77881 - Archaeology of the Sacred in the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean

Learning outcomes

The course regards the detailed analysis of the historical, archaeological and epigraphic data relating to all aspects of the cult, the documentation relating to the sanctuaries and to the elements of the funeral ritual in use in the Syro-Palestinian coast, in Cyprus and in the Western Mediterranean from early Iron Age to the Romanization. After completing the course the student knows the specialized bibliography on religious history and is able to contextualize the artifacts related to Phoenician and Punic religion. The student reaches a sufficient level of knowledge of ritual practices through the study of inscriptions.

Course contents

Funerary archaeology and society in the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean.

The course will be adapted to the cultural background of the attending students: some general introductory lessons (3 lessons) can be provided to compensate for possible gaps.

The preliminary lessons may concern:

- the problem of identity summarised in the so-called "Phoenician question";

- the causes, times and ways of colonial expansion;

- relations with the great civilisations of the ancient Near East and with the indigenous peoples of the pre-Roman Mediterranean with whom the Phoenician colonists came into contact.

The monographic section of the course (12 lectures) will concern the exhaustive study of the archaeological documentation related to the Phoenician and Punic necropolis located in the two Mediterranean basins. Tomb types, funerary practices, rituals, grave goods and inscriptions will be examined. The funerary theme will be related to the problem of reconstructing historical and archaeological indicators useful for studying Phoenician and Punic society and the dynamics of daily life from the early Iron Age to Romanisation.

Readings/Bibliography

STUDENTS WHO HAVE ATTENDED AT LEAST 12 OF THE 15 LESSONS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ATTENDING. STUDENTS WHO ARE ABSENT FOR MORE THAN 3 LESSONS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED TO BE ATTENDING, AND WILL HAVE TO PREPARE THE NON-ATTENDING PROGRAMME DESCRIBED BELOW.

PROGRAMME FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

 1. Lecture notes (integrated at the end of the lectures by the images and slides projected during the course and provided by the teacher on Virtuale, through a password, only to those students who have actually attended the course).

REQUIRED SUPPORTING BIBLIOGRAPHY (available online or on Virtuale)

1. M.E. Aubet, Cremation and social memory in Iron Age Phoenicia, in Ritual, Religion and Reason: Studies in the Ancient World in Honour of Paolo Xella, Münster, pp. 77-87.
   
2. A.C. Fariselli, Stato sociale e identita' nell'Occidente fenicio e punico - I. Le armi in contesto funerario, Lugano 2013.
3. A.C. Fariselli, Risparmi e talismani: l'uso della moneta nei rituali funerari punici, in GriseldaOnline 2011, pp. 1-11.
4. R. Secci, Cartagine oltre Cartagine tra VIII e VI sec. a.C.: una retrospettiva storiografica, in Cartagine fuori da Cartagine: mobilità nordafricana nel Mediterraneo centro-occidentale fra VIII e II sec. a.C. (= Byrsa. Scritti sull'antico Oriente mediterraneo 33-34 2018), pp. 351-364.

PROGRAMME FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students, in addition to necessarily studying the texts indicated in points 1-4 of the Bibliography, will have to integrate the programme with the following texts:

four articles from Riti sacrificali, simbologia funeraria ed emblemi politici da Cartagine a Lixus (= Byrsa 19-20, 2011).

OR

four articles from BYRSA. Scritti sull'antico Oriente Mediterraneo 35-36, 2019.

Teaching methods

Lessons and seminar activities. Attendance is encouraged, although not mandatory, and students' active participation in the lessons.

At the end of the course, on a completely voluntary basis, attending students may have the opportunity to participate at the Tharros' excavations (OR).

Assessment methods

The evaluation of learning will take place through individual interviews.
No distinction will be made between attending and non-attending students as regards the assessment policy.
The student will have to prove that he/she has the basic notions of Phoenician and Punic civilisation. On the basis of the lessons attended, the student must be able to contextualise the documentary sources submitted (archaeological, iconographic, etc.). The test will also involve a precise questioning of all the texts indicated in the bibliographic programme.

EXCELLENT EVALUATION
If the student demonstrates knowledge of the subject, an excellent capacity for exposition and logical connections between different historical-archaeological problems, he/she will obtain the maximum mark (30). If the presentation is excellent, honours will be added (cum laude).

GOOD OR FAIR EVALUATION
Students with basic knowledge who are able to contextualise the archaeological materials examined, even if the language used is not always appropriate to the subject, will pass the examination. The awarding of a mark more or less close to 29 will depend on the critical capacity, the methodological autonomy demonstrated during the interview and the fluency of the discourse that the student will be able to organise in response to the questions.

SUFFICIENT EVALUATION
Students whose basic knowledge is not homogeneous and who have little mastery of exposition, but who are able to answer at least two questions correctly, showing that they have done at least some preparatory work on their notes and/or texts, will be awarded a mark between 18 and 25.

NEGATIVE EVALUATION
Students with a lack of preparation, no ability to analyse the discipline and who have not memorised the bibliography will not pass the exams.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations; selected bibliography; teaching material online (ONLY for attending students).

Office hours

See the website of Anna Chiara Fariselli