Dated Capsian Deposit near Gafsa, Tunisia

Abstract

THE Gafsa region of central Tunisia has been a focal point for archaeologists investigating Capsian habitation sites for nearly a century1. The sites, where they are most commonly exposed, are generally of the escargotiere or shell-midden type. The term rammadiya is also used. Snails apparently formed an important part of the diet during this period2, but the Gafsa area sites do not generally yield shell heaps such as those associated with the Capsian escargotieres in the Tebessa region of Algeria3; they are principally accumulations of shells, cinders and burnt stones often buried by slope wash and colluvial deposits2,4.