Phoenician Sites Research Articles

FIB-SEM Study of Archaeological Human Petrous Bones: 3D Structures and Diagenesis

The petrous bone generally preserves ancient DNA better than other fossil bones. One reason for this is that the inner layer of the petrous bone of pigs and humans contains about three times as many osteocytes as other bones, and hence more DNA. A FIB-SEM study of modern pig petrous bones showed that the 3D structure of the thin inner layer is typical of woven bone that forms in the fetus, whereas the thicker outer layer has a lamellar structure. The lamellar structure is common in mammalian bones. Here we study human petrous bones that are about 2500 years old, obtained from three Phoenician sites in Sicily, Italy. A detailed FIB-SEM study of two of these bones, one well preserved and the other poorly preserved, shows that the 3D bone type structure of the human petrous inner layer is woven bone, and the outer layer is lamellar bone. These are the same bone type structures found in pig petrous bones. Furthermore, by comparing nine differently preserved petrous bones from the same archaeological region and age, we show that their collagen contents vary widely, implying that organic material can be significantly altered during diagenesis. The mineral crystals are better preserved and hence less crystalline in the inner layers compared to the outer layers. We therefore infer that the best-preserved DNA in fossil petrous bones should be found in the thin inner layers immediately adjacent to the otic cavity where much more DNA is initially present and the mineral phase tends to be better preserved.

Agriculture at the Phoenician site of La Fonteta (Alicante, Spain)

The Phoenician settlement of La Fonteta (Alicante, Spain) was founded in the late 8th cent bc at the mouth of the Río Segura. It has provided one of the most complete archaeobotanical records of all Phoenician Mediterranean sites which points to an agricultural system based on cultivating cereals, pulses and a wide variety of fruits such as grape, fig and pomegranate. These crops then spread to the surrounding indigenous settlements. Apart from integrating new crops, these local and regional indigenous sites progressively began to take part in a Mediterranean-wide network characterised particularly by trade in agricultural produce. The agricultural system of La Fonteta was not new to the Iberian Peninsula, as there is evidence that it arrived earlier at Phoenician colonies along its Mediterranean coastline. One of the most relevant aspects of the archaeobotanical record from La Fonteta is that it represents crafts there, as a large part of the remains correspond to plants which were burnt as fuel in its numerous metal working furnaces.

Micro‐Raman spectroscopy and complementary techniques applied for the study of copper and iron wastes from Motya (Italy)

AbstractThis work is the first archaeometric investigation on copper and iron wastes from the Phoenician site of Motya (Sicily, Italy), dating back to the 8th to the 4th century BC. The samples were analyzed through micro‐Raman Spectroscopy (μ‐RS), Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscope‐Energy‐Dispersive X‐ray Spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS), High‐Resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR‐FESEM), and Electron Micro‐Probe Analysis (EMPA). Micro‐Raman techinique permitted to identify both primary phases, for example, calchopyrite, and secondary products such as cuprite and copper thrihydroxychlorides in the Cu‐slags and goethite in the Fe‐slags. SEM and HR‐FESEM imaging showed the occurrence of inhomogeneous microstructures in the Cu‐ and Fe‐slags due to elements segregation, solidification, and corrosion. EMPA data revealed that the archaeometallurgical wastes from Motya can be differentiated on the basis of their chemical compositions. These preliminary results showed different typologies of by‐products, such as base metals speiss, copper slags from smelting sulfide ore with matte, and iron smelting and smithing slags, suggesting different stages of copper and iron productions.

Micro‐Raman spectroscopy and complementary techniques for the study of iron weapons from Motya and Lilybaeum (Sicily, Italy): Corrosion patterns in lagoon‐like and calcarenitic hypogea environments

AbstractMicro‐Raman spectroscopy (μ‐RS) has been used to characterize mineralogical phases of corroded iron materials, buried in lagoon‐like and calcarenitic hypogea environments. A set of samples from the Phoenician site of Motya (8th–6th centuries BC, Sicily) and from the Punic Necropolis of Lilybaeum (4th century BC, Sicily) were analyzed combining μ‐RS with scanning electron microscopy‐energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) and high‐resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (HR‐FESEM). Micro‐Raman results revealed the presence of magnetite, goethite, lepidocrocite, and hematite as the main corrosion products and soil minerals as quartz, calcite, barite, actinolite, microcline, zircon, and Ti‐oxides. SEM and HR‐FESEM allowed exploring micro‐ and sub‐micrometer structures of iron oxy‐hydroxides though sections from rim to core. The different corrosion models suggest polymorphic inter‐conversions among iron oxy‐hydroxides and dissolution‐re‐precipitation reactions. In addition, the occurrence of magnetite and metal core that survived in armors buried in the hypogea site of Lilybaeum indicates more stable environmental conditions than those of Motya.

Cultural landscape and plant use at the Phoenician site of Motya (Western Sicily, Italy) inferred from a disposal pit

The present study concerns the Phoenician-Punic site of Motya, a small island set in Western Sicily (Italy), in the Marsala Lagoon (Stagnone di Marsala), between Trapani and Marsala. A big disposal pit, datable to between the first half of the 8th and the mid-6th century bc, was identified in Area D. This context was sampled for plant macro-remains through bucket flotation. Palynological treatment and analysis were also performed on soil samples collected from each of the identified filling layers. The combination of the study of macro- and micro-remains has shown to be effective in answering questions concerning introduced food plants and agricultural practices, and native plants, including timber use. Here we investigate if a waste context can provide information about Phoenicians at Motya and their impact on the local plant communities. We found that human diet included cereals (mostly naked wheat), pulses and fruits. A focus was placed on weeds (including Lolium temulentum and Phalaris spp.) referable to different stages of crop processing. This aspect was enriched by the finding of cereal pollen, which suggests that threshing (if not even cultivation) was carried out on site. Palynology also indicates an open environment, with little to no forest cover, characterized by complex anthropogenic activities. Anthracology suggests the presence of typical Mediterranean plant taxa, including not only the shrubs Pistacia lentiscus and Erica multiflora, but also evergreen oaks. The presence of a stone pine nut and of Pinus pinea/pinaster in the pollen rain is noteworthy, suggesting the local occurrence of these Mediterranean pines outside their native distribution range. This represents the first such find in the central Mediterranean. Finally, the present study allows us to compare Motya’s past environment with the present one. The disappearance of Juniperus sp. and Erica arborea from the present-day surroundings of the Marsala lagoon appears to be related to land-overexploitation, aridification or a combination of both processes.

Regional mineralogical and technological characterization of Cypriot Iron Age pottery: a view from Tel Dor

Excavations at Tel Dor, a Phoenician site on the northern coast of Israel, produced one of the most varied and best-stratified assemblages of Cypriot Iron Age ceramics ever found outside Cyprus. A long-term investigation of the nature of socio-economic liaisons between Dor and Cyprus, inter alia, by identifying through ceramic typology and petrography the specific Cypriot production centres that sent their products to Dor is currently in progress. This paper focuses on the analytical identification of production centres first suggested by macroscopic observations; temporal trajectories and cultural implications are addressed only preliminarily. The results indicate that the Cypriot vessels that reached Dor were only produced at Salamis, Kition, Amathus and Paphos, and that the vista of imports at Dor keeps changing throughout the period under consideration. This is the most comprehensive analytical study of Cypriot Iron Age ceramic fabrics to date. It has the potential to build a foundation for provenance studies of Cypriot Iron Age ceramic fabrics and the interconnections they embody. It is constrained, however, by the fact it was mainly production centres represented at Dor that were studied.

Pantelleria Island as a centre of production for the Archaic Phoenician trade in basaltic millstones: New evidence recovered and sampled from a shipwreck off Gozo (Malta) and a terrestrial site at Cádiz (Spain)

New discoveries of flat Archaic querns recovered from the cargo of a Phoenician shipwreck at a depth of 110 m in Xlendi Bay (Gozo, Maltese Islands) dated to ca. 7th century BC and millstone fragments found at Cerro del Castillo (Cádiz, Spain) from Phoenician material between 7th and 6th century BC share the same petrographic texture and geochemical composition. The four samples consist of vesicle-rich grey basaltic lavas with a moderate porphyritic index and a microcrystalline intergranular groundmass. Major and trace elements distributions of the investigated artifacts highlight a provenance from Pantelleria Island, which is located in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Cape Bon (Tunisia). This rules out other important widespread sources of basic volcanic rocks that were also used for millstones in ancient times, such as Etna volcano, Iblei Mountains and the Levant. Due to its barycentric position in the Sicily Channel, Pantelleria Island could therefore have represented one of the main supplying area of volcanic millstones for the Phoenicians. The provenance from Pantelleria was already documented for other volcanic millstones in Phoenician sites and Carthaginian settlements of Sicily (e.g. Motya and Entella) and Tunisia (e.g. Utica and Carthage) and those found in the shipwreck of El Sec (off the coast of Mallorca), dated to ca. 4th century BC. The new millstones from Pantelleria discovered in (i) an older shipwreck cargo (i.e. Xlendi Bay) and (ii) the most westerly Phoenician settlement of Gadir (nowadays Cadiz, ca. 1500 km far from Pantelleria) point to widespread Phoenician trade in Pantellerian basaltic rocks in the Archaic Period. Pantelleria Island can therefore be considered as a nodal point for trade in volcanic millstones, many centuries before the Hellenistic people and the Romans would largely exploit the basaltic lavas from Etna and Iblei Mountains for the same purpose.

Rediscovering Phoenicians in their Homeland from the Perspective of Iron Age Coroplastic Art

The collective imagery of the Phoenicians is well known both within and outside of the academic world in large part because of the representations of daily life in their coroplastic art. Yet, there still is no comprehensive study of this genre of their material culture. In this brief communication, a new research project is presented that concerns a regional survey of Iron Age clay figurines from Phoenician sites in the eastern Mediterranean. The sites included in this research range beyond the borders traditionally ascribed to the Phoenicians, and cover the entire Syrian, Lebanese, and Israeli coasts. This research aims to illustrate the regional distribution of these figurines, including their production centers, as well as their types, uses, chronologies, and the meanings of this class of artefacts.

Ancient mitogenomes of Phoenicians from Sardinia and Lebanon: A story of settlement, integration, and female mobility.

The Phoenicians emerged in the Northern Levant around 1800 BCE and by the 9th century BCE had spread their culture across the Mediterranean Basin, establishing trading posts, and settlements in various European Mediterranean and North African locations. Despite their widespread influence, what is known of the Phoenicians comes from what was written about them by the Greeks and Egyptians. In this study, we investigate the extent of Phoenician integration with the Sardinian communities they settled. We present 14 new ancient mitogenome sequences from pre-Phoenician (~1800 BCE) and Phoenician (~700–400 BCE) samples from Lebanon (n = 4) and Sardinia (n = 10) and compare these with 87 new complete mitogenomes from modern Lebanese and 21 recently published pre-Phoenician ancient mitogenomes from Sardinia to investigate the population dynamics of the Phoenician (Punic) site of Monte Sirai, in southern Sardinia. Our results indicate evidence of continuity of some lineages from pre-Phoenician populations suggesting integration of indigenous Sardinians in the Monte Sirai Phoenician community. We also find evidence of the arrival of new, unique mitochondrial lineages, indicating the movement of women from sites in the Near East or North Africa to Sardinia, but also possibly from non-Mediterranean populations and the likely movement of women from Europe to Phoenician sites in Lebanon. Combined, this evidence suggests female mobility and genetic diversity in Phoenician communities, reflecting the inclusive and multicultural nature of Phoenician society.

Phoenician Bathing in the Hellenistic East: Ashkelon and Beyond

Excavations of a Hellenistic neighborhood at Ashkelon revealed a suite of heavily plastered rooms, one with a mosaic floor, decorated in Greek Masonry Style. These rooms resemble the bathing suite identified in an elite 2nd-century residence at Tel Anafa and likely reflect a Phoenician style of “cleansing bathing” documented at Phoenician sites from the 4th through 2nd centuries B.C. Such suites differ in character, bathing type, and placement from Greek public and private baths in the Mediterranean and Levant, as well as from ritual baths in the Judaean tradition. The bathing suites appear at Phoenician and Phoenician-influenced sites in Israel during the Persian and Hellenistic periods but are presently under-recognized. This article presents a set of criteria by which to understand and identify Phoenician bathing suites and argues that the preference for this bathing style may, in part, explain why immersion bathing—popular in the western Mediterranean—failed to catch on in the Hellenistic East until the era of Roman control.

An Iron Age I Canaanite/Phoenician Courtyard House at Tel Dor: A Comparative Architectural and Functional Analysis

In this paper, we present an analysis of an Iron Age I dwelling at the Phoenician site of Dor, on Israel's Carmel coast. We provide a definition for the architectural mental template for this type ...

La presencia fenicia en la Península Ibérica: el Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante)

In this paper the results of recent archaeological research in the settlement of Cabezo Pequeno del Estano (Guardamar, Alicante) are presented. The research consists of the study of the materials excavated in the 1990s and an architectural analysis during recent restoration works. This new research allows us to better understand the first evidence of Phoenician colonization on the Alicante Coast as well as the settlement pattern in the area of the mouth of Segura River during the Early Iron Age. The analysis of old pictures, made before the partial destruction of the site, has allowed to reconstruct its original dimensions (over one hectare) and a large part of its walls. New data allow us to observe the urban features of the site, which was previously published as a small fort. In parallel, the archaeological materials from its last occupation, dated to the end of the eighth century BC, make us think that it was the first Phoenician site in the Segura mouth. It was abandoned at that time and the population moved to a larger site, located by the open sea and known by the modern name of La Fonteta.

Non-ferrous metallurgy from the Phoenician site of La Fonteta (Alicante, Spain): a study of provenance

The lead isotope composition of 22 samples from the excavation of the Phoenician site of La Fonteta (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante, Spain) has been analysed in a preliminary study of their provenance. These materials span chronologically from the first half of the 8th century BC to the middle of the 6th century BC. The samples have been selected to include materials used in lead and silver production, as well as in copper-based metallurgy. Therefore, lead droplets, galena nodules and fragments of litharge have been analysed, together with a fragment of a copper ingot, an object, a melting waste composed of a Cu–Pb alloy, and two fragments of a material that we have provisionally labelled ‘Pb–Cu cupellation debris’. All these materials have been initially analysed by X-Ray Fluorescence-Spectrometry to identify their bulk compositions. Some of them have been also analysed by SEM–EDX and ICP–OES. Subsequently, lead isotope analyses (LIA) have been performed using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS). The new LIA data obtained has been compared with published lead isotope data from the Mediterranean area. The identification of different groups suggests a significant complexity of the internal and external trade routes during the Orientalising period. For this reason, the provenance study of these materials is especially important in shedding light on the commercial dynamics that the Phoenicians established with native people to control the raw materials and to commercialise finished products.

The Palaeo-Environmental Contexts of Three Possible Phoenician Anchorages in Portugal

The 2002 Joint Expedition of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the Centro Nacional de Arqueologia Nautica e Subaquatica examined Phoenician maritime involvement in Portugal, combining archaeological, geological and geophysical surveys of former coastal sites—Santa Olaia, Abul and Castro Marim—where previous excavations have uncovered Phoenician remains. Significant geomorphic evolution of bay-head delta and estuarine settings masks the fact that Phoenician sites were situated at the head of marine embayments or on estuary margins, had easy access to the sea, and immediate access to at least one natural anchorage. All sites exhibited topographical criteria familiar from Phoenician trading-stations and merchant outposts in the Mediterranean. © 2009 The Authors

Black-Slipped and Burnished Pottery: A Special 7th-Century Technology in Jordan and Syria

Black burnished pottery is a unique fabric with a specialized surface treatment that can be assigned almost exclusively to the 7th century BC. In his classic study of pottery from Transjordan, Dornemann (1983) recognized the appearance of a fast wheel that allowed for the production of fine wares and certain forms that required expert skill. One result of this technology was the decline of red-slipped pottery and the development of light cream ware and black ware. At Tall Jawa (Jordan), black-slipped and burnished pottery reached its zenith in Stratum VII (late 8th–7th century BC; Daviau 2003). This black-slipped pottery has a dark gray fabric with a slightly darker slipped surface. The distribution of black-burnished pottery appears to be limited to the territory of the Ammonites in Transjordan, certain Phoenician sites, and sites in Syria. In certain instances, bowl forms from Tall Jawa suggest strong Assyrian influence and have close parallels with vessels from Nimrud that appear in a highly polished dark gray ware and with the gray wares at Tell Ahmar. At the same time, the majority of black-slipped vessels are local in form. This paper will investigate the petrographic composition of this pottery, techniques used to produce it, the forms in which this refined fabric appears, and its distribution in Jordan and Syria.

Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean

The Phoenicians were the dominant traders in the Mediterranean Sea two thousand to three thousand years ago and expanded from their homeland in the Levant to establish colonies and trading posts throughout the Mediterranean, but then they disappeared from history. We wished to identify their male genetic traces in modern populations. Therefore, we chose Phoenician-influenced sites on the basis of well-documented historical records and collected new Y-chromosomal data from 1330 men from six such sites, as well as comparative data from the literature. We then developed an analytical strategy to distinguish between lineages specifically associated with the Phoenicians and those spread by geographically similar but historically distinct events, such as the Neolithic, Greek, and Jewish expansions. This involved comparing historically documented Phoenician sites with neighboring non-Phoenician sites for the identification of weak but systematic signatures shared by the Phoenician sites that could not readily be explained by chance or by other expansions. From these comparisons, we found that haplogroup J2, in general, and six Y-STR haplotypes, in particular, exhibited a Phoenician signature that contributed > 6% to the modern Phoenician-influenced populations examined. Our methodology can be applied to any historically documented expansion in which contact and noncontact sites can be identified.

Estudio tipológico y funcional de las toberas del yacimiento de la Fonteta (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante)

The Phoenician site of La Fonteta (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante), thanks mainly to the discovery of many metallurgical dumps, has yielded abundant material that can be related to the production of iron, copper, copper/ lead and binary and ternary bronzes and probably to lead and silver. Among the archaeometallurgical remains discovered at the site, it is particularly worthy of attention a significant group of tuyeres, constituted by more than 400 fragments. The tuyeres documented so far can be placed in a chronological phase that spans approximately from the beginnings of the VIII century to the end of the VII century B.C. At present, this group of tuyeres can be considered the most abundant and varied known on a Phoenician site in the Iberian Peninsula . The study of this material allows us to define the variability of their shapes and to observe whether this morphological change reflects any technological factor related to metallurgical activities, or to the processed metallic product. To this end, in the present article we define the typologies of the above mentioned materials, their frequency during the different phases, and the context in which they were found. Wherever possible, we also present the results obtained through elemental analyses of the slagged parts adhered to the mouthpieces of these tuyeres.

The offshore island harbour at Sidon and other Phoenician sites in the light of new dating evidence

International Journal of Nautical ArchaeologyVolume 2, Issue 1 p. 75-94 The offshore island harbour at Sidon and other Phoenician sites in the light of new dating evidence Honor Frost, Honor FrostSearch for more papers by this author Honor Frost, Honor FrostSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1973 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-9270.1973.tb00492.xCitations: 21AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume2, Issue1March 1973Pages 75-94 This article also appears in:Archaeology of the Ancient Harbours of the Eastern Mediterranean RelatedInformation