A Unique Case of Prone Position in the Primary Cremation Tomb 252 of Monte Sirai Necropolis (Carbonia,Sardinia, Italy)

A series of graves belonging to the Phoenician period were investigated after the campaign excavation of 2007 in the Phoenician‐Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia, Italy). One tomb in particular (labelled 252) is presented here because of its uniqueness. Tomb 252 contained the cremated remains of an individual, probably male, and comparison of the excavation records alongside reconstruction of the bone material itself makes clear that the individual was cremated in a prone position. It represents the first case of prone cremation reported in the literature. To investigate whether the temperature of the cremation was homogenous across the entire body, we have conducted a combined physical–chemical analysis using X‐ray diffraction spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Human Remains and Funerary Rites in the Phoenician Necropolis of Motya (Sicily)

The aim of this paper is to examine the fresh evidence retrieved in the early cemetery or ‘archaic necropolis’ (eighth to sixth century bc ) on the island of Motya, one of the main Phoenician colonies in the Mediterranean. Because of its integrity and the large number of finds, the cemetery has been considered one of the most relevant sites for the study of early burial customs in the West. The absence of anthropological data, completely neglected in the past, was a major shortcoming of previous research. This failing is now being rectified by a new project of fieldwork and excavation undertaken on the island by a team from Palermo University. This report provides a close examination of the human remains from a group of 32 graves discovered during three seasons (2013–2015) in a combined archaeological and taphonomic perspective and contributes to shed light on the funerary practices of the Phoenicians in Sicily. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clay models of Phoenician vessels in the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa, Israel

Two clay models of boats have recently been added to the collection of the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa. The models are of rowing boats, with three and five pairs of oarsmen respectively. They probably represent harbour service boats or ceremonial sailings near a harbour. Their analysis is based on similar artefacts found underwater along the same coast and related to the same Phoenician culture. The origin of the artefacts is apparently from close to Tyre, and they can be dated to the 5th century BCE. They may have been from a temple favissa .     

The plant landscape of the imperial harbour of Rome

The research concerns the Tiber delta area, about 3 km far from the present seacoast, where the remains of the ancient harbour of Rome are located. In 42 AD, Claudius started the construction of the harbour and Nero completed it in 64 AD. Then, the emperor Trajan went on to add a hexagonal basin to the former structure, which had gradually silted up. The imperial harbour was connected to the Tiber River and ultimately to the city of Rome through the Trajan channel. During the imperial period, most of the supplies imported from the Mediterranean provinces reached the city of Rome through Portus.     

New Evidence for the Submerged Ancient Harbour Structures at Tolmetha and Leptis Magna,Libya

Surveys carried out in 2009, during a project for the creation of three underwater archaeological parks in Libya, have allowed archaeologists both to analyse already known ancient structures and to discover new evidence about the harbour areas of the ancient cities of Tolmetha and Leptis Magna. © 2012 The Author     

The Earliest Harbour Installations on Aegean Foreshores

This article aims to raise awareness of a few newly discovered prehistoric harbour facilities in Crete. In particular is an unusual, if not unique, slipway suggesting how large ships were hauled up on to the land at Middle Minoan II Kommos. Also, there are huge, successive structures (Buildings T and P) with long galleries that served as shipsheds inviting close scrutiny, as well as comparison with the later Classical shipsheds sheltering elite warships of the Greek city states. The three newly excavated Minoan buildings fit historically into the beginning of a now extended tradition of Classical shipsheds. The latter are compared here with their prehistoric counterparts and briefly discussed concerning origin, development, and aspects of cultural or historical significance.     

Direct evidence of the use of beehive products in pre-Roman Sardinia

Written sources and iconographic evidence suggest that honey and beehive products, used in culinary, medicinal, and technological functions since pre-Neolithic times, were likely known and used in Phoenician and Punic Sardinia. The role of these resources is nonetheless poorly understood because no direct evidence survives on a macroscopic level. Significant advances in the knowledge about beeswax and beehive products processing in the past have been offered in recent decades by organic residue analyses (ORA), an approach that enables the characterisation of surviving chemical compounds or suites of compounds that provide information relating to human activity in the past. The relatively recalcitrant nature of lipid compounds comprising beeswax means that this commodity is among the products that can be unambiguously identified through ORA. Here we present and discuss the results of analyses undertaken on 368 pottery sherds from Phoenician and Punic Sardinia (eighth to third century BCE). These analyses offer direct evidence for the presence of beehive products on the island, suggesting the use of honey for culinary purposes in pots, and possibly connecting one specific vessel category with beeswax decanting during beekeeping and honey production processes. Our results also now clearly illustrate the widespread use of beehive products in pre-Roman Sardinia.     

The Roman Harbour of Alexandria Troas,Turkey

This article summarizes the results of a survey conducted in the area of the ancient harbour of Alexandria Troas. It presents an outline reconstruction of the harbour and explains its significance for our understanding of the region. The harbour is located at the point where two important sea‐routes met and where ships waited for favourable winds to travel through the Dardanelles. It was built in the reign of Augustus and consisted of an outer basin protected by two breakwaters and an inner basin. The area was occupied until the beginning of the 7th century. © 2010 The Author     

A Compositional and Microstructural Study of Eighth‐Century BC Bronzes from Moita Da Ladra (Tagus Estuary): How Did the Spread of the Phoenician Metallurgy Take Place in Western Iberia?

Metals from a votive deposit at Moita da Ladra (Tagus Estuary) dating to the eighth century bc were studied by micro‐EDXRF, optical microscopy and Vickers testing to investigate the adoption of Phoenician innovations by indigenous communities. Artefacts are made of bronze alloys with suitable tin contents (11.6 ± 2.3 wt%) and very low iron impurities (<0.05 wt%), and were often manufactured using the long post‐casting sequence. Comparisons with indigenous and Phoenician metallurgies from western Iberia revealed a conservative technology suggesting that the spread of Phoenician innovations was very slow. In this region, the adoption of a diversified copper‐based metallurgy and reduction furnaces only seems to occur during the Post‐Orientalizing Period, c. sixth to fourth centuries bc .