85188 - Phoenician and Punic Antiquities

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has information at the level of specific aspects of Phoenician and Punic archeology, from the First Iron Age to the Hellenism, as a basis for developing further studies and applications of knowledge learned. The student is capable of describing and cataloging the artifacts related to the critical studies, with good skills in the bibliography.

Course contents

Phoenician and Punic art: iconographic themes and iconological aspects.

The course will be adapted according to the cultural background of the attending students. Some preliminary general lessons  (from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 5 lessons) may be provided to compensate for any gaps. The introductory lessons may concern in particular

- the definition of the Phoenician and Punic cultural space;

- the conceptual distinction between art and craftsmanship in the Phoenician and Punic world.

The central theme of the course (from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 12 lessons) will concern the study of the iconographic themes used in Phoenician and Punic artistic productions; the analysis of the working techniques and the problematic identification of prototypes, models and moulds; the symbolic meaning of the images and the functional destination of the artefacts.

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. A.C. Fariselli, Imitatori e interpreti: la parabola dell’«eclettismo fenicio», in G. Garzia – C. Matteucci – M. Vandini (edd.), Verità e menzogna nel falso. Truth and lies in fakes and forgeries (= Studi sul patrimonio culturale. Collana del Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, 6), Bologna 2018, pp. 79-97.
   
2. H. Benichou-Safar, Iconologie générale et iconographie carthaginoise, in Antiquités africaines, 43, 2007, pp. 5-46.

3. G. Pisano, TECHNE. Studi sull'artigianato fenicio: Incontro di studio in ricordo di Sabatino Moscati (Roma, 7-8 novembre 2007) (= Atti dei Convegni Lincei, 244), Roma, 39-51.
   

PROGRAMME FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students, in addition to necessarily studying the texts indicated in points 1-3 of the Bibliography, will have to integrate the programme with the following texts:

1. E. Acquaro, Note di glittica punica: Cartagine, Tharros e Ibiza,in Acquaro E. – Callieri P. (edd.), Transmarinae imagines. Studi sulla trasmissione di iconografie tra Mediterraneo ed Asia in età classica ed ellenistica (= Studi e ricerche sui beni culturali, 5), Sarzana, 1-23.

2. A.C. Fariselli, Note di iconografia punica in Sardegna. Il triangolo apicato, in C. Del Vais (ed.), EPI OINOPA PONTON. Studi sul Mediterraneo antico in ricordo di Giovanni Tore, Oristano 2012, pp. 539-49.

3. A.C. Fariselli, Il lusso: vetri e gioielli, in Il tempo dei Fenici. Incontri in Sardegna dall’VIII al III secolo a.C., Nuoro 2019, pp. 212-229.

4. R. Secci, Da Nimrud a Cartagine. Rilettura iconografica di un rasoio punico al Museo del Bardo, in Byrsa, 19-20 (2011), pp. 129-52.

Teaching methods

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

Laboratory exercises are planned, with the possibility of examining the raw materials and artifacts (in copy) typical of Phoenician and Punic handicraft.

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. The exam 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, specific bibliography, teaching materials online (only for attending students).

Office hours

See the website of Anna Chiara Fariselli