UNESCO-UNDP's "Save Carthage" campaign: Americans and internationalisation of heritage in Tunisia

Abstract

In the early 1970s, the Tunisian government sought to balance the preservation of cultural heritage and tourism with urban development at the sprawling archaeological site of Carthage. UNESCO launched the 'Save Carthage' campaign and brought together 18 international archaeological teams to survey, excavate, and stabilise the site. Two American teams from Michigan and Harvard represented the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). However optimistic their aims, we demonstrate how the internationalism that the 'Save Carthage' campaign embodied through the 1970s was undermined by disputes between the American archaeologists and their Tunisian hosts, limited funding opportunities, and a failure to integrate deeply with the postcolonial landscape of North Africa. Lessons learned from this case study illustrate the major role played by archaeology in the landscape of international development assistance and highlight the mixed success of both UNESCO and the United States in Tunisia.