of the noblest children and sacrificed them publicly; and others who were under suspicion sacrificed themselves voluntarily, in a number not less than 300." (Diodorus 20.14.1-7 and following).

Graver Markers from the Tophet area. The funeral stele on the left dates to the fourth century BCE. The Punic characters indicate that it is a dedication to the Tophet's divinities. Photo from Khader and Soren (1987), 151, no. 14. The stele on the right dates to the same period. The stele exhibits traditional symbols of the sun and moon (crescent). Photo is from Khader and Soren (1987), 151 no. 15

[hubbubhubbub]

In addition to sacrifice only healthy born babies were permitted to live.