\f1 \fs22 The city was probably founded by the Phoenicians at the beginning of the seventh century BC. Two complexes f
rom the Punic phase have survived outside the city, the burial ground and the\b \cf4 \ATXht2141 tophet\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , set respectively on the isthmus that connects the peninsula with the mainland and the stretch of beach leading to the isthmus itself
. As a result of the structures built over it during the Roman era and the effects of erosion and bradyseism, we know little about the Carthaginian city: however it is possible to identify a number of dwellings from that period on the southeastern shore.
