CARTHAGE, TUNISIA—Haaretz reports that archaeologists digging at the site of the Roman-era Circus of Carthage have discovered a water system that was used to cool down charioteers and horses during races. Excavations led by Tunisia’s National Heritage Institute and the German Archaeological Institute have revealed water-resistant mortar at the median strip of the circus, suggesting water basins were placed there. It’s likely that circus workers would have dipped amphoras into the basins and then sprinkled water on passing horses and chariots. Similar basins have been found at a circus outside of Rome and they are depicted on a mosaic from Carthage that shows the circus. The team also has two other sections of the site under excavation, at the spectators section and at an older Punic-era building that was torn down to accommodate the circus. To read more about chariot racing in antiquity, go to “Artifact: Statuete of an Auriga (Charioteer).”
