Situated at the mouth of the Flumendosa river, in a strategic position for the control of the Tyr... more Situated at the mouth of the Flumendosa river, in a strategic position for the control of the Tyrrhenian trade routes and of the inland metalliferous basins, the settlement of Sarcapos is usually counted among the main fluvial harbours of the Sardinian east coast in the Punic and Roman period. In an attempt to expand the knowledge about the site and the surrounding area, the University of Bologna, in collaboration with the IAS-CNR of Oristano and the University of Roma Tre, launched a program of geophysical, geomorphological and stratigraphic investigations aiming to the reconstruction of the ancient coastal landscape. The research, still in progress, allowed to formulate some working hypotheses regarding changes in the coastline between the 4th millennium BC and the modern ages, suggesting a location of the ancient settlement in a marine, lagoon or estuarine area. At the same time, a geophysical survey conducted in 2017 enabled the identification of the southeastern limit of the residential quarters and a possible palaeochannel or artificial moat.
This contribution aims to provide an overview on the origin and development of raw earth architec... more This contribution aims to provide an overview on the origin and development of raw earth architecture in Sardinia, in the light of the most recent studies and literary sources. The first evidence of building systems based on the use of clay dates back to the culture of San Michele of Ozieri, developed in the Late Neolithic. Subsequently, the phenomenon seems to intensify from the Late and Final Bronze Age, especially in the Campidanese region and in Gallura, and to generalize due to contact with Phoenician culture, recording the maximum diffusion in Punic and Roman ages. Although it is possible to reconstruct the evolution of this building culture in a general way, the available picture still shows many questions and large areas of shadow, which will have to be solved by future research.
Byrsa. Scritti sull'antico Oriente mediterraneo, 2018
The scholarly debate concerning when and how the Carthaginian expansion in the Mediterranean took... more The scholarly debate concerning when and how the Carthaginian expansion in the Mediterranean took place revolves around two different lines of interpretation that can be reconciled only partially: one interpretation places this phenomenon in the second half of the 6th century BC in connection with military expeditions testified by literary sources and with the change from cremation to inhumation in funerary rites; a second interpretation puts its origin already in the 8th century BC, within a gradual involvement of the “New town” in the dynamics of the Phoenician colonization. Starting from a critical survey of previous studies this paper offers some considerations pointing to Carthaginian enterprises beyond the sea already in the Early archaic period (8th-7th century BC), when the colonial settlements of the central Mediterranean area show a growing influence of the cultural and urban Carthaginian model.
In 2019, a University of Bologna excavation at the Punic-Roman settlement of Santa Maria near Vil... more In 2019, a University of Bologna excavation at the Punic-Roman settlement of Santa Maria near Villaputzu (SU) unhearted a new fragment of a terracotta “ritual bread mould”. The artifact is ring-shaped and decorated with a frieze of “Phoenician-Cypriot” palmettes and a braid motif. It comes from a peripheral sector of the settlement, and thus, for the Punic era, neither a connection with the nearby necropolis nor a different functional, productive, or cult-related intent can be excluded.
"E non appassisca il tuo germoglio spontaneo". Studi fenici e punici in ricordo di Giovanni Garbini, 2019
The so-called “Punic question” is still today a very topical problem among scholars engaged in re... more The so-called “Punic question” is still today a very topical problem among scholars engaged in research on Phoenician civilization. In an attempt to make some contribution to this issue, some ceramic forms of the central-Mediterranean repertoire are discussed here, because of their high value as archaeological indicators of broader historical phenomena. The survey seems to highlight a gradual process of cultural irradiation of Carthage since the mid/end of 8th century BC and allows us to propose a new dynamic concept of “Punic world”, based on the identification of different “punicities” in a diachronic and synchronic way.
This article proposes an updated analysis of the spread of pomegranate cultivation (Punica granat... more This article proposes an updated analysis of the spread of pomegranate cultivation (Punica granatum L.) throughout the central and western Mediterranean area interested by the Phoenician and Punic colonization. The scarcity of archaeobotanical data in some regions of this geographical context has often prevented archaeologists from reconstructing how and when the pomegranate spread; nevertheless, recent discoveries of plant remains (seeds and pollen principally) from important colonial settlements seem to throw new light on the Phoenician and Punic role in its diffusion.
The excavation campaign of 2015 in the Southern cemetery of Tharros – Capo San Marco provided new... more The excavation campaign of 2015 in the Southern cemetery of Tharros – Capo San Marco provided new interesting data both with respect to the development of the local “funerary landscape” and the typology of burials: on the one hand, the evidence of ancient quarrying predating the Punic tombs raises new questions about the exploitation of the rocky calcarenitic bench before the necropolis was established; on the other hand, the discovery of new graves of Carthaginian type seems to confirm the presence in the site of individuals from the African Carthage, that introduced funerary rites of clear urban origin.
La campagna di scavo del 2015 nella necropoli meridionale di Tharros – Capo San Marco ha restituito dati di rilevante interesse sia per quanto concerne la formazione e la fisionomia del “paesaggio funerario” tharrense, sia in rapporto all’inquadramento tipologico delle sepolture: da un lato, la presenza di tracce di cava antecedenti la realizzazione delle tombe puniche apre nuovi interrogativi in merito alle finalità della coltivazione del bancone calcarenitico prima dell’impianto della necropoli; dall’altro, il rinvenimento di nuovi tipi tombali di matrice
cartaginese sembra confermare la presenza nel sito di individui provenienti dalla Cartagine d’Africa, portatori di una ritualità funeraria di schietta tradizione metropolitana.
Situated at the mouth of the Flumendosa river, in a strategic position for the control of the Tyr... more Situated at the mouth of the Flumendosa river, in a strategic position for the control of the Tyrrhenian trade routes and of the inland metalliferous basins, the settlement of Sarcapos is usually counted among the main fluvial harbours of the Sardinian east coast in the Punic and Roman period. In an attempt to expand the knowledge about the site and the surrounding area, the University of Bologna, in collaboration with the IAS-CNR of Oristano and the University of Roma Tre, launched a program of geophysical, geomorphological and stratigraphic investigations aiming to the reconstruction of the ancient coastal landscape. The research, still in progress, allowed to formulate some working hypotheses regarding changes in the coastline between the 4th millennium BC and the modern ages, suggesting a location of the ancient settlement in a marine, lagoon or estuarine area. At the same time, a geophysical survey conducted in 2017 enabled the identification of the southeastern limit of the residential quarters and a possible palaeochannel or artificial moat.
This contribution aims to provide an overview on the origin and development of raw earth architec... more This contribution aims to provide an overview on the origin and development of raw earth architecture in Sardinia, in the light of the most recent studies and literary sources. The first evidence of building systems based on the use of clay dates back to the culture of San Michele of Ozieri, developed in the Late Neolithic. Subsequently, the phenomenon seems to intensify from the Late and Final Bronze Age, especially in the Campidanese region and in Gallura, and to generalize due to contact with Phoenician culture, recording the maximum diffusion in Punic and Roman ages. Although it is possible to reconstruct the evolution of this building culture in a general way, the available picture still shows many questions and large areas of shadow, which will have to be solved by future research.
Byrsa. Scritti sull'antico Oriente mediterraneo, 2018
The scholarly debate concerning when and how the Carthaginian expansion in the Mediterranean took... more The scholarly debate concerning when and how the Carthaginian expansion in the Mediterranean took place revolves around two different lines of interpretation that can be reconciled only partially: one interpretation places this phenomenon in the second half of the 6th century BC in connection with military expeditions testified by literary sources and with the change from cremation to inhumation in funerary rites; a second interpretation puts its origin already in the 8th century BC, within a gradual involvement of the “New town” in the dynamics of the Phoenician colonization. Starting from a critical survey of previous studies this paper offers some considerations pointing to Carthaginian enterprises beyond the sea already in the Early archaic period (8th-7th century BC), when the colonial settlements of the central Mediterranean area show a growing influence of the cultural and urban Carthaginian model.
In 2019, a University of Bologna excavation at the Punic-Roman settlement of Santa Maria near Vil... more In 2019, a University of Bologna excavation at the Punic-Roman settlement of Santa Maria near Villaputzu (SU) unhearted a new fragment of a terracotta “ritual bread mould”. The artifact is ring-shaped and decorated with a frieze of “Phoenician-Cypriot” palmettes and a braid motif. It comes from a peripheral sector of the settlement, and thus, for the Punic era, neither a connection with the nearby necropolis nor a different functional, productive, or cult-related intent can be excluded.
"E non appassisca il tuo germoglio spontaneo". Studi fenici e punici in ricordo di Giovanni Garbini, 2019
The so-called “Punic question” is still today a very topical problem among scholars engaged in re... more The so-called “Punic question” is still today a very topical problem among scholars engaged in research on Phoenician civilization. In an attempt to make some contribution to this issue, some ceramic forms of the central-Mediterranean repertoire are discussed here, because of their high value as archaeological indicators of broader historical phenomena. The survey seems to highlight a gradual process of cultural irradiation of Carthage since the mid/end of 8th century BC and allows us to propose a new dynamic concept of “Punic world”, based on the identification of different “punicities” in a diachronic and synchronic way.
This article proposes an updated analysis of the spread of pomegranate cultivation (Punica granat... more This article proposes an updated analysis of the spread of pomegranate cultivation (Punica granatum L.) throughout the central and western Mediterranean area interested by the Phoenician and Punic colonization. The scarcity of archaeobotanical data in some regions of this geographical context has often prevented archaeologists from reconstructing how and when the pomegranate spread; nevertheless, recent discoveries of plant remains (seeds and pollen principally) from important colonial settlements seem to throw new light on the Phoenician and Punic role in its diffusion.
The excavation campaign of 2015 in the Southern cemetery of Tharros – Capo San Marco provided new... more The excavation campaign of 2015 in the Southern cemetery of Tharros – Capo San Marco provided new interesting data both with respect to the development of the local “funerary landscape” and the typology of burials: on the one hand, the evidence of ancient quarrying predating the Punic tombs raises new questions about the exploitation of the rocky calcarenitic bench before the necropolis was established; on the other hand, the discovery of new graves of Carthaginian type seems to confirm the presence in the site of individuals from the African Carthage, that introduced funerary rites of clear urban origin.
La campagna di scavo del 2015 nella necropoli meridionale di Tharros – Capo San Marco ha restituito dati di rilevante interesse sia per quanto concerne la formazione e la fisionomia del “paesaggio funerario” tharrense, sia in rapporto all’inquadramento tipologico delle sepolture: da un lato, la presenza di tracce di cava antecedenti la realizzazione delle tombe puniche apre nuovi interrogativi in merito alle finalità della coltivazione del bancone calcarenitico prima dell’impianto della necropoli; dall’altro, il rinvenimento di nuovi tipi tombali di matrice
cartaginese sembra confermare la presenza nel sito di individui provenienti dalla Cartagine d’Africa, portatori di una ritualità funeraria di schietta tradizione metropolitana.
Congresso Internazionale. Archeologia fenicio-punica Università di Bologna Dipartimento di Beni C... more Congresso Internazionale. Archeologia fenicio-punica Università di Bologna Dipartimento di Beni Culturali
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Papers by Raimondo Secci
literary sources and with the change from cremation to inhumation in funerary rites; a second interpretation puts its origin already in the 8th century BC, within a gradual involvement of the “New town” in the dynamics of the Phoenician colonization.
Starting from a critical survey of previous studies this paper offers some considerations pointing to Carthaginian enterprises beyond the sea already in the Early archaic period (8th-7th century BC), when the colonial settlements of the central Mediterranean area show a growing influence of the cultural and urban Carthaginian model.
thus, for the Punic era, neither a connection with the nearby necropolis nor a different functional, productive, or cult-related intent can be excluded.
their high value as archaeological indicators of broader historical phenomena. The survey seems to highlight a gradual process of cultural irradiation of Carthage since the mid/end of 8th century BC and allows us to propose a new dynamic concept of “Punic world”, based on
the identification of different “punicities” in a diachronic and synchronic way.
La campagna di scavo del 2015 nella necropoli meridionale di Tharros – Capo San Marco ha restituito dati di rilevante interesse sia per quanto concerne la formazione e la fisionomia del “paesaggio funerario” tharrense, sia in rapporto all’inquadramento tipologico delle sepolture: da un lato, la presenza di tracce di cava antecedenti la realizzazione delle tombe puniche apre nuovi interrogativi in merito alle finalità della coltivazione del bancone calcarenitico prima dell’impianto della necropoli; dall’altro, il rinvenimento di nuovi tipi tombali di matrice
cartaginese sembra confermare la presenza nel sito di individui provenienti dalla Cartagine d’Africa, portatori di una ritualità funeraria di schietta tradizione metropolitana.
literary sources and with the change from cremation to inhumation in funerary rites; a second interpretation puts its origin already in the 8th century BC, within a gradual involvement of the “New town” in the dynamics of the Phoenician colonization.
Starting from a critical survey of previous studies this paper offers some considerations pointing to Carthaginian enterprises beyond the sea already in the Early archaic period (8th-7th century BC), when the colonial settlements of the central Mediterranean area show a growing influence of the cultural and urban Carthaginian model.
thus, for the Punic era, neither a connection with the nearby necropolis nor a different functional, productive, or cult-related intent can be excluded.
their high value as archaeological indicators of broader historical phenomena. The survey seems to highlight a gradual process of cultural irradiation of Carthage since the mid/end of 8th century BC and allows us to propose a new dynamic concept of “Punic world”, based on
the identification of different “punicities” in a diachronic and synchronic way.
La campagna di scavo del 2015 nella necropoli meridionale di Tharros – Capo San Marco ha restituito dati di rilevante interesse sia per quanto concerne la formazione e la fisionomia del “paesaggio funerario” tharrense, sia in rapporto all’inquadramento tipologico delle sepolture: da un lato, la presenza di tracce di cava antecedenti la realizzazione delle tombe puniche apre nuovi interrogativi in merito alle finalità della coltivazione del bancone calcarenitico prima dell’impianto della necropoli; dall’altro, il rinvenimento di nuovi tipi tombali di matrice
cartaginese sembra confermare la presenza nel sito di individui provenienti dalla Cartagine d’Africa, portatori di una ritualità funeraria di schietta tradizione metropolitana.