The Basilica of Damous El Karita stands in a quiet residential area north of the Carthage National Museum and was one of the largest early Christian basilicas in North Africa — a three-nave church flanked by smaller chapels, a baptistery, a circular crypt, and an open atrium with a semicircular peristyle. It was probably built in the fifth or early sixth century, when Carthage was still the religious capital of Latin Christian Africa.
The complex was mostly destroyed in the Arab conquest of 698 AD and the visible remains today are foundations and column stumps rather than standing walls. The most striking element is the rotunda crypt — a circular underground chamber surrounded by sixteen Corinthian columns, accessed by a sloping ramp. The site is open and free; explanatory signage is limited so it helps to read up before visiting.