Carthage
The ancient Carthaginians were known to perform a number of different types of ritual sacrifice. Many types of sacrifice involved animals that were then placed in ritual urns. However, there has been a great deal of debate about whether or not the Carthaginians sacrificed their own children. Archaeological evidence and historical accounts suggest that there were some brutal ceremonies in which members of the elite would sacrifice their infant children. The elite were often the ones to sacrifice their children in exchange for favors from the gods. It is thought only the elite sacrificed children due to the expense involved in the burial of sacrificed children that have been uncovered.
One account suggested that it was tradition that only the noblest sons of Carthage would be sacrificed. Eventually the nobles grew tired of having to sacrifice their own children that they would instead use the children of their servants or buy children that they could nurture until it was time to sacrifice them. The practice would eventually turn out of favor completely and any priest who performed the infant sacrifice would be crucified, but still the practice would persist.
The method of sacrifice was also particularly cruel and brutal to the child. The babies would be placed on a heated bronze statue of Cronus. The statue was made with the palms upward but sloped toward the ground. The baby would be placed on the palms and then they would roll down into a gaping pit that was filled with fire. The child would be alive and conscious when they were burned and the ritual stipulated that the sacrificed child be “best-loved.”
The reasons for the sacrifices varied and would often be a sort of bargain between the parents and the gods. They would make a vow to sacrifice their next child in exchange for some sort of favor. One account suggested that a bargain could be struck over a shipment of goods making it safely to port. There is also some archaeological evidence to suggest that if a child died of stillbirth the parents would then sacrifice their youngest child. Some historians debate the merits of all the accounts over child sacrifice as the Roman engaged in postwar propaganda to make their enemies appear to be cruel and uncivilized.