VICINO ORIENTE

SAPIENZA UNIVERSITÀ DI ROMA DIPARTIMENTO SCIENZE DELL’ANTICHITÀ SEZIONE DI ORIENTALISTICA ______

VICINO ORIENTE XVII - 2013

ROMA 2013

VICINO ORIENTE

SAPIENZA UNIVERSITÀ DI ROMA DIPARTIMENTO SCIENZE DELL’ANTICHITÀ SEZIONE DI ORIENTALISTICA ______

Comitato Scientifico: Carlo Giovanni Cereti, Maria Vittoria Fontana, Lorenzo Nigro, Marco Ramazzotti, Arcangela Santoro

Direttore Scientifico: Lorenzo Nigro

Redazione: Daria Montanari, Chiara Fiaccavento

Tipografia: SK7 - Roma

ISSN 0393-0300

Rivista con comitato di referee

Journal with international referee system www.lasapienzatojericho.it/SitoRivista/Journal/Rivista.php

In copertina: mappa illustrata del mondo di H. Bünting, pubblicata in Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae, 1581.

VICINO ORIENTE

SAPIENZA UNIVERSITÀ DI ROMA DIPARTIMENTO SCIENZE DELL’ANTICHITÀ SEZIONE DI ORIENTALISTICA ______

SOMMARIO

ARTICOLI

P. Gignoux - Souvenirs d’un grand savant: Gherardo Gnoli (1937-2012) 1

N.N.Z. Chegini - M.V. Fontana - A. Asadi - M. Rugiadi - A.M. Jaia - A. Blanco - L. Ebanista - V. Cipollari Estakhr Project - second preliminary report of the joint Mission of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, the Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation and the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy 7

A. Asadi - S.M. Mousavi Kouhpar - J. Neyestani - A. Hojabri-Nobari - Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf 21

L. Nigro - Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya - recent discoveries by Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition 39

C. Fiaccavento - Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts 75

D. Montanari - A copper javelin head in the UCL Palestinian Collection 105

A. Massafra - A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow 115

A. Campus - Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet 135

F. Spagnoli - Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C. 153

R. Francia - Lo stile ‘poetico’ delle historiolae ittite 165

V. Pisaniello - Il sumerogramma IR nei testi ittiti 175

[Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 1-6]

SOUVENIRS D’UN GRAND SAVANT: GHERARDO GNOLI (1937-2012)

Philippe Gignoux - École Pratique des Hautes Études

L’auteur de ce court article veut rendre hommage à son collègue et ami, le regretté professeur Gherardo Gnoli, décédé en 2012. Ce dernier, prodigieusement doué d’intelligence et de mémoire, eut la chance de bénéficier des meilleurs spécialistes des langues anciennes et orientales en Italie. C’est pourquoi il eut la possibilité de pratiquer en quelque sorte trois métiers, lorsqu’il succéda à G. Tucci, à la tête de l’ISMEO. Car il devait mener de front l’enseignement, comme professeur à l’Istituto Orientale di Napoli, puis à la Sapienza di Roma, comme administrateur de ce prestigieux Istituto ouvert à toutes les disciplines de l’orientalisme et qui devait prendre une nouvelle extension sous le nom de IsIAO, enfin le chercheur le plus prolifique, notamment dans le domaine iranien et aussi le sud-arabique. Admirable initiateur et organisateur de nouvelles institutions, il a été l’un des fondateurs les plus efficaces de la ‘Societas Iranologica Europaea’, destinée à regrouper les chercheurs en iranologie, après le changement de régime en Iran qui se fermait aux Européens. Cette institution, en organisant des conférences internationales, eut pour but principal de réunir en Europe, et puis partout dans le monde, tous les chercheurs souvent dispersés. Gnoli s’occupa de la publication des Actes, et de la revue East and West, et de bien d’autres choses. Ayant formé en Italie une trentaine de savants, sa disparition demeure une grande perte pour ce pays devenu au premier rang des études iraniennes en particulier, dans les domaines de l’archéologie, de l’histoire, de l’histoire des religions. J’eus le grand plaisir d’obtenir pour lui le grade bien mérité de Docteur Honoris Causa, et il fut aussi Membre Associé Etranger de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles- Lettres à Paris.

Keywords: Gherardo Gnoli; Societas Iranologica Europaea; Istituto Orientale di Napoli; Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente; Sapienza Università di Roma

Je crois que c’est Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin (1900-2012), qui, le premier, me présenta à Gherardo Gnoli lors du Congrès International de 1971 à Rome sur le thème «La Persia nel Medioevo». Ils étaient déjà devenus très proches, car je pense que Duchesne- Guillemin avait décelé les qualités exceptionnelles de Gherardo sur le plan humain et scientifique. Sans doute tout jeune chercheur que j’étais en iranologie, je fus impressionné et intimidé par la forte stature de Gnoli et par son assurance, lui qui toutefois savait toujours mettre les gens à l’aise et exprimer sa gentillesse quand il s’agissait d’approcher de nouveaux collègues, avec une très grande courtoisie, sans aucune prévention mais au contraire avec beaucoup de prévenance. Je devais plus tard apprécier non sans admiration ses facultés de collaboration, son constant désir de discuter de tant de problèmes qui l’intéressaient toujours vivement, et de toute sorte car il était doté d’une mémoire prodigieuse. Il avait en effet lu et retenu durant sa formation scientifique toute la littérature savante des 19ème et 20ème siècles, et connaissait toutes les théories échafaudées sur le zoroastrisme, son sujet principal, y compris les plus farfelues. Je pense que son grand désir était d’en extraire les plus admissibles et de les prolonger par ses propres travaux. C’est pourquoi il m’a toujours paru - et ce n’est pas une critique - vouloir ne rien perdre de ce qui avait été acquis dans les recherches sur Zoroastre dans la mesure où elles lui paraissaient Philippe Gignoux VO raisonnables et dignes d’être reprises et approfondies. Plutôt que d’élaborer de nouvelles théories ou interprétations, il ne voulait rien écarter des idées passées mais en conserver la pertinence quand il le fallait. On pourrait le définir comme un «classique» mais aussi un humaniste, un admirateur impartial de la place du zoroastrisme dans le monde, et des travaux de ses prédécesseurs. Ce qui ne veut pas dire qu’il n’est pas entré dans tous les débats de son temps, parfois avec une saine colère, lorsqu’on en discutait avec lui, mais toujours avec respect et sympathie envers ses opposants. Dans ces discussions, à cause de ma mémoire déficiente, je n’osais guère intervenir. Gherardo me reprochait parfois, mais avec gentillesse, de ne pas savoir parler l’italien. Il est vrai qu’allant si souvent dans son pays grâce à ses invitations, j’aurais dû faire cet effort, mais je m’en disculpe en disant que je n’ai jamais trouvé le temps d’en apprendre la grammaire. La recherche, dans les domaines qu’il me plaisait d’aborder, restait pour moi prioritaire. Ses parents, selon les informations que son épouse a bien voulu me communiquer, étaient des enseignants en lettres (italien et histoire) dans le secondaire. Son père s’appelait Aldo et sa mère Maria Lenzi. Gherardo fit ses études primaires à Rome, dans une école publique appelée La Palombella, puis secondaires au lycée Virgilio, tout près de Via della Pace où il était né. Cet appartement, il y passa toute sa vie, jusqu’à ces dernières années où il dût s’en séparer en raison de son été de santé. Et d’ailleurs il avait déjà transféré sa bibliothèque à Cagli. A l’université La Sapienza, où éventuellement il deviendra professeur, après des études classiques (latin, grec), il se forma aux études orientales sous la direction des meilleurs savants de cette époque: à l’hébreu avec Levi della Vida et Sabatino Moscati, à l’arabe avec F. Gabrielli, à la glottologie avec A. Pagliaro, à l’iranien avec A. Bausani, à l’histoire de l’Inde et de l’Asie Centrale, avec G. Tucci auquel il succédera à la présidence de l’IsMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, devenu plus tard l’IsIAO, Istituto Italiano per l’Asia e l’Oriente). Mais il enseigna d’abord à Naples, ce qui nécessitait un long voyage. Comme envers beaucoup d’autres collègues et amis, la générosité de Gherardo s’est manifestée à moi à de multiples reprises, tant pour des colloques romains qu’à d’autres occasions. Il me faisait loger dans un grand hôtel du Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, au milieu du vieux Rome, à peu de distance de chez lui où il m’invitait à dîner. Depuis plusieurs années il avait entrepris de restaurer son palais de Cagli, dans les Marches et à trois heures de Rome, partageant ainsi chaque semaine en bilocation. Cette superbe demeure était un héritage de sa femme Erminia, d’origine aristocratique, de la grande famille des Michelini Tocci, et il avait aménagé une bibliothèque personnelle de 90 m², à l’endroit où se trouvait autrefois une magnanerie, à part de la maison principale. Il y recevait ses collègues et y organisa même un petit colloque entre italiens. J’y ai fait deux séjours, l’un avec ma femme après une série de conférences à Ravenna, à l’invitation d’Antonio Panaino, de l’Université de Bologne, l’un de ses disciples les plus actifs, qui a beaucoup fait pour le développement de l’iranologie dans ce secteur; l’autre, au retour d’un congrès du CERO à Beyrouth, alors qu’il dirigeait les travaux de restauration de cette antique et très belle demeure. C’est grâce à lui également que je fis la connaissance d’Adriano Rossi, un éminent dialectologue, qui fut Recteur de l’Institut Oriental de Naples. J’ai pu en 1979 visiter Naples mais surtout Pompéi.

2 XVII (2013) Souvenirs d’un grand savant: Gherardo Gnoli (1937-2012)

Dans un autre congrès international (1982) sur «La mort, les morts dans les sociétés anciennes», qui se tint sur l’île de San Giorgio au large de Venise, Gherardo me donna ainsi l’occasion de visiter les merveilles de San Marco. Il m’a fait aimer son pays, au premier rang des pays européens pour sa culture si riche, ses arts, sa musique baroque qui inspira Mozart et tant d’autres compositeurs, ses sites archéologiques. Gherardo, peu intéressé par les ouvrages d’archéologie, ne se privait pourtant pas, en homme de devoir et d’initiative, de visiter régulièrement les chantiers de fouilles qui ressortissaient à la responsabilité de l’IsMEO, mais il avait un goût certain comme moi-même pour l’épigraphie. G. Gnoli est à compter indubitablement parmi les grands humanistes de la culture européenne, avec sa marque italienne si appréciable, et pourtant parfois dénigrée par des français dont l’arrogance demeure chez certains l’un des détestables défauts. Il m’a fait connaître aussi les nombreux élèves qu’il avait formés avec toute la rigueur d’un philologue chevronné et de l’historien des religions universelles qu’il était devenu. Je pense à A. Panaino, que j’ai déjà cité, un homme plein de fougue, d’enthousiasme et d’acharnement, qui a déjà laissé une production si abondante et pertinente. D’autres disciples, comme Carlo Cereti et Andrea Piras continuent cette grande tradition scientifique de l’iranologie créée par Gnoli en partie. Il était aussi doué pour l’administration efficace, pas comme la nôtre, gaspilleuse et dépensière, et quand je le voyais à la tête de son Institut, via Merulana dans cet ancien palais Brancaccio, il me semblait avoir les prérogatives d’un ministre qui se contente de quelques collaborateurs dociles, et non d’une cinquantaine de conseillers, consultants et autres sous-fifres qui coûtent si cher aux contribuables. Ses contacts toujours courtois avec les autorités ministérielles, universitaires ou étrangères lui permettaient de trouver les financements nécessaires et ainsi d’élargir sans cesse le champ des domaines de l’IsMEO et de ses responsabilités. C’est pourquoi sa maladie et sa disparition ont sonné le glas de son Institut auquel il était si attaché, détruit par la crise économique et la mauvaise gestion des politiques, bien qu’il eût voulu en garder la direction jusqu’à ses derniers jours, non par orgueil mais par son sens du devoir. De plus, comme je l’ai écrit ailleurs (Studia Iranica 2012), il consacra aussi une partie de son temps à ses cours et à ses recherches personnelles: trois métiers pour une seule personne! Mais revenons à mes souvenirs, pour montrer combien j’ai bénéficié de son amitié et de sa générosité. Outre les colloques que j’ai évoqués et auxquels il m’invita1, j’ai vécu avec lui une grande aventure: celle de la fondation de la Societas Iranologica Europaea. C’est en octobre 1981 qu’en raison de la révolution islamique rendant impossible la poursuite des recherches européennes, un groupe de savants britanniques2 (dont Basil Gray, Ilya Gershevitch), à l’instigation de la Royal British Academy, réunit des délégués de Belgique (Louis Vanden Berghe), du Danemark, de Grande-Bretagne, de France (moi-même), d’Allemagne (H.R. Römer), de Hollande, d’Italie (G. Gnoli), de Suède (Bo Utas) et de Suisse. Il s’agissait de créer une Association européenne destinée à promouvoir les études

1 Un autre de mes collègues et amis, le professeur Janos Harmatta, de l’Académie hongroise des sciences, m’invita cinq ou six fois à la série de colloques qu’il put organiser à Budapest durant la période communiste sur le thème «La collection des sources pour l’histoire de l’Asie Centrale pré-islamique». Voir Gnoli 2011, 42. 2 Cfr. Gignoux 1990.

3 Philippe Gignoux VO iraniennes et persanes, menacées par le changement de régime en Iran. On me demanda de représenter la France dans les réunions préparatoires qui se tinrent à Londres, et la fondation officielle se fit à Rome en juin 1983, selon les propositions de G. Gnoli qui accepté de faire de la Ville Eternelle le siège social de la nouvelle Association et de sa trésorerie, au sein de l’IsMEO. Cette institution assuma aussi la publication des Actes du congrès de fondation (1985). Le président élu fut Basil Gray, dans un board de sept membres. Les conférences générales se tinrent tous les quatre ans , entrecoupées (mais pas nécessairement) au milieu de cette période par des colloques (ainsi Fribourg-en-Brisgau 1985). Par la suite, Gnoli est resté extrêmement actif dans le développement et l’organisation de cette institution. Je me souviens avec émotion de toutes les réunions du board, qui eurent lieu dans les principales capitales européennes, et qui se déroulaient dans une atmosphère studieuse et amicale. Ces rencontres ne furent jamais inutiles, Gherardo y apportant des idées nouvelles, avec toute son autorité naturelle, mais en tenant compte des opinions d’autrui. Il ne se privait jamais de ses cigares, si forts que j’ai rarement essayé d’en fumer. La grappa faisait aussi partie de ses dilections. Nous le définirerions en français comme un «bon vivant» mais au meilleur sens du terme. Il avait la chance de ceux qui peuvent se contenter de quelques heures de sommeil, et hyperactif comme il était, il pouvait se consacrer à tant d’activités et de voyages, souvent accompagné de sa femme, d’une grande gentillesse et d’un grand dévouement à son égard. Le père de celle-ci avait été conservateur au cabinet des monnaies du Vatican. Les reproches qu’il lui adressait parfois avec un sourire ironique, n’étaient que le signe de son amour pour elle, et de l’humour qui émaillait si souvent ses conversations. Avec son chauffeur, ses relations n’étaient que cordiales, de même qu’avec ses secrétaires. La dernière fois que nous nous sommes rencontrés, ce fut lors d’une escale à Civitavecchia, à l’automne 2007, lors d’une croisière en Méditerranée, quand il envoya son chauffeur nous prendre pour passer l’après-midi à Rome, en compagnie de Carlo Cereti. Il nous semblait avoir surmonté la maladie, mais ce ne fut pas le cas. Toutefois son énergie débordante a été pour moi un ‘aiguillon’ et un encouragement à ne jamais baisser les bras, quand la recherche vous tient lieu de passion. Gherardo est l’un des rares chercheurs à n’avoir jamais utilisé un ordinateur3. Certes, disposant d’un secrétariat, il écrivait tout à la main, de sa belle écriture détachée et très lisible. Il écrivait presque parfaitement le français, mais le parlait aussi fort bien, de même que l’allemand (il avait des ancêtres germaniques) et l’anglais. En mars 1986, Gherardo me fit nommer Membre Correspondant de l’IsMEO, écrivant que «We feel sure that…. your long lasting relations with our Institute and with the Italian culture will be further strengthened and tightened» (lettre du 14 mars 1986). Lui-même fut élu Membre Associé Etranger de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Paris) en date du 13 février 1998, et à cette occasion une réception lui fut offerte à la Sorbonne pour la remise de son épée au cours de laquelle plusieurs collègues et moi-même eurent le plaisir de dire tout le bien qu’ils pensaient de Gherardo. Ces allocutions amicales ont été publiés

3 Il n’est évidemment pas le seul de sa génération. G. Lazard, quoique plus âgé que lui, s’y est tout de même mis dernièrement, mais à un âge avancé.

4 XVII (2013) Souvenirs d’un grand savant: Gherardo Gnoli (1937-2012) par le Rectorat en 50 pages, et je ne soustrerais pas un mot de ce que j’ai pu énoncer ce jour-là (cfr. p. 19-23) en résumant l’essentiel de son œuvre scientifique. Auparavant Gnoli avait été élu Membre Correspondant de l’ Accademia dei Lincei, puis Membre National de cette illustre Académie en 2009. L’un des derniers articles qu’il a sans doute écrits, est sa participation au Florilège, intitulé «Un demi-siècle» (2011), que Rika Gyselen et Ch. Jullien publièrent pour fêter mon 80ème anniversaire. Il y fait un éloge si touchant que je ne mérite pas, mais qui exprime toute l’amitié qu’il avait pour moi. Il a raison bien sûr d’écrire que: «Nos rapports ont été de collaboration active pour la promotion des études iraniennes dans un contexte international» (p. 42). Il souligna aussi le rôle de «notre commun engagement dans la Societas Iranologica Europaea» (p. 45). Dans sa conclusion, Gherardo affirmait que «notre amitié, jamais troublée pendant un demi-siècle… a été pour moi une raison de vraie joie et un authentique plaisir de l’esprit» (p. 47). Je crois que cela est une vérité, en guise de testament à mon égard, qui me touche beaucoup, dans la mesure où je ne pensais pas qu’il avait une telle estime de moi et qu’en effet j’ai toujours essayé, dans la fidélité à mes vrais amis, de faire en sorte qu’aucune divergence tant soit peu importante ne vienne en altérer la profondeur. Comme il l’exprime avec tant d’estime à mon égard, nos échanges et nos invitations réciproques ont été permanents. Lorsque le ministère français de l’Education Nationale accepta que l’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, section des sciences religieuses, puisse conférer à des savants étrangers le grade de Doctor honoris causa, j’ai aussitôt pressé mes collègues de choisir Gherardo Gnoli, qui reçut cette distinction si méritée en 1998 dans la grande salle de réception de la Sorbonne. C’est lui encore qui me proposa d’assumer le secrétariat scientifique d’un Congrès international organisé par l’IsMEO et l’ Accademia dei Lincei sur «La Perse et l’Asie Centrale» en 1994. Ce que j’écris là, n’est qu’un modeste remerciement à tout ce que Gherardo m’a apporté, mais de manière malheureusement posthume. Il est sûr que sa disparition signe un amoindrissement sérieux de la recherche italienne. Nous ne devons pas par une sorte d’arrogance nous en réjouir en France, où les gouvernants, et depuis longtemps, ont endossé toutes les erreurs des pays du sud de l’Europe, et notamment dans nos institutions universitaires, pour lesquelles nous n’avons pas eu un ‘Gnoli’ pour les réformer. Alors que pour expliquer le délabrement de l’Université, les autorités invoquent le manque de crédits financiers et de postes, la vérité de cet échec réside dans le système français du ‘copinage’, des passe-droits, du favoritisme, de l’injustice des recrutements qui laisse partir à l’étranger les meilleurs de nos chercheurs, le manque de sélection (le bas prix des inscriptions des étudiants qui demeure ridicule), qui entraine les bacheliers à quitter l’université pour laquelle ils ne sont pas faits au bout d’un ou deux ans4. La crise économique a bon dos pour justifier l’inanité de notre système. Il suffirait de quelques courageux comme G. Gnoli pour inverser le cours des choses, une politique universitaire dont on sait bien qu’elle est archaïque, voire immorale5. Le refus des réformes conduit nécessairement à la faillite. Le

4 Lire le livre pénétrant et fort juste de Jean-François Kahn (2012). 5 On voit maintenant la ministre du logement distribuer la Légion d’honneur à ses ami(e)s. N’est-ce pas du ‘copinage’?

5 Philippe Gignoux VO pire: n’est-ce pas l’hypocrisie avec laquelle on déclare faire des réformes, mais où sont- elles? L’Italie du moins peut se montrer fière de l’œuvre de Gherardo Gnoli.

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

GIGNOUX, PH. 1990 ‘Societas Iranologica Europaea’: Its Formation and Growth: East and West 40 (1990), pp. 289-292. GNOLI, G. 2011 Un dèmi siecle: R. GYSELEN - C. JULLIEN (eds.), Rabbo l’olmyn «Maitre pour l’Éternité». Florilège offert à Philippe Gignoux pour son 80e anniversaire (Cahiers de Studia Iranica 43), Paris 2011, pp. 41-52. KAHN, J.-F. 2012 La Catastrophe du 6 Mai 2012, Paris 2012.

6 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 7-20]

ESTAKHR PROJECT - SECOND PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE JOINT MISSION OF THE IRANIAN CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, THE PARSA-PASARGADAE RESEARCH FOUNDATION AND THE SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY OF ROME, ITALY

Nasser Noruz Zadeh Chegini - Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research - Maria Vittoria Fontana - Sapienza University of Rome - Ali Asadi - Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation - Martina Rugiadi - Alessandro Maria Jaia - Alessandro Blanco - Laura Ebanista - Sapienza University of Rome - Valentina Cipollari - Independent Scholar

La trincea aperta nel corso di questa prima campagna di scavo, a ovest della moschea, ha evidenziato almeno otto fasi. La fase 1 è relativa al muro esterno della moschea, dotato di un’apertura e di una torre semicircolare. Di particolare interesse (fase 2) è un asse stradale lastricato, connesso a una rilevante dorsale fognaria. L’articolazione della strada, già messa in evidenza dalle indagini geofisiche, sembra delimitare un importante quartiere a ovest della moschea. L’asse stradale, pur subendo un parziale rifacimento sul lato ovest (fase 3), conserva la sua fisionomia fino a tutta la fase 4. La successiva sovrapposizione di più livelli stradali in terra battuta che obliterano la strada lastricata, restringendone la carreggiata pur conservandone l’orientamento (fase 5), sembra mettere in evidenza la perdita di rilevanza del quartiere ad ovest della moschea, probabilmente in corrispondenza di una fase di decadenza della compagine urbana risalente all’XI secolo.

Keywords: Estakhr; Iran; Early Islamic; Sasanian; archaeology

The second season of archaeological activities of the joint Iranian-Italian Archaeological Mission in Estakhr was carried out from October 12th to November 9th, 2012 under the joint direction of Nasser Noruz Zadeh Chegini (Iranian pre-Islamic Archaeology, formerly Director of the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research) and Maria Vittoria Fontana (Islamic Archaeology, Sapienza University).1 Participating institutions included the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research (ICAR), the Parsa- Pasargadae Research Foundation (PPRF) and the Sapienza University of Rome (Sapienza). The research team was composed of Martina Rugiadi, field director, archaeologist (Sapienza), Ali Asadi, field director, archaeologist (PPRF), Alessandro M. Jaia, topographer and archaeologist (Sapienza), Alessandro Blanco, topographer and archaeologist (Sapienza), Valentina Cipollari, topographer and archaeologist, Laura

1 The second campaign was funded by the Sapienza University of Rome, the Fondation Max van Berchem of Geneva and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO

Ebanista, topographer and archaeologist (Sapienza), Ali Moludi (MA student) and Malihe Tahmasbi (draftsman). Thirteen university students joined the research team.2 The main aim of the season was to investigate the area west of the mosque3 in order to verify the presence of a monumental building identified by D. Whitcomb on one of E.F. Schmidt’s aerial photographs. Whitcomb suggested that this structure could be the 7th century dar al-imara (governmental palace), built when Estakhr was capital of the Fars province.4 The combination of mosque and dar al-imara is known from other Islamic cities, but no examples have been found yet in the Iranian region. In the course of the first season (May 2012), a 3D digital terrain model (DTM) was made of the same area shown in the aerial photograph (see below).5 The results seemed to contradict those implied by the aerial photograph, however, since a deep depression appears in the area corresponding to the line of the wall of the suggested building, while patches of elevated ground appeared to the west of that line, almost parallel to it. The geophysical survey and the excavation undertaken during the second season helped explaining the question.6

1. GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY The geophysical survey was carried out in three squares in the area west and northwest of the remains of the mosque. The investigation was conducted by Sébastien Gondet (Bologna University) and Kourosh Mohammadkhani (Lyon 2 University) by gracious permission of the Persepolis Project directed by P. Callieri and A.R. Askari. The squares (50 × 50 m each) cover the area in Schmidt’s aerial photograph that Whitcomb identified as the northern part of the palace. The results show a strong anomaly, square in shape (fig. 1), having approximately the same orientation of the mosque and following almost precisely the route of the lines visible in the aerial photograph. The corresponding depression of the ground shown in the digital terrain modeling called its nature into question.

2 Mohsen Armat, Mohammad Derakhshah, Mohsen Emadi, Vahed Fatehi, Reza Golbakhsh, Fazollah Habibi, Hamid Reza Kahami Dekhsheykhi, Jawad Keshavarzi, Ahmad Monozahian, Hamid Mowlayi, Abuzar Tavakkol, Salar Vatandust, Hamid Reza Zare. 3 Estakhr, about 60 km north of Shiraz, and about 5 km north of Persepolis, is enclosed by walls; few remains of a large mosque are preserved. 4 Schmidt 1940, pl. 10; Whitcomb 1979, 366, ill. at p. 367. 5 The first season was mainly devoted to a first general survey of the town and a detailed topographic survey (Fontana et al. 2012). 6 A short survey was also carried out in the area northeast of the city wall in order to plan future geophysical investigations. The ground is characterized by being largely covered by pottery fragments, to such an extent which led to speculate the presence of a dump and/or of a manufacturing quarter. This is also substantiated by the enormous amount of metal and of pottery slags, as well as of pottery molds and other finds probably related to production activities. For these reasons, the area will be avoided in future geophysical investigations.

8 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report

2. EXCAVATION An excavation trench was set out in the same area in order to encompass not only the lines detected in the aerial photograph and the anomaly of the geophysical survey, but also the patches of elevated ground to their west. The selected area starts from the opening in the mosque wall first detected during the 1st season, a feature that could be significant for the connection of the mosque with the supposed building. The excavated trench is oriented east-west and is orthogonal to the opening of the mosque wall. It measures 20.90 × 2 m and is up to 4.49 - 4.90 m wide in the area close to the mosque (pl. I:A). Excavations revealed a paved street and sewer that corresponded to the anomaly of the geophysical survey (surely in use in Phases 2-4). If confirmed, this conclusion might prove to be very useful for the continuation of geophysical investigations on the site in the future. The street uncovered in the east part of the trench and the walls retrieved in the west part of it also conform to the forms shown in the digital terrain modeling. In the trench, at least eight phases were identified. Phase 1 (light blue in pl. I:A) relates to the exterior part of the mosque wall (fig. 2). This is a wall of substantial thickness (1.82 to 1.95 m) made of local limestone chips of various sizes, joined with a small amount of mortar (WSU 1). The relatively modest opening (0.91 - 0.9 m wide) proved to be a door. Its jambs are detached from the wall and made of corner-stones bound with very friable yellow mortar, larger than the stones of the mosque. The joining elements between door jambs and face bricks seem to exclude the possibility that the door was opened after the construction of the mosque wall: the building technique and materials are the same, and there are no traces of filling of the wall on the exterior. A semi-circular tower was brought to light on the same wall, just south of the door (WSU 2: diameter 1.85 m including the exterior of the wall, variable thickness 0.28 to 0.58 m). The wall is made up of fragments of limestone bound with very firm white mortar, found more abundantly between stones close to the façade (west side). It contains a filling of loose material. The tower was clearly not planned as part of a monumental entryway, as there is no evidence of a second tower on the northern side of the door. E. Flandin and P. Coste, who travelled during the years 1840 and 1841, reproduced a plan of the mosque (interpreted as a “palais”) with five semi-circular towers along the west side and two three- quarters round towers on the corners of the same side.7 The excavation stopped at the level of the door threshold. In the next season we intend to investigate the area immediately west of the door, that may provide elements of chronological significance. At present, it is advisable to consider the mosque as the oldest element of the excavated area, isolating it in Phase 1. The results of the excavation of Phase 1 show that when the mosque was built a small secondary door was planned on its qibli wall, to allow access between the mosque and the area encompassed by our investigations. In Phase 2 (light ochre in pl. I:A), a stretch of a large paved street was uncovered (WSU 131, fig. 3) that had collapsed along its eastern side. The street was more than 6 m wide,

7 Flandin - Coste 1851, pl. 58, below; see also p. 70.

9 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO and covered a sewer (WSU 182). It is paved with square slabs of local hard stone, arranged radially, with traces of wear. There are no cart tracks. The paving is altered or absent in the western sector, which was mostly rebuilt using flakes of stones from the original paving (Phase 3). The sewer (0.40 m wide; 0.50 m deep) runs below the east side of the street, sloping towards the south. Its vertical sides are made of bricks coated with hydraulic mortar (fig. 4). The sewer was covered with limestone blocks, partly preserved on the southern side. Further excavations might show the chronological connection between the mosque and the street, and possibly allow for them to be considered part of the same phase. The pottery found in the filling of the sewer (SU 183-184) is not well known enough to use in establishing a date for its closure. One fragment of splash-ware found can be broadly attributed to the 9th-11th century.8 Phase 2a (ochre in pl. I:A) relates to two elements, both located west of the street and at the same level as phase 2. The first is a compact and well-smoothed floor level found immediately to the west of the street (SU 176). Inserted in the floor is part of a tannur (SU 188, fig. 5), which appears to be cut by a later construction, probably not earlier than the 11th century (see Phase 3). A number of pottery sherds found in the layer that covers the tannur and the floor suggest an 11th century date (SU 160). These included one fragment of graffita (10th century - 11th century), fragments of unglazed molded wares (similar to closed vessels produced in various centers in Iran and Central Asia, attributed to the 11th - 12th century),9 and of unglazed wares with emerging inclusions (including vegetal chaff) on their surfaces. The fabric of the latter suggests that they might be related to the unglazed painted wares appearing in Phase 4 and which are attributed to a range of dates from the 11th century or slightly earlier to the 14th in the scholarly literature. This date range is to be verified for Estakhr.10 The second element designated Phase 2a is represented by the northeast corner of a room located at the western end of the trench (WSU 155 and 196), oriented in the same direction as the mosque. The preparation layer for its floor (SU 168 and 169) is preserved (fig. 6).The fragments that were retrieved in this layer include one fragment of imported Iraqi monochrome gold lustre ware (white opaque glaze on a cream-yellow, medium soft and compact fabric, dated to the end of the 9th - 10th century).11 The layers that cover the preparation layer (SU 161, 158) contained a fragment of opaque glazed ware with turquoise-green splashes related to the wares of the so-called “Samarra horizon” (9th - 10th

8 As the raw data will take some time to process, the information given in this report are mostly limited to the chronological value of the excavated pottery. It has to be noted that in the present state of knowledge about Sasanian and Islamic pottery in Fars, especially with the lack of stratigraphic data, comparisons are unlikely to give a reliable chronological assessment. The chronology given in this report is thus intentionally very broad. SU 183-184 included 25 pottery fragments: unglazed with fine, medium and coarser fabrics (15), 1 with comb-incisions; 5 fragments of monochrome green glazed ware, 1 fragment of splashed ware. 9 Siméon 2009, 54-57, lists comparative materials. 10 Also called pseudo-prehistoric and Madabad wares (Sumner - Whitcomb 1999, 320-321, with previous bibliography). 11 Northedge 2001, 211-212.

10 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report century),12 and a glazed fragment probably related to graffita wares. These fragments give a terminus post quem in the 10th century for this layer. The walls of this room (0.80 m wide) are composed of roughly chopped slabs of local hard stone bound with mortar. The inner side of the wall shows the scarcement of its foundation. Fragments of red painted coarse mortar were found in the layer that covers the floor preparation layer (SU 158). Phase 3 (green in pl. I:A) is the result of a complete makeover of the area that overlooks the west side of the street. It includes the northeast corner of a room (WSU 115 north-south wall, WSU 197 east-west wall). The walls, oriented slightly differently than those of the mosque, were built ex novo from the foundations and cut the tannur of Phase 2a. The floor of the room is at the same level as the street. A slab from the street was re-employed at the top of the wall WSU 115. At this time, the street appears to have been partially dismantled and then repaved with stones and slabs arranged differently than before. The connection between the new construction and the street paving suggests the persistence of the use of the street at this stage. The new structure (WSU 115) is realized ex novo, without using previous structures for its foundation (at least not on the side of the street). It is thus possible that in the previous period, in Phase 2-2a, this area between the street and the Phase 2a building (of which the northeast corner only was excavated, WSU 155 and 196) was free or that a fence/wall only separated them. The latter could have been located in the west side of the street that appears mended with road metal and re-employed slabs from the original paving. Phase 4 (pink in pl. I:A) represents the abandonment of the street. The likely decline of this area is evidenced by the closing down of a tannur located at the door of the mosque (SU 185), whose hob is set at the same level of the street and of the mosque door (fig. 7). Fragments of the clay walls of the tannur collapsed inside it. The layer that fills the tannur (SU 179) contained the earliest fragments of unglazed painted wares found in the trench and fragments of unglazed molded wares - giving a terminus post quem in the 11th century. Another tannur was identified in the south east corner of the enlargement of the trench, close to the tower. During Phase 5 a sequence of levels that had slipped from the east part of the trench towards the west attests to the collapse of the western wall of the mosque (SU 119, 141, 146 and 135; pl. I:B) and the abandonment of the area. In this phase, the street is covered by layers corresponding to a narrower path on the west (SU 163, 152 and 159; pl. I:B). From the collapse of the western wall of the mosque (SU 119, 141, 146 and 135) a large number of unglazed fragments probably related to molded wares came to light, while fewer unglazed painted fragments were found. The glazed wares found in the same layer are to be attributed up to the 10th or early 11th century: splashed (fig. 10:A), graffita, monochrome green (fig. 10:B), opaque turquoise glazed (fig. 10:D). From SU 141 a fragment of a capital in grey stone (fig. 8) was also brought to light. It might have been originally part of a bell- shaped capital of the Achaemenid period; Chegini suggests that it might have been re-

12 Priestmann 2011, 104-107 with previous references.

11 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO employed in the Sasanian period. At any rate, it was re-employed for the building of the mosque as attested by the mortar placed on the fracture. The ceramics retrieved from the layers of the path that effaced the street include molded earthenware fragments (11th - 12th centuries) and a fragment of an opaque turquoise-glazed earthenware basin (fig. 10:C), with a bird-like applied decoration. A similar ware was found in the late 11th century layers of the masjed-e jom‘e in Esfahan.13 Phase 6 (grey in pl. I:A) is represented by a wall oriented east-west in the western side of the trench (WSU 147). The wall is composed of reused bricks and irregular limestone blocks, set without mortar. This structure rests on a layer of earth and covers the walls below (Phase 3). Phase 7 consists of a pottery dump (SU 142, fig. 9) located approximately in the middle of the trench. The recovered pottery, which consisted of several unglazed vessels that were nearly complete, can be assigned to a period between the 10th and 14th centuries (fig. 11:A- D). Phase 8 shows recent agricultural activity (traces of plough SU -103, -104, -105, -106, - 107, -108, -109), immediately below the humus layer (SU 101) as well as animal farming (layer of ashes surrounded by stones and bricks SU 116). The pottery assemblage recovered from these layers does not differ significantly from those found in layers related to earlier phases, except for the proportions. Unglazed painted ware is more frequent than in the lower layers.

3. CONCLUSIONS Within the sequence of phases brought to light in the excavation, the paved street and its sewer are particularly relevant. Their orientation and development, also detected by the geophysical survey, seem to define a chief quarter that was situated to the west of the mosque. The street, while undergoing a partial reconstruction on its west side (Phase 3) was maintained throughout the entire period represented by Phase 4. Later, several layers of dirt road covered the paved street (Phase 5). These paths conformed to the orientation of the street, but their width is reduced in respect to the street. These developments point to a decline in the relevance of the quarter to the west of the mosque, most probably connected with the decay of Estakhr’s main urban structure in the 11th century.

13 Rugiadi 2011, 234.

12 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report

This project is sponsored by the Max van Berchem Foundation, established in 1973 in memory of Max van Berchem (1863-1921), the founder of Arabic epigraphy. Based in Geneva, the aim of the Foundation is to promote the study of Islamic and Arabic archaeology, history, geography, art, epigraphy, religion and literature.

REFERENCES

FLANDIN, E. - COSTE, P. 1851 Voyage en Perse de M.M. Eugène Flandin, peintre, et Pascal Coste, architecte, attachés à l’ambassade de France en Perse, pendant les années 1840 et 1841, Paris 1851. FONTANA, M.V. - MIRESKANDARI, S.M. - RUGIADI, M. - ASADI, A. -JAIA, A.M. - BLANCO, A. - COLLIVA, L. 2012 Estakhr Project - first preliminary report of the joint Mission of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, the Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation and the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy: Vicino Oriente XVI (2012), pp. 167-180. NORTHEDGE, A. 2001 Thoughts on the Introduction on Polychrome Glazed Pottery in the Middle East: E. VILLENEUVE - P.M. WATSON (eds.), La céramique byzantine et proto-islamique en Syrie- Jordanie (IVe-VIIIe siècles apr. J.-C.). Actes du colloque tenu à Amman les 3, 4 et 5 décembre 1994, Beyrouth 2001, pp. 207-214. PRIESTMANN, S. 2011 Opaque Glazed Wares: a Review of the Definition, Dating and Distribution of a Key Iraqi Ceramic Export in the Abbasid Period: Iran 49 (2011), pp. 89-114. RUGIADI, M. 2011 The Emergence of Siliceous-Paste in Iran in the Last Quarter of the 11th century and Related Issues. The Dated Assemblage from the Southern Domed Hall of the Great Mosque of Isfahan: Vicino & Medio Oriente XV (2011), pp. 233-248. SCHMIDT, E.F. 1940 Flights over Ancient Cities of Iran, Chicago 1940. SIMEON, M.P. 2009 Étude du matériel de Hulbuk (Mā warā’al-nahr-Khuttal), de la conquête islamique jusqu’au milieu du XIe siècle (90/712-441/1050): contribution à l’étude de la céramique islamique d’Asie centrale (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1945), Oxford 2009. SUMNER, W. - WHITCOMB, D. 1999 Islamic Settlement and Chronology in Pars: an Archaeological Perspective: Iranica Antiqua XXXIV (1999), pp. 309-323. WHITCOMB, D. 1979 The City of Istakhr and the Marvdasht Plain: D. REIMER (ed.), Akten des VII. Internationalen Kongress für Iranische Kunst und Archäologie, München 7.-10. September 1976 (Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran: Ergänzungsband 6), Berlin 1979, pp. 363-370.

13 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO

Fig. 1 - Estakhr - The anomaly in the geophysical survey (outlined in green is the palace as hypothesized by D. Whitcomb 1979; rendering L. Ebanista).

14 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report

Fig. 2 - Estakhr - Phase 1 - The wall of the mosque showing the door and the semi-circular tower (photo A.M. Jaia).

Fig. 3 - Estakhr - Phase 2 - The paved street (view from North; photo L. Ebanista).

15 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO

Fig. 4 - Estakhr - Phase 2 - The sewer under the paved street (photo L. Ebanista).

Fig. 5 - Estakhr - Phases 2a and 3 - The tannur cut by the foundation of the walls WSU 197 (photo A. Blanco).

16 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report

Fig. 6 - Estakhr - Phase 2a - Room set in the west side of the trench (photo A. Blanco).

Fig. 7 - Estakhr - Phase 4 - The tannur located at a door of the mosque (photo L. Ebanista).

17 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO

Fig. 8 - Estakhr - Phase 5 - Fragment of an Achaemenid capital re-employed in the mosque wall (photo and rendering A.M. Jaia).

Fig. 9 - Estakhr - Phase 7 - The dump of unglazed pottery (10th - 14th century; photo L. Ebanista).

18 XVII (2013) Estakhr Project - second preliminary report

Fig. 10 - Estakhr - A, Inv. ES 46 (SU146) Manganese and turquoise-splashed earthenware; B, Inv. ES 47 (SU 146) Monochrome green-glazed earthenware; C, Inv. ES 62 (SU 159) Opaque turquoise-glazed earthenware with applied decoration; D, Inv. ES 32 (SU 119) Opaque turquoise-glazed earthenware. All drawings are 1:3 in scale (drawings M. Tahmasbi).

19 Chegini - Fontana - Asadi - Rugiadi - Jaia - Blanco - Ebanista - Cipollari VO

Fig. 11 - Estakhr - A, ES 56 (SU 142) Black-slipped earthenware jar; B, Inv. ES 57 (SU 142) Black slipped earthenware jar; C, Inv. ES 53 (SU 142) Molded earthenware jug; D, Inv. ES 52 (SU 142) Painted earthenware jar. All drawings are 1:3 in scale, except D which is 1:4 (drawings M. Tahmasbi).

20

A

B

Pl. I - A: Estakhr - General map of the trench: phase 1 - light blue; phase 2 - light ochre; phase 2a - ochre; phase 3 - green; phase 4 - pink; phase 6 - grey (rendering A.M. Jaia). B: Estakhr - East-West section of the excavated trench, south side (rendering A.M. Jaia and L. Ebanista).

[Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 21-38]

SASANIAN AND EARLY ISLAMIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS NORTH OF THE PERSIAN GULF

Ahmadali Asadi1 - Seyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar2 - Javad Neyestani3 - Alireza Hojabri-Nobari4 - Tarbiat Modares University

Le recenti ricognizioni archeologiche effettuate nella regione prospiciente la costa settentrionale del Golfo Persico hanno rivelato una significativa crescita degli insediamenti in epoca sasanide. Tale crescita è probabilmente da attribuire ad un mirato investimento nei sistemi d’irrigazione e nell’agricoltura. Nel corso delle ricognizioni sono stati scoperti resti di diverse strutture idrauliche, quali canali, mulini ad acqua, qanat e pozzi. La gran parte degli abitati sono situati nelle zone pedemontane ed in questi casi le opere idrauliche si trovano spesso nelle aree alte degli insediamenti. In alcuni casi sono stati identificati anche dei cimiteri. In conclusione si può dire che l’economia del Fars meridionale di epoca sasanide era basata sull’agricoltura ancor più che sul commercio e la rete di strade di comunicazione.

Keywords: Fars; Sasanian; irrigation system; settlement; fortified sites

1. PREMISE There has been little research into the effect the Sasanian Empire’s collapse had on settlement patterns in the Iranian plateau. The general hypothesis is that the economic system remained unchanged after the Islamic invasion (664 CE) and some researchers even contend that the economic system improved.5 Recent archaeological surveys, in the hinterlands north of the Persian Gulf, are throwing light on some interesting new information regarding this matter. The results from most of these surveys in the hinterland, share a common feature - they illustrate the expansion of sites during the Sasanian period and the reduction, and in some cases disappearance, of sites after the arrival of Islam. One could conclude from these recent surveys, that new settlement patterns emerged during the Islamic period due to the disappearance of settlement patterns particular to the Sasanian dynasty. In this paper we will be looking in detail at Sasanian policy in relation to economic investment in the hinterlands north of the Persian Gulf. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was huge Sasanian investment in agriculture and an extension of irrigation in the mountainous areas south of Fars province. However, the development of agriculture in the aforementioned area differs from what the Sasanians did in the Susiana plain6 and Mesopotamia.7 In these regions huge dams and massive irrigation channels

1 PhD Student in Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University. 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University. 4 Associated Professor, Department of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University. 5 Whitcomb 1979, 5; Sumner - Whitcomb 1999, 314. 6 Wenke 1981. Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO

(some of which remain standing today) allowed the Sasanians to develop agriculture on a large scale. In the mountainous region however the situation was different. There were neither large plains nor big rivers like the Euphrates, Karoun or Tigris. It appears that Sasanian agricultural policy in the mountainous regions constituted a small investment on a large scale. To reach this aim, governmental control and presence was a necessity. After the collapse of the Sasanian dynasty this agricultural system was no longer sustainable. Using archaeological evidence from recent surveys in various areas north of the Persian Gulf, we will now look in more detail at settlement patterns, the factors affecting it, and the changes after the Islamic period.

2. GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING OF THE HINTERLANDS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Due to the differences in the geographical and climatic settings between the Persian Gulf hinterlands and northern and central region of Fars province varied settlement patterns are witnessed through time. The climatic situation in the hinterlands is variable and the environment played a key role in deciding how and where human settlements were established. A survey of the hinterlands shows that natural factors such as poor rainfall, salty plugs and rivers, mountains, variable climate and access to a suitable water supply play an important role in how and where human settlements were established. As one moves south, the Zagros Mountains change direction from north west/south east to an east/westerly direction, particularly as we get closer to Larestan and Bander Abbas. It is significant that in the area known as Tangestan the Zagros highlands rise immediately from the Persian Gulf and there is no intervening coastal plain. Ridges front much of the coast in parallel ranks producing a closed coastline devoid of indentations that could serve as harbours and the small size of rivers and their deeply indented valleys greatly reduce the possibility of agriculture and the occurrence of natural pasture. Poor in resources without major routes that could assist development, Tangestan has only scanty settlements that produce dates, a little millet and barley any vegetables.8 Eastwards again, fronting the re- entrant of the Gulf of Hormuz, is a geographically distinctive region whose relief is much influenced by the presence of numerous salt domes or plugs that have erupted from a considerable depth through overlying strata.9 As a semi plastic substance, the salt has been forced through overlying rock formations and some plugs now stand at heights of 2000 to 4000 ft above the surface (fig.1), appearing as pinkish-white or yellowish masses.10 The salt itself has little if any commercial value, and the extra salinity imparted by drainage from the areas where the plugs occur is a considerable disadvantage - Rudshur (or Rud-i-Shur) means “Salt River”.11 In some places an original salt plug may have been eroded away so that the rocks have fallen back into the solution hallow, producing a chaotic local landscape of jumbled rock strata and irregular topographic outlines.12 Moving to the east, the sudden

7 Adams 1965. 8 Fisher 1968, 30. 9 Fisher 1968. 10 Fisher 1968. 11 Fisher 1968, 31. 12 Fisher 1968.

22 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf change in direction of the present-day coastline, which now runs north-eastward from Bandar-e Lingeh means that, in sharp contrast to the area west and north of Lingeh (including Tangestan), the component ridges of the Zagros are aligned at right angles to the coast, which is consequently much more accessible and “open”, with better harbours. A number of coastal settlements have thus grown up, with distinctly larger numbers of people than in the area farther west.13 The most striking factor separating the southern Zagros area from the others is that of climate. Rainfall is very much lower compared with the northern and middle regions of the Zagros with, consequently, major changes in the nature of topography and in human responses. Besides a reduction in overall amount, rainfall tends to be distinctly more unreliable and sporadic in onset, with a tendency to heavy but short falls and irregularity both in season and from year to year.14 In these areas, irrigation systems dominate the layout of cultivation, with ditches fed by springs. Qanats too are important and in areas of lower altitude, where temperatures can be very high, covered tanks and pools are increasingly used.15 The unfavourable natural settings in coastal and hinterland sites reduced the possibility of establishing human settlements in these areas. Before the formation of empires, settlement patterns in the hinterlands were dependant mainly on access to water sources from springs and wet gorges. In historical periods too, much of the archaeological evidence such as ancient water storage structures and irrigation systems in the hinterlands areas, shows that the water supply has been the main problem for human life in the discussed areas. Due to the saltiness of the rivers, particularly in the downstream areas, nowadays, there is no human settlements close to the rivers and according to the distribution maps of ancient sites, it seems that this situation is the same as today as it was in the past.16 The only lands that provide favourable conditions for the establishment of settlements are the foothills, between the rivers and the mountains.17 As we will see in this paper, most of the ancient settlements of the hinterlands were founded in these areas.

3. PREVIOUS RESEARCH For researchers of the Sasanian period the Persian Gulf has always been an important topic, especially in relation to Sasanian maritime trade. Scholars such as Whitehouse and Williamson,18 Daryaee,19 Moussavi and Khosrozadeh20 have written on this subject. However, their research of archaeological evidence is devoid of sufficient reference to the hinterlands. This is due to the lack of adequate surveys of the hinterlands before or during their research. The first research into the hinterlands was carried out by some of the agents

13 Fisher 1968, 32. 14 Fisher 1968, 28. 15 Fisher 1968. 16 Asadi 2010, 27. 17 Asadi 2010. 18 Williamson 1971-1972; Whitehouse - Williamson 1973; Whitehouse (ed.) 2009. 19 Daryaee 2003. 20 Hojabri-Nobari et al. 2011.

23 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO of the East India Company in 1850, followed by Stein21 in 1937. After a long hiatus research was resumed in the Bushehr plain first in 1970 by Prickett and Williamson22 and then by Whitcomb23 in 1973. In 1973 a joint survey was undertaken by the Siraf excavation mission and the Iranian archaeological Center in the Siraf Hinterlands.24 Thirty years later, new surveys were initiated by the Iranian Center for archaeology with the aim of completing the archaeological map of Iran. The most recent surveys were carried out in 2004 in the Lar and Lamerd districts by Askari,25 the Bushehr hinterlands by Carter and others in 2006,26 Bastak district by Asadi27 in 2007 and Ghavbandi district by Askari in 2007.28 The new surveys seem to provide a more precise understanding of settlement patterns during the Sasanian period in the south of Fars province. In the rest of this paper we will study the results of these surveys in finer detail, however the interpretations put forth here are preliminary and need to be reviewed in the near future.

4. BUSHEHR DISTRICT The Bushehr plain is the most westerly point of the present research area. Compared to the eastern areas, like Lamerd, Mohr and Bastak, the Bushehr plain is geographically and environmentally different, it is rare in that it is one of only a handful of fertile plains in the coastal lines of the Persian Gulf. Rivers flow through the plain today and unlike most of the other hinterland areas where salty rivers prevent human settlement being established in their vicinity, here, the major settlement was concentrated along the rivers.29 Even though today some of the rivers have become salty, they are still used for planting dates, palm trees and grains. The Bushehr peninsula and its hinterlands were surveyed by a joint Iranian/British archaeological team in 2004, with the aim of identifying the nature of the Persian Gulf hinterland settlements and making a chronological and cultural framework for the region.30 The survey included areas between Bushehr, Genaveh, Ahrom and Daleki (fig. 2) covering 90 km from the northwest to the southeast and 60 km from the northeast to the southwest.31 In this survey 56 sites were identified from Chalcolithic (5000 BC) to the late Islamic (15th - 18th century). Most of the sites however belonged to the Achaemenid through to the Sasanid eras.32 The results of the survey point to the Elamite period, with ten identified sites, being the first major expansion of settlement in the region. perhaps on account of the

21 Stein 1937. 22 Prickett - Williamson 1970. 23 Carter et al. 2006, 67. 24 Whitcomb 2009, 95. 25 Askari Chaverdi - Azarnoush 2004. 26 Carter et al. 2006. 27 Asadi 2010. 28 Askari Chaverdi 2008. 29 Carter et al. 2006, 75. 30 Carter et al. 2006, 63. 31 Carter et al. 2006, 68. 32 Carter et al. 2006, 64.

24 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf middle Elamite centre at Liyan.33 After the Elamites, the next large growth of settlement was in the Achaemenid/Parthian period, with 32 sites.34 The importance of the Bushehr plain during the Achaemenid era is illustrated by the number of Achaemenid palaces found in the area. In the subsequent Sasanid era 36 sites are found, heralding the peak of settlement in the region.35 With the arrival of Islam we see a very marked decline in settlements in the region with nine Islamic sites being found in the plain.36 Sasanian settlements are mostly concentrated southeast of the Dalki River (fig. 3). According to the surveyors, including Carter, «most of the sites with Achaemenid/Parthian pottery also bore Sasanian material».37 They also mention that while the classes associated with the Achaemenid/Parthian pottery may have also been used during the Sasanid period, many of the sites currently assigned to the Achaemenid/Parthian and Sasanian horizons may date solely to the latter.38 The most important Sasanid sites, a complex of mounds located north of Borazjan, are recorded in Carter’s survey as site numbers BH29-44. Carter interpreted these as remains of a Sasanid city. There are also more Sasanid sites circling BH29-44.39 Without doubt, the Sasanid port of Rav Ardeshir located in the Bushehr peninsula was the most important factor affecting the growth of settlements in the Bushehr hinterlands. In his survey with Martha Prickett between 1969-1971, Williamson concluded that Rishahr, a site 6 km south of Bushehr, was the Sasanian port Rav Ardeshir.40 According to historical sources, Rav Ardeshir was one of the foremost ports during the Sasanian era, and it was established by Ardeshir Babakan as part of his policy for control of maritime trade in the Persian Gulf.41 The size of Pre-Islamic settlements in the Bushehr peninsula was remarkable, with some researchers estimating the dimensions to be over 450 hectares,42 with most belonging to the Sasanid era. Using Carter’s Sasanian distribution map, we can assume that the Sasanian city situated north of Borazjan (BH29-44) played a central role and that it was of significance for the Rave Ardeshir port, situated as it is in the centre of so many other Sasanid sites. Carter writes «Bushehr may well have acted primarily as a port and entrêpot. The inland town lay within the heart of an agricultural landscape surrounded by other Achaemenid to Sasanian sites, some of which also attained considerable proportions. The town may have been highly significant in coordinating the provision of subsistence or surplus commodities to Bushehr and the redistribution of goods from the port to the major centres in inland Fars».43 The destruction of Rave Ardeshir

33 Carter et al. 2006, 71. 34 Carter et al. 2006, 94. 35 Carter et al. 2006. 36 Carter et al. 2006, 71. 37 Carter et al. 2006, 96. 38 Carter et al. 2006, 71. 39 Carter et al. 2006, 96. 40 Whitehouse - Williamson 1973, 39-41. 41 Piacentini 1985, 60. 42 Whitehouse - Williamson 1973, 37. 43 Carter et al. 2006, 98.

25 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO during attacks by invading Arabs was catastrophic for the city, and archaeological evidence points to the port and city being abandoned simultaneously.44 The symbiotic relationship between the city and port dates back to before Sasanid times. As previously noted, using Carter’s site maps (fig. 3) it becomes clear that the distribution of Sasanian sites in the Bushehr plain is similar to Achaemenid/Parthian site distribution.45 It appears that before Sasanid Rave Ardeshir there was a pre-existing port serving the Bushehr peninsula. Whitehouse and Williamson speak about a possible Achaemenian port on the southern most edge of the peninsulas.46 If we accept the existence of an Achamenian port in the peninsula one can postulate the importance of this port for the expansion of Achaemenian/Parthian settlements. It is possible to find the name of the city that supported the port during the Achamenian and Sasanian periods, using Islamic, Roman and Pahlavi written sources. Nearkhos, Alexander’s admiral (330 BC), mentions a city named Taoxn in his travelogue ‘from Sind to Tigris’. Taoxn was located close to the river Granis, which also had a Persian royal palace situated nearby (Arrian, VII: 421). Later on, the Pahlavi text ‘Shahrestanhaye Iran’ (Iranian towns), refers to a city in the Bushehr plain named Touzak, and finally, in the Islamic sources the name Tavaj appears.47 We can assume that the names ‘Achamenian’, ‘Taoxn’, ‘Sasanian’, ‘Touzak’, and Islamic ‘Tavaj’, were one and the same with a slight alteration in the location of the city. Donald Whitcomb, using aerial photography in 1973, writes about an old canal dating back to the Achaemenian period, which Carter and his team did not locate in 2004.48 As we will see later in the paper, the Sasanians established a large network of irrigation canals and structures in the hinterland valleys. Due to the fertility of the soil in the Bushehr plain there must be more structure related to farming. In addition, when considering the agricultural systems put in place by the Sasanian empire elsewhere, there is surely a need for more intensive surveys to locate Sasanian irrigation systems in the Bushehr plain. In their 2004 survey, Carter and his team also attempted to reconstruct some of the roads between the Bushehr plain and the interior of Fars province.49 Due to the importance of Rav Ardeshir during the Sasanian period, there must have been a busy communication route to the north, which may have passed many Sasanain sites. It was perhaps the only important road to inland Fars throughout the entire Persian coastline from Bushehr to the Hormoz strait.

5. SIRAF PORT The hinterlands of Siraf port was researched in 1973 by an Iranian/British team led by Whitcomb (fig. 4). They surveyed the eastern part of Jam valley, the western end of Galehdar valley, and the road between Jam valley and the Dejgah valley.50 Whitcomb’s research was centred on the nature and limit of settlements in the early Islamic period (9th -

44 Carter et al. 2006, 97. 45 Carter et al. 2006, 66. 46 Whitehouse - Williamson 1973, 35. 47 Kianrad 2005, 108. 48 Carter et al. 2006, 67. 49 Carter et al. 2006, 96. 50 Whitcomb 2009, 78

26 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf

11th century) when Siraf was of great importance and famous for trade but he also noted some Sasanid sites.51 Whitcomb’s results from the 1973 survey indicate that the road between Siraf and the north - especially from Jam to the Dezhgah - was full of caravansary and water storage facilities.52 In contrast he noted that there were no structures related to this road in Galehdar. Instead, he writes about fortified sites which differed from the Siraf structures in Galehdar.53 In the chronology he defined one site in Galehdar, one in Jam and three sites in the valley as Sasanid, a further three sites - two in Jam and one in Dejghah - he attributed to the Sasanid and early Islamic period.54 Of all of these Sasanian sites, five are located on mounds with a height of 50 meters or more,55 which leads one to believe that more intensive surveys in this region could discover more Sasanid sites. In the trade roads from Siraf port to the north there are no concentrations of Sasanid sites as is witnessed in the early Islamic period. This, as Whitehouse says, is because in the Sasanid period Siraf’s port was more important for military purposes,56 and, naturally trading ports (as Siraf was in the Islamic era) require more supporting related settlements and structures. It seems that the economy of the valleys behind Siraf, like Lamer and Bastak (as we will see later), during the Sasanid era was possibly related more to the control of agriculture in the interior settlements.

6. LAMERD, MOHR AND DARO-LMIZAN VALLEYS Lamerd and Mohr districts are the natural continuation of the Galehdar valley to the east, and to the north Alamard dasht district runs parallel to Lamerd and Mohr (fig. 5). Three perennial rivers, Mehran, Alamard dasht and Darolmizan, flow through these plains. The first research in these plains was undertaken by Stein57 and Heinz Gaube58 who discovered more than thirty sites in these plains.59 Whitcomb, in his 1973 survey of the hinterlands of Siraf, also included Galehdar valley in his research, locating fifteen further sites.60 The most extensive survey, carried out by Askari Chahverdi between 1998-2001, located forty-three sites. With the sites discovered by Stein and Gaube, Askari argues that the total number of sites in the valleys was seventy-six.61 Some of the sites discovered by Askari in Galehdar may overlap with those discovered by Whitcomb, whose research had not been published when Askari undertook his survey. Of a total of seventy-six sites and mounds, four are Achaemenid, twelve are Parthian and thirty are Sasanid. In terms of site type, fifteen are Sasanid structures including architectural, water storage and a building for

51 Whitcomb 2009. 52 Whitcomb 2009, 93-94. 53 Whitcomb 2009. 54 Whitcomb 2009, 94. 55 Whitcomb 2009, 83-92. 56 Whitehouse (ed.) 2009, 12. 57 Stein 1937. 58 Gaube 1980. 59 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 6. 60 Whitcomb 2009, 86-90. 61 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 6.

27 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO burials.62 A total of fifty sites were identified which date to the Islamic period (this is due to reuse of sites in different eras), of which nineteen dated back to the early Islamic period.63 According to the survey report by Askari, during the period of Sasanid rule, there is an increase in the population in areas that were already populated and settlements were also established in the foothills to the south and southeast of the area surveyed, where before there had been no habitation.64 There are three times more sites in the Sasanid era as compared to the Parthian period and a ten-fold increase compared to the Achaemenid era.65 This is without considering the fifteen structures found outside settlements and mounds.66 The increase in sites during the Sasanid period when compared with previous eras is remarkable (fig. 6). If we look at the site distribution map it is clear that prior to the Sasanid era most settlements were in the foothills where habitation conditions are favourable, however after the Sasanid era the settlements are found all over the valley, even where there are less favourable conditions for habitation.67 The archaeological evidence illustrates the advanced nature of Sasanid irrigation techniques and land management, which made possible for them to increase settlements in such large numbers. The remains of irrigation systems are reported everywhere close to Sasanid sites. Some of the Sasanid sites would not have been habitable had water not been transferred from remote gorges. One could postulate that there was a degree of forward planning and the irrigation systems predated and made possible the appearance of multiple sites across the valley. It seems that better use of land and water was a policy of central government. Askari, in his report, writes about twenty fortified Sasanid sites, which are located near the settlements in the foothills of the plains.68 These fortified sites are without doubt a sign of governmental presence in the region, and their role could include collection of taxes, provision of security and management advice (especially for developing irrigation systems). Askari argues that the increase in settlements in the valleys is also associated with trade from Siraf port,69 however, during the Sasanid era Siraf port was mainly a military base (it became an important trading port during the early Islamic era) and the authors do not believe the increase in sites to have been affected by the presence of this military base during the Sasanid era. Furthermore, the areas surveyed by Askari were not on the trade routes to the north. In conclusion the increase in sites in the Lar, Lamer and Darolmizan valleys (surveyed by Askari) is due to an increase in agriculture supported by central government.

7. BASTAK DISTRICT. The Bastak district (located to the east of Lamer) is the final district to be discussed in this paper. Geographically Lamer and Bastak are very similar. The Bastak district is

62 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 10-12. 63 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 12. 64 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 10-12. 65 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004. 66 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 12. 67 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 15. 68 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 6. 69 Askari Chaveri - Azarnoush 2004, 9.

28 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf composed of two salty river basins, Mehran in the southwest and Rod-e Shoor (salty river) to the northeast. Until the archaeological survey of Bastak district undertaken by one of the authors in 2007,70 the area had not been researched. A total of two hundred sites and mounds were noted in Bastak, of which seventy were mounds, fortified sites, settlements and cemeteries, with the rest being made up of structures such as bridges, water storage, qanats, canals, caravansaries, guard towers and mosques.71 The seventy sites include four Achaemenid, seventeen Parthian, forty-seven Sasanian (fig. 6) and thirty-eight Islamic sites.72 The results of the Lamer and Bastak surveys in many regards are very similar, there is a major resemblance in settlement patterns from the prehistoric through to the Islamic periods. Both regions see an increase in settlements during the Parthian era, with a perceptible peak during the Sasanid era and near collapse in the Islamic era. During the Sasanid period in the Bastak region there is more than a two-fold increase in settlements and fortified sites as compared to the Parthian era. During the Sasanid era there are twenty- nine settlements in the plains and foothills, and eighteen fortified sites in the mountains of Bastak.73 Thirty-two of the Sasanid sites were newly established and some sites measured 10 hectares or more.74 One of the settlements in the vicinity of the Mehran river, which is locally known as Shahre Sibeh, was thirty hectares in size and is the largest Sasanid settlement in the Bastak district.75 As in Lar and Lamerd, remains of irrigation systems and structures related to water management were discovered in the Bastak district.76 In some instances water canals covering up to 10 km can be seen, and everywhere we see old qanats, locally known as gabri (Zoroastrian), which gives an indication as to the age of these qanats. The location and general shape of fortified sites in the Bastak district, in many cases, are similar.77 For example, most of the fortified sites are oval in shape, generally measuring between 0.5 and 1 hectare, and are situated in the mountain nearest to the settlements in the foothills.78 With regard to the function of these fortified sites, again we must focus on security, collection of taxes, irrigation and management of settlements, especially due to the lack of trade roads linking these settlements and fortified sites. In other words, in the Bastak district, the increase in settlement numbers is due to the improvement of agricultural and irrigation systems which would not have been possible without governmental support.

8. SASANIAN TO EARLY ISLAMIC TRANSFORMATION IN THE DISCUSSED AREAS In most of the surveyed areas, settlement maps indicate that there was a sharp reduction in sites from the Sasanian to the Early Islamic era. The quantity of sites for both periods, in

70 Asadi 2010. 71 Asadi 2010, 8. 72 Asadi 2010, 9. 73 Asadi 2010, 17-18. 74 Asadi 2010, 18-20. 75 Asadi 2010, 18. 76 Asadi 2010, 18-24. 77 Asadi 2010, 18. 78 Asadi 2010.

29 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO the area discussed, is shown in Table 1. In the Early Islamic era the Bastak district lost 80% of its Sasanian sites - the highest reduction in all of the surveyed areas (fig. 7). Based on Carter’s sites table79 this reduction in the Bushehr hinterland is approximately 70% and in the Lar, Lamerd and Dar-olmizan valleys Sasanian sites diminished by 35%. The only district that apparently shows an increase in site numbers from the Sasanian to Early Islamic Period is the Siraf Highlands. As has already been explained, this was due to the importance of the port at Siraf and its trade route to the north. In Bastak district, the sudden abandonment of many sites in the foothills including nearly all of the fortified sites of the Sasanain period has been reported.80 In many of the Sasanian sites there is no sign of typical Early Islamic sherds. Based on a re-survey of these sites, it is clear that in many cases there was not any water resources in their vicinity.81 Indeed, the survival of these sites without a network of channels and water storage structures, capable of transferring water from the remote gorges to the sites, must have been very difficult if not impossible. Few of the Sasanian sites that show continued occupation from the Sasanian to the Islamic period are located in favourable environmental areas. In other words, the settlement pattern in the Bastak district in the Early Islamic era appears to have returned to that of the pre Parthian period. This situation is also reported in the Lamerd and Mohr plains though not with the degree of collapse that is seen in the Bastak, probably due to the slightly better environmental situation in the Lamerd, Mohr and Darolmizan plains (fig. 8). Excavations at Siraf have shown that the Sasanian buildings in this port, particularly its castle were destroyed during Arab attacks. However it seems that the site was soon-after used by the invaders. Whitehouse writes that there is a short gap between the destruction of the Sasanian castle and the building of the Siraf mosque above it. General evidence shows that the rise of Siraf in the early Islamic centuries was due to the annihilation of other Persian Gulf ports, in particular Rav Ardeshir in the Bushihr peninsula. Compared to the exceptional situation of Rav Ardeshir, Siraf had never had the capability to convert its Sasanian military role to one of a trade center for a long time. As Whitcomb writes “Once a port (Siraf) ceased to be simply a small fishing village inhabited by the coastal population (historically Arab), its social and economic structure took a quantum leap to an order of complexity which resulted from a range of trade and by a parasitic relationship with at least one urban centre in the hinterland. This was due to the fact that, in economic terms, there was no regional infrastructure of settlements which could give rise naturally to the port as an urban entity was an artificial implantation, becoming a nexus around which a regional settlement system subsequently developed”.82 Siraf’s decline in middle Islamic centuries was an unavoidable process that was merely accelerated by the catastrophic earthquake of 977 AD.83

79 Carter et al. 2006, 71. 80 Asadi 2010, 20. 81 Asadi 2010, 28. 82 Whitcomb 2009, 96. 83 al-Maqdissi 1967, 96.

30 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf

In the Bushehr hinterlands also, Carter writes about the drop in site numbers during the Early Islamic Period,84 Carter adds «The study recently undertaken of the Williamson Collection proves this point conclusively,85 indicating a drop of over half the number of sites between the 6th-9th Centuries AD». Williamson himself recognised this trend, having recorded just seven sites of the 9th-14th Centuries AD period across the Peninsula, with a combined area of 15 ha, compared with 450 ha.86 This pattern was established based on a brief inspection of Hazar Mardom on the Bushehr Peninsula during the 2004 season, and casual examination of ceramics from Rishahr. Both sites appear to be devoid of common Umayyad and Abbasid period indicators, such as appliqué decorated Alkaline - Glazed Ware or Samarra Horizon Wares.87 As previously noted, at the same time as the Sasanian port of Bushehr fell into decline (Rav Ardeshir), most of the Sasanian sites of the Bushihr plain were also abandoned.

DISTRICT SASANIAN EARLY REFERENCES COMMENTS SITES ISLAMIC SITES BUSHEHR 34 9 Carter et al. 2006 MOHR, LAMERD 30 19 Askari Chaverdi - AND DEZHGAH Azarnoush 2004 BASTAK 47 10 Asadi 2010

SIRAF 8 14 Whitcomb 2009 In Whitcomb’s report three sites (two in HINTERLANDS Jam Valley and one in Dezhgah), have been dated to both early Islamic and Sasanian Periods and here are counted for both periods too.

Tab. 1 - Total number of Sasanian and Early Islamic sites in the researched areas.

9. CONCLUSIONS As Wenke has noted «historical and numismatic evidence tells us much about the role of the Parthians and Sasanians in changing the political and social complexion of south west Asia, but it is imperative that archaeological research also be applied to these problems, particularly in analyzing regional settlement, trade, craft production, and other factors that, while neglected textually, seem to be crucial elements in these cultural changes».88 Due to the lack of historical records relating to Persian Gulf hinterlands in the Sasanian period, archaeological evidence is the only way to study the changing settlement patterns in this region and time period. The results of the surveyed areas show that, like Susiana and Mesopotamia, during the Sasanid era there was a major increase in settlements in the Persian Gulf hinterlands. Water management in the hinterlands, even today, is a key factor in establishing and sustaining settlements. As already mentioned the increase in

84 Carter et al. 2006, 97. 85 Priestman 2005. 86 Prickett - Williamson 1970. 87 Carter et al. 2006, 97. 88 Wenke 1981, 304.

31 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO settlements during the Sasanid period is most likely powered by governmental assistance in land management and irrigation, without which only a small percentage of the hinterlands is suitable for agriculture or settlement. This may well explain the lack of sites prior to the Parthian period, during which time a form of local management and irrigation must have been initiated, which by the time of the Sasanid era was amplified in association with the central government. The presence of central government in the Bastak, Lamer and Siraf hinterlands is evidenced through the presence of multiple fortified sites, close to settlements. The existence of these fortified sites, besides providing security for the settlements was also important for planning and managing the irrigation systems and mobilizing the population to realise governmental plans. It is difficult to estimate the level of farming surpluses in the hinterland areas. Due to the poor soil fertility of most of the discussed areas (except the Bushehr plain), one can postulate that the products were used merely in the interior of Fars province. There is no detailed research on trade in the Persian Gulf hinterlands during the Sasanid period. Analysis of the surveys undertaken in this region however, do not show any concentration of sites related to the trade roads west of Bushshire plain to the Hormuz strait. The lack of trade routes may in part be due to the east/west trend of the mountains and the difficulty in establishing roads in such terrain, inhibiting the movement of goods from ports such as Siraf. In other parts of the Fars province the evidence for trade relations between sites is not strong either. Whitcomb’s research on Ghasre Abu Nasre shows a limited relationship between this and nearby sites. He writes: «The sealings suggest that, at least on an official level, Qasr-i Abu Nasr interacted mostly with Shiraz and secondarily with the district capital, Jur. Connections with other district capitals were very limited, and Qasr-i Abu Nasr did not play the centralised role that Medieval Shiraz did. Rather the sealings suggest that Qasr-i Abu Nasr was a regional town, perhaps typical of many, its influence limited to the plain of Shiraz. The identity of this fortress and its relationship with Shiraz (both the name and the city) must be postponed until the rest of the archaeological evidence from this site has been presented».89 If more research in other parts of the Fars province show the same situation it will be possible to suggest that the economy of Fars province during the Sasanid period was based on agriculture with very limited trade between the sites in the interior parts of the province, though to prove this hypothesis, more research, particularly on seals and coins is needed. Owing to the necessity of governmental management and support for most of the hinterland settlements during the Sasanian Period, their collapse in the Early Islamic period is not surprising. We do not know about the situation created by the arrival of the Arab invaders in detail, but the abandonment of most of the Sasanian fortified sites shows that the Sasanian administrative system that controlled the hinterland districts did not survive. It seems that there was further devastation of sites in important populated centres such as the Bushehr peninsula. Owing to the decline of Rav Ardehir, Siraf’s port temporarily replaced it and became famous in the early medieval centuries. As Carter has noted,90 the reduction of sites in the Bushehr plain (and in other hinterland districts), contrasted with Whitcomb

89 Whitcomb 1984. 90 Carter et al. 2006, 97.

32 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf and Sumner’s hypothesis about Early Islamic Settlements increasing in the interior parts of Fars province.91 Although compared to the high reduction of sites in hinterland areas, the rate of abandonment may have been lower in the interior and northern districts of Fars, but the assumption that the number of sites increased in these latter districts after the Sasanian period must be reviewed.

REFERENCES

ADAMS, R. MCC. 1965 Land Behind Baghdad: A History of Settlement on the Diyala Plains Land behind Baghdad (The University of Chicago Press), Chicago 1965. ASADI, A. 2010 The Settlement Pattern and Land Use in Bastak Plain, Hormozgan Province/Olguy-e Esteghrary va Karbari-e Arazi dar Dasht-e Bastak, Hormozgan (Persian, with English summary): Majale Bastanshenasi va Tarikh (Iranian Journal of Archaeology and History) 45 (2010), pp. 3-32. ASKARI CHAVERI, A. 2008 Archaeological survey report of Gavbandi district of Hormozgan Province, (Archaeological research center of Iran Archive 2008) (unpublished). ASKARI CHAVERI, A. - AZARNOUSH, M. 2004 Survey in the Hinterland of the Persian Gulf: Lamerd and Mohr Districts /Barresi-e Bastanshenakhti-e Mohavatehaye Bastani-e Pas Karanehaye Khalij-e Fars: Lamerd va Mohr: Fars” (Persian, with English summary): Majale Bastanshenasi va Tarik (Iranian Journal of Archaeology and History) 36 (2004), pp. 3-19. CARTER, R.A. - CHALLIS, K. - PRIESTMAN, S.M.N. - TOFIGHIAN, H. 2006 The Bushihr Hinterland Result of the First Season of the Iranian - British Archaeological Survey of Bushehr Province (November - December 2004): Iran 44 (2006), pp. 64-103. DARYAEE, T. 2003 The Persian Gulf Trade in Late Antiquity: Journal of World History 14 (2003), pp. 1-16. DE CARDI, B. 1972 Archaeological Survey in Northern Oman: East and West 25 (1972), pp. 9-76. FISHER, W.B. 1968 Physical Geography: W.B. FISHER (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. I: The Land of Iran, Cambridge 1968, pp. 3-110. GAUBE, H. 1980 Im Hinterland von Siraf: Das Tal von Galledar/Fal und seine Nachbar: Gebiete: Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 13 (1980), pp. 149-166. HOJABRI-NOBARI, A. - KHOSROWZADEH, A - MOUSAVI KOUHPAR, S.M. - VAHDATINASAB, H. 2001 Trade and Cultural Contacts Between Northern and Southern Persian Gulf during Parthians and Sassanians: A study Based on Pottery From Qeshm Island: International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing 18/2 (2011), pp. 89-115.

91 Sumner - Whitcomb 1999, 314.

33 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO

KIANRAD, H. 2005 The Socioeconomic Conditions of Pars Province From Khosro I Reign to the End of Sasanian Period (531-652 AD)/Ouzae Ejtemaee- Eghtesadi-e Eialat-e Pars az Zaman-e Khosro Anushirvan ta Payan-e Doureye Sasani (652-531AD), MA Diss., University of Tehran, Tehran 2005 (unpublished). MAQDISI AL 1967 Ahsan al-taqsim fi marifat aqalim, Leiden 1967. PIACENTINI, V.F. 1985 Ardashir I Papakan and the Wars against the Arabs: Working Hypothesis on the Sasanian Hold of the Gulf: Proceedings of the Society for Arabian Studies 15 (1985), pp. 57-78. PRICKETT, M. - WILLIAMSON, A.G. 1970 Survey on the Persian Gulf Coast, Oxford 1970. PRIESTMAN, S.M.N. 2005 Settlement and Ceramics in Southern Iran: An Analysis of the Sasanian and Islamic Periods in the Williamson Collection, MA Diss., University of Durham, Durham 2005 (unpublished). STEIN, A. 1937 Archaeological Reconnaissance in North Western India and South-Eastern Iran, London 1937. SUMNER,W.M. - WHITCOMB, D. 1999 Islamic Settlement And Chronology in Fars: an Archaeological Perspective: Iranica Antiqua XXXIV (1999), pp. 309-324. WENKE, R.J. 1981 Elymeans Parthians and the Evolution of Empires in Southwestern Iran: Journal of the American Oriental Society 101/3 (1981), pp. 303-315. WHITCOMB, D. 1979 Trade and Tradition in Medieval Southern Iran, PhD Diss., University of Chicago, Chicago1979. 1984 Qasr-I Abu Nasr and the Gulf: R. BOUCHARLAT (ed.), Arabie Orientale. Mesopotamie et Iran Meridional de L’ âge du Fer au début de la Periode Islamique (Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, Mèmoires 37), Paris 1984, pp. 331-337. 2009 The High Valleys: D. WHITEHOUSE (ed.), Siraf. History, Topography and Environment (The British Institute of Persian Studies Archaeological Monographs Series I), Oxford 2009, pp. 77-97. WHITEHOUSE, D. (ed.) 2009 Siraf. History, Topography and Environment (The British Institute of Persian Studies Archaeological Monographs Series I), Oxford 2009. WHITEHOUSE, D. - WILLIAMSON, A.G. 1973 Sasanian Maritime Trade: Iran 11 (1973), pp. 29-49. WILLIAMSON, A.G. 1971-1972 Rishahr and the development of trade from the 3rd to the 7th centuries A.D. Chapter 5 in The Maritime Cities of the Persian Gulf and their Commercial Role from the 5th Century to 1507, PhD Diss., Department of Ashmolean Museum Archive, Oxford University, Oxford 1971-1972.

34 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf

Fig. 1 - Distribution of Salty plugs on north of Persian Gulf (after Fisher 1968, 31).

Fig. 2 - Map of Bushihr plain with identified ancient sites (after Carter et al. 2006, 64).

35 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO

Fig. 3 - Distribution of sites of the Achamenian and Parthian (A) and Sasanian (B) periods in Bushehr Plain (after Carter et al. 2006, 65-66).

Fig. 4 - Satellite Map of the Siraf hinterlands with the map of identified sites (after Whitcomb 2009, 78).

36 XVII (2013) Sasanian and Early Islamic settlement patterns north of the Persian Gulf

Fig. 5 - Satellite Map of the Lar and Lamerd, Bastak, Siraf and Gavbandi districts.

Fig. 6 - Distribution of sites of the Sasanian period in Bushehr (after Carter et al. 2006, 66), Lar, Lamerd (after Askari-Chaverdi - Azarnoush 2004, 12) and Bastak (after Asadi 2010, 17) districts.

37 Asadi - Kouhpar - Neyestani - Hojabri-Nobari VO

Fig. 7 - Distribution of sites of the Early Islamic period in Bushehr (after Carter et al. 2006, 66), Lar, Lamerd (after Askari-Chaverdi - Azarnoush 2004, 13) and Bastak (after Asadi 2010, 21) districts.

Fig. 8 - The occupation Diagram of Bastak (Asadi 2010, 29) and Lamerd - Mohr (after Askari-Chaverdi - Azarnoush 2004, 14) districts.

38 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 39-74]

BEFORE THE GREEKS: THE EARLIEST PHOENICIAN SETTLEMENT IN MOTYA - RECENT DISCOVERIES BY ROME «LA SAPIENZA» EXPEDITION

Lorenzo Nigro - Sapienza Università di Roma

I recenti scavi della Missione archeologica a Mozia della Sapienza nella Zona C hanno individuato il primo stanziamento fenicio, con una serie di pozzi e l’Edificio C8, i cui resti fotografano i momenti iniziali di vita della colonia fenicia nel secondo quarto dell’VIII secolo a.C.

Keywords: Motya; Mediterranean colonization; Phoenician public architecture; pottery chronology; Iron IIA

1. PREMISE Recent archaeological investigations carried out by Rome “La Sapienza” University in the area of the so-called “Kothon” (“Zona C”; fig. 1) at Motya reached in several spots the earliest occupational phases of the Phoenician settlement, dating back from the second quarter of the 8th century BC.1 Earliest strata – lying in this area of the island directly over the virgin soil – yielding Phoenician material were uncovered in Sectors: C South, just inside the South Gate; C South-West, aside the southern side of the artificial basin called “Kothon” (actually a sacred pool erected as centre of the Sacred Area of Baal) and partly overlapping with the “South Gate Quarter” excavated by the British Expedition led by B.S.J. Isserlin;2 C East (some 30 m inland), where a sacred place was erected, which soon became a major temple of the arising city, the so-called Temple of the Kothon (Temple C5 in Motya Periods IVB and V).3 Findings, stratigraphy as well as the paleo-environmental setting of the above mentioned archaeological contexts provided fresh evidence for the historical interpretation of the foundation of Motya.4 “La Sapienza” excavations allowed to fix a firm stratigraphy for the Sacred Area of the Temple of Baal and the Kothon and made it possible to produce an overall periodization of the site, including all of major investigated areas (tab. 1). In the final paragraph of this study the most peculiar features of Motya IVA depicting an example of Phoenician colonization are summarized.

1 This time elapse corresponds to central Iron IIB (800-750 BC) in terms of Levantine archaeological periodization; however, most of diagnostic ceramic indicators in Motya point to Levantine Late Iron IIA (920- 850 BC). This chronological lag is possibly due to conservatorism in the pottery repertoire of Tyre and the other coastal Phoenician centres. Actually, it is made striking because of the lower dating of Carthage to which Motya is also linked, and which is, however, not correlated with Tyre. This chronological shift is particularly interesting taking into account the chronological assessment, for instance, of site of Hazor (strongly connected with Tyre) which offers several good comparison to Motya IVA in strata VIII-VI. 2 See below fns. 11, 14. 3 Finds in Sector C East by the Temple of the Kothon have been thoroughly illustrated in two separate papers (Nigro forthcoming a; forthcoming b). 4 A preliminary illustration of the stratigraphy with the main ceramological anchors is offered in Nigro 2010.

Lorenzo Nigro VO

Motya Abs. Dating Area C - Temple of Tophet City-Walls Period Temple of the Kothon Cappiddazzu I - - - Virgin soil with remains - of human frequentation II 15th - 14th cent. Phase 10 - - Remains of prehistoric Virgin soil - sporadic burials III 12th - 9th cent. prehistoric frequentation - IVA 775-750 Phase 9 - early cult - Erection of the Tophet installations (pits) in the Southern limit: wall temple area; Wells; M.3267 Erection of Building C8 IVB 750-675 Phase 8 - Phase 1 - 1° use of the depositional Refurbishing of Bld. C8 Pits and other cult field Erection of Temple C5 & installations (Ciasca’s stratum VII) C6 VA 675-625 Phase 7 - Fase 2 - 2° use of the depositional Recostruction Archaic temple field 580-576 of Building C8 (Ciasca’s stratum VI) Pentathlos of Refurbishing Erection of the Square Knidos of Temple C5 Shrine VB 625-550 Refurbishing 3° use of the dep. field Malco Building C8 (Ciasca’s stratum V) c. 550 Phase 6 - Destruction Destruction Destruction VIA 550-510 Phase 5 - Phase 3 - 4° use of the depositional Erection of the Erection of First monumental field (east extension) City-Wall Temple C1; Temple (Ciasca’s stratum IV) (Phase I) Erection of the sacred Western extension of pool (the so-called Erection of the Sanctuary: Shrine A; Dorieus 510 “Kothon”); rectangular Erection Wall T1 c. 510 Reconstruction of Shrine temenos Destruction

VIB 510-470 C4 (C6); 5° use of the depositional I Reconstru- Erection of Circular field in the eastern ction of the Temenos extension (Ciasca’s City-Wall stratum III) (Phase II) VIIA 470-425 Phase 4 - Phase 4 - 6° use of the depositional II Reconstru- Temple C2 Second field (Ciasca’s stratum II) ction of the (with the East Wing) Monumental Erection of Building T7; City-Wall Temple 7° use of the dep. field (Phase III) Refurbishing of (Ciasca’s stratum I, 2) VIIB - 425-397/6 Shrine C4 Reconstruction Raising of Wall T2 III Reconstru- of the temenos VIIC Reconstruction of the Reconstruction ction of the Circular Temenos of Building T7; City-Wall (Phase IV) 397/6 Destruction Destruction Destruction Destruction VIII 400-300 Phase 3 - Phase 5 - 8° use of the depositional City-Walls Sanctuary C3 Third Monumental field (Ciasca’s stratum I, used for Temple - 1) industrial c. 300 Abandonment of the Porch addition Abandonment of the activities Circular Temenos Tophet Sanctuary (pottery kilns) 3rd BC - Use of the pool as fishing Re-use in Late Plundering Plundering 7th AD basin and salt-producing Antiquity - Roman device villa

Tab. 1 - Archaeological periodization and chronology of the main archaeological features of Motya.

40 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

2. PALEO-ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING OF THE SOUTH-WEST QUADRANT OF THE ISLAND OF MOTYA Geomorphologists gave their precious help to the renewed investigations in the Area of the Kothon.5 Some basic observations help in reconstructing the Motya paleo-environment: the sea level in antiquity (also during the time span of life of the Phoenician and Punic occupation of the island, i.e. 8th - 4th century BC) was 1-0.8 m lower than nowadays (as it is immediately demonstrated by the submerged causeway connecting Motya to the settlement of Birgi from the North Gate).6 The ground soil of the island consists of clayish marl, with some limestone spurs arising to the east and on the northern edge up to + 6 m a.s.l. The marl imprisoned groundwater aquifer at a very short depth: around 6-8 m on the acropolis and around its flanks and in the northern sector of the island, where a limestone bedrock overlapped clayish marl, and almost 1-2 m deep in the area of the Kothon and in the lower city. Actually, in the south-western quadrant of Motya, although encapsulated inside hydro- repellent clayish marl, and, thus, protected from infiltrations by saline sea-waters, the phreatic aquifer formed a small pond, on the edges of which fresh water sprung out.7 The presence of freshwater, which flowed into the lagoon some thirty meters away, deeply influenced local fauna and flora: swamp environment attracted birds, while fishes crowded where groundwater entered and merged with the extra-saline waters of the lagoon. Moreover, a wide sandy seashore constituted the southern side of the island, assuring an easy landing, just in front of the entrance from the open sea into the shallows of the Marsala Lagoon. Some meters inland, the clayish marl emerged forming a step 1.5 m high, which might be easily drilled to catch drinkable water. An island not far away from the coast, a fairly protected lagoon near the mouth of a river (River Birgi, just north of the lagoon), freshwater springing up at the ground level, an easy landing/berthing coast-line were landscape features usually preferred by Phoenicians. Furthermore these favourable conditions were associated with a strategic position in respect of seafaring routes in the Mediterranean, and with the presence of a hospitable indigenous population living in the nearby countryside.8 All these elements attracted Phoenicians to settle down on the southern shore of the island of Motya as early as the first half of the 8th century BC. The rise of the town very quickly modified the environment, in a way aiming at enhancing the productive capability of the land and to allow seafaring and fishing in the lagoon.9 Actually, the following (Motya IVB and V) urban blow up also corroded primary resources which allowed the settlement: to catch drinkable water became more difficult and cultivable land was eroded by the expansion of dwelt up areas.

5 An équipe of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) lead by D. Di Mauro and L. Alfonsi carried on geomagnetic and geomorphological investigations at Motya in years 2010-2011. 6 Tusa 2010, 450; Caltabiano 2011. 7 Such an environment probably influenced also the Byzantine name of the island dedicated to Saint Pantaleo, from the Greek form p£nta leimîna, “all a luxuriant pond”: Tusa 1985, 581. 8 The relationships with Elyms has not yet been clarified by archaeological investigations at Motya and surely deserves a further commitment (Ampolo 2012, 29-30). 9 The impact of urban rise on the environment has been recently studies in various cases of the homeland, see e.g. with previous bibliography: Kaniewski et al. 2013.

41 Lorenzo Nigro VO

3. THE EARLIEST LANDING PLACE AND THE WELLS IN SECTOR C SOUTH-WEST Archaeological remains of the earliest settlement (Phase 9, Motya IVA, 775-750 BC) in Sectors C South-West basically consisted of beaten earth pavements, thin walls made of riverbed stones, and a series of wells, with an average depth of around 2.5-3 m, excavated in the clayish marl bedrock.10 They are lined with medium/small size unworked stones. From a bird’s eye perspective, they were arrayed along the border between the marl stratum and the 20 m wide sandy seashore, which provided a suitable landing place for the first Phoenician inhabitants of Motya (fig. 2). The earliest dwellings were erected just aside the wells and the seashore on this gentle spur.11 Excavations have shown the peculiar stratigraphy of the area. The clayish marl ground soil was horizontally cut (L.1650) at elevation 0.02 m a.s.l. and, then, it was covered with a stratum of dark brown clayish silt (US.1659), up to 0.4 m thick.12 In one single case (Well 1), the sack-shaped body of the well was built up from the bottom like a dome and then it was buried under the marl and the dark silt layers, which fully isolated it (fig. 3). The wells and some wooden posts holes were connected to simple dwellings made of mudbricks on a single course of stones foundation, obliterated by following occupation.13 In the following phases, only wells mouths were at some instances refurbished and raised up with the floors of reconstructed structures, as it is the case of Wells 1, P.1660 and P.2927, which were kept in use until Phase 4 (Motya VII, 470-397 BC).14 Since pavements associated with wells mouths were no more the original ones belonging to Period IVA15 (they had been cut off by the following reconstructions, after the refurbishing of the sacred area at the mid of the 6th century BC) but later floors ascribed to Period VII, evidence referable to the earliest utilization of the wells was obtained by digging inside them down to their bottoms, where ceramic material from the earliest Phoenician settlement were found.

3.1. Phase 9 (Motya IVA) diagnostic ceramics from wells in Sector C South-West Ceramic vessels from Well P.1673 illustrate some distinguished Phase 9/Motya IVA shapes, including Levantine wares and local Impasto Ware (see below for a more comprehensive discussion): a Red Slip plate with simple indented rim (fig. 4:1);16 two Red Slip carinated bowls (fig. 4:2-3), one with a pair of black painted bands inside and one

10 Nigro 2010, 8-14. 11 The oldest structure excavated by the British Expedition in the southernmost portion of the area (rooms 23, 24, 25, 26) had a well (Well 3) too, again demonstrating that the edge of the island was in antiquity further south (Isserlin - du Plat Taylor 1974, 52-53, plan III). 12 It seems plausible that this silt layer resulted from excavation activities carried out on the edges of the pond, probably aimed at the creation of a pool (the earliest “Kothon”). 13 Nigro 2010, 10, fn. 32. 14 Isserlin 1970, 573-579; Isserlin - du Plat Taylor 1974, 63-65; Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 34-35, 51. 15 A layer of this phase was excavated not far away from Well W.2927, called US.2943. It yielded some Red Slip fragments (MC.10.2943/1, 2), a fragmentary neck of an archaic neck-ridge juglet (MC.10.2943/4), and the bottom of an Impasto Ware tray (MC.10.2943/3). 16 A similar specimen was retrieved in Sounding A, inside Temple C5 (Nigro 2010, 12, fig. 10:MC.06.1592/25).

42 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya outside (fig. 4:3);17 a carinated beaker (“tazza a calice”, fig. 4:4);18 a hand-burnished piñata- pot (“pignatta”; fig. 5:3); a finger impressed mobile taboun (fig. 5:4); a Phoenician amphora with upright emboldened rim (fig. 5:1) made of a reddish distinct fabric;19 two pithoi made of a brittle orange ware20 coated with a thick whitish slip, one decorated by horizontal black painted bands on the trumpet-like neck (fig. 5:2).21 Another diagnostic indicator was found in Well P.2370, an archaic specimen of neck- ridge juglet made of a very fine light beige fabric,22 with Red Slip and black painted decoration (fig. 4:5). This juglet has its prototype in Tyre al-Bass23 and comparisons with the Carthago Tanit I repertoire,24 both for the decoration25 and the shape.26 Other Levantine Red Slip fragments were retrieved in Well P.2927, a shallow structure erected at a very low elevation (around 1 m a.s.l. in antiquity), which also exhibits a building technique characterized by the use of medium size unworked stones.27 Finally, within pit F.2962, several Phase 9 pottery sherds were also found, such as a black bands painted carinated cup (fig. 4:6),28 a Red Slip plate (fig. 4:7), the rim of a Phoenician amphora,29 showing a whitish wash or self-slip (fig. 4:8), and a fragmentary taboun.30 These ceramic fragments are complementary to those from Building C8, which are thoroughly illustrate below (§ 6).

17 This shape is kindred to the so-called “Samaria Ware” bowl (see below § 6), a type which reached its apogee in the first half of the 8th century BC (Yadin et al. 1960, pl. LXVII:5, stratum VI “City of Jeroboam II” = 782- 753 BC). This stratum provides a very firm chronological reference, since it was destroyed by an earthquake occurred in 760 BC: Finkelstein 1999, 63; Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.36:3; Tyre: Bikai 1978, pl. XIX:1, stratum VIII (second half 9th - 8th century BC); Hazor: Yadin et al. 1960, pl. CLXXV:1. 18 This type of chalice is attested to from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age (see Degli Esposti 1998, fig. 10:23, Tell Afis, Area E2, livello 2b, VIII BC). In the Motya repertoire it is attested to in the equipment of several archaic Tombs 69 (Tusa 1978, 21-22, pl. XII:4) and 125 (Tusa 1978, 48, pl. XXXIII:5) of the necropolis, as well as in Building C8 (see below). 19 Levantine comparisons at Hazor and Sarepta date from the first half of the 8th century BC (this type is instead absent in Tyre): Yadin et al. 1989, pl. CLXXXVI:3, stratum VI; Anderson 1988, pl. 36:2, stratum C2. Ramon Torres 1995, 180-182, type T-3.1.1.1./T-3.1.1.2.; about the diffusion of this type see Ramon Torres 1995, 274- 275. Other examples in Motya: Toti 2002, 278, pl. 1:2. 20 Munsell Soil Color Chart 10R5/8 Red. 21 Nigro 2010, 8-9, fig. 7. Two more specimens were retrieved in the earliest strata on the acropolis in Area D: Caltabiano - Spagnoli 2010, 129, pl. IX, with previous references. Comparisons in the Levant are from Period II of the Tyre al-Bass necropolis (Núñez 2004, 354-356, fig. 243:4). 22 Munsell Soil Color Chart 10YR7/4 Very Pale Brown. 23 Núñez 2008-2009, fig. 6b. 24 The provenance for quoted comparisons, retrieved in a secondary deposit, has been convincingly surmised from Tophet Tanit I stratum (Docter 2007, 56, n. 138a). 25 Briese 2007, 316, n. 1786, fig. 138. 26 Briese 2007, 316, n. 1795, fig. 138. 27 This well was devoted to a specific religious function in Phase 4 (Motya VII, 470-397 BC), perhaps also thanks to its early origin (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 32-48). 28 A good comparison is a specimen from Tell es-Safi/Gat, anchored in the late Iron IIA horizon (Maeir - Fantalkin - Zukerman 2009, fig. 5:3). 29 Also this specimen exhibits a reddish fabric: Munsell Soil Color Chart 10R5/8 Red. The type is that of wide- bodied storage jars: Núñez 2004, 302. 30 MC.10.2962/17.

43 Lorenzo Nigro VO

4. BUILDING C 8 IN SECTOR C SOUTH (PHASES 9-8, MOTYA IV-V, 775-675 BC) Some meters east of the marl bump cut through by the wells assuring a generous supply of freshwater to the early Phoenician settlement, a major edifice oriented NNE-SSW, called Building C8, was erected. This structure was founded in the lowest an southernmost strip of the clayish marl bed, up to the line where the latter is overlapped by the sandy stratum of the seashore, so that the southern façade of the building was around 20 m far away from the water’s edge. Unfortunately, the ruins of Building C8 were drastically razed when the area just inside the South Gate31 was regularized for the erection of the Circular Temenos of the Sacred Area of the Kothon at the mid of the 6th century BC (Motya VI, c. 550 BC). It had at least two constructional phases: the earliest building was erected in Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775- 750 BC), and lasted in use with new floors in Phase 8 (Motya IVB, 750-675 BC); it was reconstructed in Phase 7 (Motya V, 675-550 BC) with a slight change in orientation in its west wing.32 The remains of the building and its content came out after a meticulous excavation, which is still ongoing. Walls were 0.42-0.55 m wide: they were made of grayish-beige mudbricks33 set upon a carefully laid stone foundation cut into the clayish-marl bedrock. Medium size stones were laid inside trenches 0.6 m wide and 0.3 m deep, with biggest stones used as stretchers to reinforce walls junctions, thresholds and lintels; small riverbed stones were carefully displaced upon this foundation to serve as a basis for mudbrick superstructures. In Phase 7 reconstruction, sandstone blocks and small pebbles are introduced among building material. The plan of Building C8 consists of two rows of rooms: a front wing, with the entrance room (L.4436) and other subsidiary spaces to the east and the west, and, in the rear row, a series of at least three parallel long rooms (fig. 6), displaced transversally along the main axis NNE-SSW. Entrance room L.4436 introduced into a passage (L.4438) with two juxtaposed doors, opened towards the west (L.4417) and the east (L.4419);34 the latter door still preserved a circular socket on a small limestone block. From vestibule L.4438, the westernmost of the three long rectangular rooms (L.4444) was entered. It was 6.72 m long and 1.8 m wide. Some stones found on the floor of the room suggested the presence of a small bench or supports for ceramic vessels. On the northern side of the room numerous amphorae fragments were indeed collected, unfortunately disturbed by a later pit (F.4407), suggesting that this part of the room served as a warehouse. On the eastern side of room L.4444, a 0.7 m wide door (L.4414) opened, with a shallow step marked by small stones, towards the adjacent room (L.4430) through wall W.4113. The latter was 0.55 m wide and

31 The South Gate, as it is now preserved, belongs to the latest 5th century BC reconstruction of a complex defensive system erected for the first time at the mid of the 6th century BC (Ciasca 1993) razing and burying pre-existing structures (basically Building C8). 32 This second reconstruction of Building C8 (Phase 7, Motya VA, 675-550 BC) was partly excavated by the British Expedition directed by B.S.J. Isserlin, (Isserlin - du Plat Taylor 1974, 52-54, pl. III). Isserlin considered it a “counting house” like that of Toscanos - in Sicilian vernacular a “baglio” (Isserlin 1982, 114- 116, figs. 1-2). For a preliminary re-examination see Nigro - Lisella 2004, 78-81, figs. 2-6. 33 Munsell Soil Color Chart 10YR8/3 Very Pale Brown. 34 A western wing existed, but it was significantly changed in Phase 7 - Period V, 675-550 BC.

44 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya it was made with medium and small size stones. At certain spots some mudbricks of the superstructure were still readable upon the foundation (their dimensions were around 0.32 m x 0.24 m). The main room of this wing of the building was L.4430, measuring 6.82 m x 2.44 m wide (fig. 7). The floor level was slightly higher than in room L.4444, and it gently sloped from the north to the south. In the northern half of the room, the pavement was reinforced with small pebbles and pressed marl. In the south-western corner the tine of a red deer antler (fig. 8:1) was retrieved on the floor. Against the western wall, just north of door L.4414, there was a noticeable concentration of Red Slip open shapes (see below § 5). Another door (L.4418), opened roughly at the centre of the east side of L.4430, connected it with the third parallel room (L.4450). Since L.4450 was also erected at a higher level (+ 0.2 m), there was a step made of small stones in the passage (0.74 m wide). The wall between L.4430 and L.4450, in its southern stretch, had been dismantled and its prosecution was, thus, detected thanks to the foundation trench. L.4450 had roughly the same dimensions of L.4430 (6.85 x 2.44 m), but it had been more drastically razed due to its higher elevation. A public function may be surmised for Building C8, due to the building technique and the number, dimensions, and layout of rooms.35

5. SMALL FINDS FROM BUILDING C8 (PHASE 9, MOTYA IVA, 775-750 BC) Finds from these rooms shed a thin ray of light on the earliest Phoenician settlement at Motya (fig. 8). Faunal remains basically belong to caprovines (Ovis vel capra), fishes (tuna, Thunnus thunnus), shellfish (Mollusca), crabs (Brachyura), and red deer (Cervus elaphus, fig. 8:1).36 An exception is represented by the teeth of a killer whale (Orcinus orca), perhaps an exotic heirloom (fig. 8:2).37 Seeds attest the presence of barley (from the East?) and legumes (lentils and chickpeas), while pollen diagrams are compatible with a freshwater landscape, as well as reed buds seen in the microscopic study of brick fragments, which depict a matched lacustrine and maritime ecosystem. Obsidian (from Pantelleria) flakes (fig. 8:3), polished marble pebbles (fig. 8:4) and limestone net sinkers (fig. 8:5-6) are common tools of a fishing community, while a carefully worked and inlayed mother of pearl (fig. 8:7) and the rim of a fine calcite alabastron (fig. 9:1) hint at trade of precious items from the Levant. An Egyptian green serpentinite amphora dating from the Old Kingdom, was found by the British Expedition and remained unpublished (fig. 9:2). The latter item may be inscribed in the number of Egyptian vessels shipped by Phoenicians to the West during the 22nd Dynasty.38

35 The existence of public buildings in the Phoenician colonies as in the metropoles of the homeland has been questioned. Nonetheless, as already noticed after the discovery of Building C in Toscanos, such warehouses connected with trade activities were brought to light in several sites (Aubet 2006, 100). 36 A local small size ungulate widely spread on the western cusp of Sicily since Prehistoric times and beyond. 37 This porpoise is top of the marine animal hierarchy and its presence in the early faunal assemblage at Motya hint at long distance navigation. However, as Orcinus orca was deemed a netherworld animal, its connection with the cult of Baal ‘Addir in his chthonian aspects performed in the nearby sacred area (Sector C East) may also be recalled. I am indebted to Francesca Alhaique, who is carrying on their study. 38 I wish to thank G. Capriotti Vittozzi who studied this vessel and suggested a manufacture during the Old Kingdom - 3rd Dynasty (Capriotti Vittozzi forthcoming).

45 Lorenzo Nigro VO

6. THE CERAMIC INVENTORY OF BUILDING C8 (PHASE 9, MOTYA IVA, 775-750 BC) Pottery retrieved on the floors and in foundation layers of Building C8 illustrates more vividly the ceramic repertoire of Motya IVA already sketched out in § 3.1. The inventory basically consisted of Red Slip Ware - Black Painted open shapes, hand - made Impasto Ware vessels (trays, pots, bowls and cups), amphorae, pithoi, and some painted and Red Slip neck-ridge juglets.

6.1. Red Slip and Black Bands Painted Red Slip (henceforth RS) open shapes represent roughly 28% of total amount of pottery collected from Building C8, a somewhat high figure possibly related to a certain function of this structure. At least two thirds of these RS occurrences are of Levantine provenience. Common shapes are plates (coated inside and on the rim), carinated bowls (coated inside and outside - sometimes combined with blanked bands) and hemispherical cups/bowls (band coated across the rim, inside and outside). Plates (fig. 10:1-3) have natural sometimes thinned horizontal rim and slightly concave central dish. Several comparisons may be found in the homeland dating from the 9th to the early 8th century BC,39 as well as in the Phoenician expansion to the West.40 The bowl with slight carination (fig. 10:4) belongs to a very popular Palestinian type, dating from the 9th century BC onwards.41 The rim is inverted and thickened inside and outside, with a flat or very slightly rounded top. Carinated bowls belong to two main types: a deep one with high flaring rim (fig. 10:5- 8),42 and a shallow one, with flatten carination and slightly everted short rim (fig. 10:9- 11).43 The first type shows a thick stick-burnished red slip inside and outside in the upper part of the body above the ridged carination. In some cases, black painted bands 0.2-0.3 mm-wide (fig. 10:5) or blanked bands, alternated to red slip (fig. 10:7), highlight the shape design. The shallow type is polished and the red coating extends inside and outside over the keel.44 Both types are kindred to the Samaria Ware bowl (one SW specimen is also present

39 Comparisons were selected in the homeland from most reliable contexts (Arie 2013, 671), e.g., from Hazor strata X-IX (Yadin et al. 1989, pl. CCXII:10), dating from the 9th century BC. MC.11.2491/17 (fig. 10:2) can be also compared to specimen from Tyre stratum V (around 760 BC; Bikai 1978, pl. XVIIIA) MC.11.2491/2. In Carthage they may find several comparisons (e.g. Vegas 1999, fig. 5), even though such early layers have not yet been excavated (in the Juno mound it may be they are). 40 For example in Toscanos: compare MC.12.4427/5 (fig. 10:1) with Ramon Torres 2008, fig. 3:9. 41 Arie 2013, fig. 13.38:1, stratum H-6 (= VA-IVB), 9th century BC. See also: Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.36:11. The same type is well illustrated at Beth Shan (Mazar 2006, 328-329, fig. 12.1:BL52). As regards Tyre, a comparison is illustrated among pottery from stratum IX, dated to the time span 850-800 BC (Bikai 1978, XIX:26). Other exemplificative specimen are in the assemblage of Khirbet Qeiyafa: Kang - Garfinkel 2009, fig. 6.3:22. 42 In the homeland this shape appears in Hazor stratum IXa (Yadin et al. 1960, pl. CLXXVIII:26-31) and reaches its maximum diffusion in stratum VI (Yadin et al. 1960, pl. CLXXXI:1-5); Carthage: Vegas 1999, 143-144, fig. 33, Form 4.2. 43 Homeland prototypes for this shape are exhibited by the Megiddo 9th century BC (stratum VB) inventory: Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.23:14 (= Lamon - Shipton 1939, pl. 31:144), and Hazor stratum IXa: Yadin et al. 1960, CLXXVII, 5; at Carthage: Vegas 1999, 145-146, fig. 37, Form 7. 44 The Red Slip shallow type is also present in earlier assemblages, as it is the case of 10th - 9th century BC Khirbet Qeiyafa (Kang - Garfinkel 2009, fig. 6.3:15-17).

46 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya in L.4430, fig. 10:14), which was widely spread over the Levant45 and the Mediterranean in the 9th and in the 8th century BC, tagging the earliest Phoenician presence also in Cyprus,46 in the Iberian Peninsula47 and in North Africa (Utica and Carthage).48 Locally manufactured carinated bowls (fig. 10:12-13) are made of a reddish coarse fabric,49 entirely coated by a patchy red slip (darker inside and lighter outside).50 They have a somewhat thicker walls with a gentle carination. Other common Red Slip open shapes in the Building C8 ceramic assemblage are hemispherical bowls (fig. 11:1-4), with a RS band on the rim (sometimes extending to the whole body), either an outer decoration consisting of a wavy band (fig. 11:5-6).51 A juglet with emboldened rim is characterized by a couple of horizontal black painted bands roughly at the mid of the neck, and a RS band on the rim top (fig. 13:1-2); the handle shows a series of horizontal black painted strokes.52

6.2. Plain Ware Plain Ware is made of buff reddish fabric,53 with small mineral inclusions. Its inventory includes bowls with straight or incurved walls, basins and mortars, and some open shapes descending from the same carinated prototypes dominating on Red Slip Ware (fig. 10:10- 11). Decorated Plain Ware bowls show straight walls, thinned or emboldened rim, and either vertical or horizontal painted bands (sometimes matching black and red bands; fig. 11:7-9). Such types belong to the same Levantine horizon of first half of the 8th century BC.54 A popular type of Plain Ware is the carinated cup or chalice (fig. 11:12-13), which, in successive developments,55 will be decorated either with black painted or red slip bands. Earlier specimens are made of a somewhat coarse grayish fabric and have low keel and disk

45 Comparisons from stratified assemblages providing reliable chronological references are Hazor strata VII-VI (Yadin et al. 1989, pl. CCXIV:9) and Tyre stratum VIII (Bikai 1978, pl. XIX:1), all dating ante 760 BC. Another reliable stratified comparison for MC.11.2491/40 is provided by Beth Shan, Area P, stratum P-8 (“early 8th century BC”; Mazar 2006, 202, 326-327, fig. 12.1:BL55, namely pl. 18:18-20). 46 Karageorghis 2002, 145, fig. 307. 47 See e.g. Toscanos (Aubet 2006, 100), Chorreras (Aubet - Maass-Lindemann - Schubart 1975, 171, fig. 6:34), Morro de Mezquetilla (Niemeyer - Schubart 1975, pls. 6:724, 7:340); Malta (Ciasca 1982, figs. 4-6). 48 Both types will become very popular in Carthage in the second half of the 8th century BC. The have been named respectively type “CCc1” and type “CCc3”: Peserico 2007, 284-285, fig. 117 and 286-287, fig. 119. They spread over also further to the West (Ramon Torres 2008, fig. 4:F-20971). As regards the “Samaria Ware” bowl, in Carthage the earliest specimen is illustrated by Peserico 2007, fig. 121:1647. 49 Munsell Soil Color Chart 2.5YR6/6 Light Red. 50 A specimen (MC.11.2491/37, fig. 10:12) was apparently refined on a slow wheel. 51 This shape also occurs in 8th century BC in the Levantine homeland, e.g. at Tyre strata VIII-IX (Bikai 1978, pls. XVIIIA:7, XIX:25). 52 Bikai 1987, pl. X:329; Núñez 2008-2009, fig. 1. 53 Munsell Soil Color Chart 7.5YR8/4 Pink. 54 This type is attested in strata VIII-VII at Hazor (Yadin et al. 1989, pl. CCXIV:10) and in stratum IX at Tyre (Bikai 1978, pl. XIX:23). For the shape of MC.11.2491/8 see Mazar 2006, 324-325, 442-443, fig. 12.1:BL51, pl. 28:19, dating from the 9th century BC. 55 See e.g. Carthage: type Bic (Peserico 2007, 381-382, fig. 114).

47 Lorenzo Nigro VO base. As stated above, also this type is deep enrooted in the Canaanean ceramic tradition, going back to the Late Bronze Age.56 Nonetheless, this chalice gained a certain success in Phoenician sites of central and western Mediterranean. This apparently happened in Motya because of its familiarity with cups already affirmed in the indigenous ceramic assemblage, as a common shape of the household table inventory. The chalice of a typical Levantine incense-burner (fig. 11:13) also provide a useful reference, belonging to a very popular and well-sequenced shape in Palestine.57

6.3. Impasto (“handmade”) Ware Impasto Ware (henceforth IW) represents roughly 27% of the entire ceramic equipment retrieved in Building C8. It exhibits a burnished beige58 surface (self-slip) with pinkish - sometimes light red - shadings and a light gray fabric, sometimes darker in the core,59 due to the coarse inner texture including mineral and vegetal tempers. IW comprises a variety of open shapes basically connected with food processing and a series of small and medium- size jars with flat base, devoted to temporary storage.60 The noticeable quantity of IW in the assemblage of Phase 9 seems to be a distinguishing feature of the early settlement. Handmade burnished pottery, even though not often recognized as a proper production (like IW at Motya IV-V), was a common ceramic ware in the composite material culture horizon of Iron Age I-IIA Levant,61 also widespread in the Aegean and central Mediterranean.62 The repertoire includes plates of different sizes; they made it possible to warm up viands before consumption. A small plate (fig. 12:1) possibly served for condiment, as like as a miniature piñata-pot (fig. 12:2) (a ritual use cannot be totally excluded for this miniature shapes). Deep bowls with sinuous profile (fig. 12:3-4) have polished outer surface and a relatively thin walls thickness. They recall slipped and burnished shapes of the Levantine repertoire.63 Hemispherical bowls (fig. 12:5-6) are coarser and sometimes have a rough flat base. They may have inner slip. Incised lines are a sort of decoration or a device aiming at

56 Mullins 2007, 522-523, pl. 67:7. 57 See, e.g., comparisons from Megiddo stratum H-6 (= VB, 9th century BC: Arie 2013, 689-690, fig. 13-39:1); Tell es-Safi (Maeir [ed.] 2012, pl. 14.18:5); Khirbet Qeiyafa (Kang - Garfinkel 2009, fig. 6.8:1,3,6). 58 Munsell Soil Color Chart 10YR7/6 Very Pale Brown. 59 Munsell Soil Color Chart 5YR7/2 Pinkish Gray. 60 A general summary about what was usually labeled “impasto” at Motya is offered by A. Orsingher (2013). One has, of course, to make a distinction between Impasto Ware, that is a peculiar ceramic production attested to in Periods Motya IV and V, and which encompasses cooking pots and other shapes, from generic handmade ware sometimes used for big containers (pithoi and storage jars). Coarser Impasto was also used for molding taboun, loom-weights and other items (e.g. crucibles and vats). On the role of cooking pots as vestiges of the Canaanite tradition in 1st millennium ceramic productions: Spagnoli 2010, 69-71. 61 For example, at Iron IIA Khirbet Qeiyafa in Palestine (Kang - Garfinkel 2009, 144-145). In some cases, like at Tell Kazel in Iron I it was considered a cultural identifier (Badre 2003, 88). 62 An overview is offered by V. Karageorghis (2011). 63 This shapes appears as the rough replica of a common 9th century BC Palestinian bowl type: e.g. Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.20:4, Megiddo stratum K-2 (= VA-IVB). Earlier comparisons are found in Tell ‘Arqa (Charaf 2008, 147-149, pl. 4:a-b).

48 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya an efficient absorption of direct contact heating. Huge dishes (“scodelloni”) (fig. 12:7-8), are a typical shape of table service: they could be heated on embers and served to wait on the main course with boiled cereals, vegetables and meat. Pots and trays (“pignatta” and “teglia” fig. 12:9-12), of varying depths and diameters, were usually equipped with bar handles and a robust heating-resistant flat base. The natural rim is either inverted of everted, sometimes burnished with a tool. Bar handles may also serve to hang pots inside taboun, while trays were put directly on embers. Small jars (fig. 13:8-10) for temporary food storage exhibit a simple everted rim. Sometimes the neck is refined on the wheel. They are polished on the outer slipped surface. Other larger containers may be also included among Preservation Ware pithoi (fig. 13:11- 12), with a high flaring rim, which reminds the shape of a later class of local production.64 Impasto Ware pithoi show a buff to pink - reddish65 unrefined slip (a variety of colours were generated due to the scarce control over oxygenation while cooking such big vessels), with a sort of decoration resulting from trickling liquid clay on the body (fig. 13:13-14), as a result of neck application.

6.4. Transport Amphorae Several fragments of handles and bodies of Levantine Late Iron IIA amphorae were retrieved, usually showing a short upright rim (fig. 13:5-7) and a range of fabrics pointing to Tyre, but also Sidon, i.e. the Southern coast of Phoenicia as suitable provenance area.66

6.5. Cypro-Phoenician Productions The presence of Cypro-Phoenician wares - in Phases 9 and 8 - marks the strong link with the homeland, where these productions are a typical feature of the Phoenician repertoire in the 10th - 9th century BC. Fragments of a decorated amphoroid crater were found in L.4430 (fig. 13:3-4). They belong to a specimen with wide cylindrical neck and tapering body characterized by the black painted decoration with horizontal strokes on the handles, and metopae subdividing spaces filled up with concentric circles on the shoulders.67 It is a Phoenician imitation of a Cypriot White Painted Ware (or Bichrome Ware IV) amphora, as exemplified by

64 Spagnoli 2007-2008, 332-333, fig. 3, pithos MM78/96/1 from Tomb T11 and T164. A. Ciasca (1979, 209, fn. 7) considered the latter an indigenous shape under Greek Geometric influence, that is later on attested elsewhere in Sicily (e.g. in Himera: Vassallo 2003, 1347, pl. CCXXIX:1). Actually this pithos may be more simply ascribed to the a coastal tradition in the homeland. 65 Munsell Soil Color Chart 5YR7/6 Reddish Yellow. 66 Albeit the rim shape, which is consistent with well-known types from Tyre (Bikai 1978, pls. XVIIIA:12, 14; XXI:11) and Hazor (Yadin et al. 1960, pl. CLXXIX:11), also fabrics are comparable with Levantine ones (Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.35:3). The inventory seems, thus, basically oriented on the homeland (Núñez 2004, 302-303), and, in some cases, also towards Sardinia and the “Circulo del Estrecho” (similarly at what observed for Carthage: Bechtold - Docter 2010, 91). 67 Two amphoroid craters where found in the Favissa F.1680 by the spring of the Temple of the Kothon (Nigro 2010, 21, fig. 21).

49 Lorenzo Nigro VO comparison with specimens retrieved in the necropolis of Tyre al-Bass,68 Tell Rachidiyeh,69 Sidon,70 and Khaldé.71 Other Cypriote fragments belong to a White Painted skyphos (fig. 13:15), which finds stratified counterparts at Hazor,72 Beth Shan73 and Megiddo74 in early Iron IIB strata (end of 9th century BC).

7. MOTYA IVA CERAMIC REPERTOIRE AND ITS CHRONOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS Basing upon pottery analysis to draw out chronological conclusions or to put forward a dating may be a daring exercise. Nonetheless, this is - at the moment - the most widespread way of dating used in archaeology. Comparisons are risky, especially when we have moved to a completely different scenario, and it is indispensable to rely upon petrographical analyses of fabrics and to compare a whole inventory instead of single shapes. This becomes more difficult in a colonial vs homeland repertoire, being the former a composite and derivative one by definition.75 Nonetheless, as provisional as it must be considered, the ceramic inventory of Building C8 - on the basis of the references enumerated above - can be anchored within the Levantine archaeological periodization in what is presently called Late Iron IIA (e.g. Megiddo strata VA-IVB), and can be dated (in Palestine) to the time elapse 920-850 BC. This makes it clear that Levantine chronology does not fit central Mediterranean (Carthage’s) one, since Carthaginian comparisons (especially the RS carinated bowls) (again confining us to “ceramic history” - for what it may be valid) are usually placed into a considerably lower chronological time span (as early as 760 BC onwards). Is this due to the different timetable adopted by archaeologists in Carthage in respect of the Levant? Absolute dating across the Mediterranean is, thus, made more and more wanted by recent discoveries in Motya. No Greek ceramics were found in Phase 9 strata. Phase 8 layers, conversely, yielded a fragment of a pendent semi-circle skyphos, of a bowl “à chevron”, and end with a noticeable presence of early Proto-Corynthian pottery.76 May the lack of Greek imports in Phase 9 depend on archaeological randomness? Either has this absence a historical- chronological meaning? Did the arrival of Phoenician settlers occur before the spreading over Western Sicily of early Greek ceramic material? How the latter datum can cope with the overwhelming comparisons to Late Iron IIA material of the Levant observed in the Motya IVA (Area C - Phase 9) pottery repertoire?

68 Núñez 2004, (292-293, fig. 100:1, urn 49). All comparisons are ante 760 BC, according to the re-calibrated dating of Tyre al-Bass Period III end (Aubet - Núñez 2008, 99-100). 69 Doumet-Serhal 2004, 76, figs. 10-11; nowadays in the National Museum, Beirut. 70 Doumet-Serhal 2006, 23, fig. 35:1. 71 Doumet-Serhal (ed.) 2008, 48, fig. 80. 72 Yadin et al. 1960, CLXXXII:18. 73 Smith 2006, 376-377, fig. 12.84:c. 74 This vessel is called “deep rounded bowl” - stratum K2 (= VA-IVB, second half of 9th century BC); first publication: Finkelstein - Zimhoni - Kafri 2000, fig. 11.18:10; second publication: Arie 2013, 727, 810-811, figs. 13.30, 13.46:4. 75 Bartoloni 1996, 85-86. 76 Nigro forthcoming b.

50 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

The apparent chronological outcome of this evidence is that Motya IVA should be dated in the second half of the 9th century. However, in a preliminary assessment (tab. 2), in order to not lose the decisive connection with Carthage, I opted for Low Chronology in the Levant, setting Phase 9 in Area C and consequently Motya IVA in the second quarter of the 8th century BC.77 Nonetheless, Carthage dating remains still too low of at least a quarter of century (it might be hypothesized that the earliest strata there have not yet been excavated, but I would leave such questions to the archaeologists working there).

Cypriot Motya Ceramic Cyprus Tyre Southern Carthage Period Horizons Periodization al-Bass Levant Area C -Phases (Bikai 1987)

IVA Cypro- Salamis Horizon 775-750 BC Geometric III Period III 850-750 BC Iron IIB Phase 9 900-750 BC 850-722/701 BC

Early Punic I Kition Horizon Period IV 760-675 BC 750-700 BC IVB 750-675 BC Cypro-Archaic I Iron IIC Phase 8 (750-600 BC) 722/701-587/6 BC

VA Amathus 675-625 BC Horizon Period V 700-600 BC Early Punic II Phase 7 Iron IIIA 675-530 BC VB Neo-Babylonian c. 550 BC Period Phase 6 (587/6-535 BC) destruction and Cypro-Archaic II razing (600-480 BC) VI Early Phase 5 Iron IIIB Punic/Middle Temple C1, Persian Period Punic Circular Temenos 535-333 BC 530-480 BC 550-470 BC

Tab. 2 - Comparative timetable with ceramic horizons between Motya, Cyprus and the Levant.

77 Actually, as a Palestinian archaeologist, I would conversely follow A. Mazar’s Modified Conventional Chronology (Mazar 2008, passim).

51 Lorenzo Nigro VO

8. MOTYA IVA (775-750 BC): THE EARLIEST PHOENICIAN SETTLEMENT Recent archaeological investigations by Rome “La Sapienza” University in the area of the so-called “Kothon” illustrated so far, as well as those carried out at the Tophet, and in Areas B, F and L,78 allow to sketch out a tentative picture of the early Phoenician settlement on the island of Motya. Motya was, from many respects, a settlement colony and, at the meantime, a trade colony - a strategic stop-over on the maritime route towards Sardinia79 and the West.80 Actually, its physiognomy rather eludes the traditional scholarly approaches to Phoenician colonization,81 pointing towards a more integrated model, matching aspects of mercantile enterprise, population development, agricultural production, metal exchange, cultural assimilation of indigenous entities and, contemporarily, identity creation, as well as showing a peculiar relationship with the yet unknown metropolis (not necessarily Tyre),82 the latter aspect marking a sensible difference in respect of Carthage.

8.1. Settlement size and demography The earliest settlement started from the anchorage (“Μοτύη”),83 identified by the southern shore of the island, and grew up on the adjacent marl bump and around the nearby springs, where the earliest sacred place was erected (Temple C5 of Motya IV and V [Area C - Phases 8-7, 750-550 BC]).84 The sacred area and the mercantile and dwelling quarters aside supported a fast development of the town. From that point, the dwelt area spread over the acropolis (which had already hosted a huge prehistoric village), reaching the northern limestone reliefs and bringing the overall extension of the newborn town up to around 12 hectares (fig. 14). At least two thirds of the island were left free for agriculture. There were three main poles: the southern dwelling quarter with the nearby public buildings (Building C8 and Temple C5), the acropolis (where, with the urban consolidation of Motya V, other major buildings arose), and the northern quarter with docks and industrial areas linked to the facing Sicilian coast.85

78 Nigro 2012, passim. The present article is a provisional report limited to Phase 9 remains in Sectors C South and C South-West (see below fn. 83). 79 At least two Sardinian askoi were found at Motya, one in the earliest layers of the Temple of the Kothon (Nigro 2010, 13, fig. 11). 80 Was the anchorage of Motya already known from the past? This seems probable, but, as far as it is presently known, there is not positive evidence supporting such an eventuality, except for the fact that the island hosted a flourishing prehistoric village during Italian Middle Bronze Age. 81 Aubet 2006, 95-96; Gubel 2006, 88-89; about Phoenician colonization of Sicily are still valid V. Tusa’s observations (Tusa 1982). 82 Three main streams of Levantine colonizations were identified: from northern Phoenicia (Syria), from Sidon and from Tyre, presumably in a progressive chronological scansion from the north to the south (Bartoloni 1990, 158; Bartoloni 1998, 342-343). 83 Amadasi Guzzo 2005; Guizzi 2011, 457. 84 Phases 9-8 temple in Area C are thoroughly illustrated in Nigro 2010, 12-27; Nigro forthcoming b. 85 The Sicilian coast east of the island, only 800 m far away, was swampy, while the coast to the north, around 1.5 km far away, was more suitable for a settlement: here the site of Birgi arose.

52 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

The necropolis, which originally extended over the not-dwelt region along the northern side of the island, apparently reflected a medium mercantile class with some warrior.86 As regards the number of dead in the earliest stages of life of the town, it is impossible to calculate them. However, it has to be stressed that in several spots re-displaced burials were found,87 due to changes in the necropolis organization and, successively, to the erection of the city-walls. Moreover, it cannot be excluded that a part of the population was buried elsewhere, presumably in the nearby site of Birgi, already at an early stage of life of the colony. Nonetheless, in spite of its huge extension, the number of inhabitants for hectare can be estimated in around 120/150 people. The earliest community of Motya IVA roughly gathered 1500 people, a number which is consistent with a self-sufficient community - based upon agriculture, fishing and caprovines fostering on the island itself.

8.2. Architecture and urban layout Architectural remains belonging to Motya IVA were excavated in Area C and in Areas B, E and L. Domestic architecture is made of mudbricks upon foundations made of uneven stones. Dwellings are very simple one-to-three rectangular rooms with annexed shelters (supported by wooden posts) and yards, usually equipped of wells and mobile ovens, neatly different from major constructions, like Building C8, which seems inspired to Levantine prototypes, and which had at least two storeys.88 Plan, orientation, and limits of dwelt compounds depended on the street network, which basically consisted of a main north-south axis crossing the entire island, which circumvent the western foot of the acropolis, and concentric and radial streets descending from the latter, running towards south, west, north-west and east (fig. 14).

8.3. Public Buildings Building C8 and the earliest Temple C5, which was included into a sacred precinct, as well as the earliest construction of the Temple of “Cappiddazzu” (erected in Motya IVB [750-675 BC] and transformed into a proper sacred building in Period Motya VA), are freely inspired to the Levantine architectural prototype of the Four Room Building.89 The building technique consisted of solid stone foundations and two-three superimposed

86 Spagnoli 2007-2008, 326-327, fns. 22-24. There are not monumental tombs except some huge sarcophagi in an unexplored area of the island, which may hint at the existence of upper class tombs not yet identified. 87 Spagnoli 2007-2008. 88 In this early stage of urbanization, dwellings must have had only one storey, as it is demonstrated by the absence of pillars within the walls, while this became a necessity in the following centuries. 89 The so-called “Four-room Building” is a plan-scheme variously adopted in Levantine public and religious architecture during the Iron Age (Shiloh 1970; Ottosson 1980, 66-71; Wright 1985, 275-280; Nigro 1994, 203-291, 436-452; Sharon - Zarzecki-Peleg 2006), descending from a classic layout of Palestinian domestic architecture of this period, that of the so-called “Four-room House” (Braemer 1982), showing three parallel long rooms with a transversal room behind their short sides covering the entire width of the house. Levantine Iron II “Four-room Buildings”, moreover, are often characterized by the adoption of the ashlar masonry typical of the Phoenician tradition with dressed blocks regularly displaced on alternated courses (Shiloh 1979, 50-69; Stern 1992, 302-304). The latter features could be difficulty accomplished in a colony. Recently J. Kamlah offered a different interpretation for this architecture and named the type “Tripartite Pillar Temple” (Kamlah [ed.] 2012). See also Nigro 2009; Nigro 2012.

53 Lorenzo Nigro VO courses of uneven stones supporting walls made by regular mudbricks sized on the 0.525 m royal cubit. The use of wooden pillars and fine plaster, the careful revetment of floors, and the fitting of passages with stone slabs, neatly distinguish such buildings from ordinary domestic dwellings and working or familiar storage devices, thus suggesting that a public institution had realized and maintained them.

8.4. Industrial installations and specialized activities Scarce evidence is available for the presence of productive activities, probably because Motya IVA layers were reached only in limited sectors of the island. However, bronze fragments and iron slag testify to the importation of bronzes and a limited local production of iron objects, as well as the presence of reed suggests the manufacture of ropes for rigging and fishing nets, necessary tools for sailors. Also pottery was, of course, locally produced, as it shown by Plain Ware, Impasto Ware, and Storage Ware fabrics. Nonetheless, the colony shows since the beginning the establishment of industrial activities, such as weaving and dyeing (spindle whorls and murices are found), the above mentioned pottery production (local transport amphorae) and fish treatment with salt, which will soon develop, giving fuel to the successive fast economic growth of Motya.

9. MOTYA AND THE PHOENICIAN EXPANSION TO THE WEST Even if the reconstruction illustrated above still needs further in-depth analyses, it can be stated that Motya, at its early stage, shared almost the same elements of its material culture with the homeland, but, at the same time, it absorbed Cypriot influences and embraced indigenous cultural elements (the cultural sharing with Carthage will, instead, become more evident in the following Phase 8 - Motya IVB, 750-675 BC). What seems more difficult is to set the foundation of Motya within the overall dynamics of Phoenician expansion, which – since the early definitions by S. Moscati90 – are still widely debated.91 Of the three major fluxes which can be recognized, the earliest one is the most elusive: it involved Phoenician centres of the northern coast of Levant (Arwad?) and presumably followed the battle of Qarqar (853 BC) in the third quarter of the 9th century BC.92 The second stream was instead headed by the main cities of the South, Sidon and Tyre, in the last decades of the 9th century BC, after the fall of the Omride dynasty in Israel. Finally, the third has Tyre as undisputed protagonist continuing its radiant expansion in the first half of the 8th century BC. The foundation of Motya might be ascribed to the second flux and attributed either to Tyre – which, however, had just founded Carthage on the opposite side of the Sicilian Canal, or to Sidon – a centre which recent archaeological investigations are contributing to enlighten also for the Iron Age. At the present stage of research, it seems that during the first generation of colonists in the second quarter of the 8th century BC, the town, its inner layout and the maritime space surrounding it, were skillfully organized through a wise displacement of functions and

90 Moscati 1988, 46-49. 91 I just mention the stimulating insights by P. Bernardini (2006). A reference text is M.E. Aubet’s summary on Phoenician colonization in Iberia (Aubet 2006). 92 Liverani 1988, 696.

54 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya structures (wells area, dwelling quarters, temples, channels, wharves, marketplace, necropolis, etc.), including farming and productive compounds. Such an efficient spatial organization might have favoured the reception of new Phoenician settlers arriving from Eastern Sicily as a consequence of Greeks colonization there (Thucidides VI, 2, 6) in the following period (Motya IVB, 750-675 BC). By that time, Motya witnessed an occupational and demographic boom, being almost completely built up, thus, becoming a major Phoenician colony of central Mediterranean together with Utica and Carthage.

REFERENCES

AMADASI GUZZO, M.G. 2005 Ancora sul nome Mozia: A. SPANÒ GIAMMELLARO (a cura di), Atti del V Congresso Internazionale di Studi Fenici e Punici, Marsala-Palermo, 2-8 ottobre 2000, Palermo 2005, pp. 575-578. AMPOLO, C. 2012 Convivenze etniche, scontri e contatti di culture in Sicilia e Magna Grecia: Aristonothos. Scritti per il Mediterraneo antico 7 (2012), pp. 15-54. ANDERSON, W.P. 1988 Sarepta I: The late bronze and Iron Age strata of area II.Y: the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania excavations at Sarafand, Lebanon (Publications de l’Universite libanaise), Beirut 1988. ARIE, E. 2013 The Iron IIA Pottery: I. FINKELSTEIN - D. USSISHKIN - E.H. CLINE (eds.), Megiddo V. The 2004-2008 Seasons (Tel Aviv University Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Monograph 31), Winona Lake 2013, pp. 668-828. AUBET, M.E. 2006 On the Organization of the Phoenician Colonial System in Iberia: C. RIVA - N.C. VELLA (eds.), Debating Orientalization. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Change in the Ancient Mediterranean, London - Oakville 2006, pp. 94-109. AUBET, M.E. - MAASS-LINDEMANN, G. - SCHUBART, H. 1975 Chorreras. Eine phönizische Niederlassung östlich der Algarrobe-Mündung: Madrier Mitteilungen 16 (1975), pp. 137-178. AUBET, M.E. - NÚÑEZ, F.J. 2008 Cypriot Imports from the Phoenician Cemetery of Tyre, Al-Bass: C. DOUMET-SERHAL (ed.), Networking patterns of the Bronze and Iron Age Levant. The Lebanon and its Mediterranean Connections, Beirut 2008, pp. 71-104. BADRE, L. 2003 Handmade Burnished Ware and Contemporary Imported Pottery from Tell Kazel: N. STAMPOLIDIS - V. KARAGEORGHIS (eds.), Sea Routes: interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th - 6th c. BC: Proceedings of the International Symposium Held at Rethymnon, Crete, September 29th - October 2nd, 2002, Athens 2003, pp. 83-99. BARTOLONI, P. 1990 Aspetti precoloniali della colonizzazione fenicia in Occidente: Rivista di Studi Fenici 18 (1990), pp. 157-167. 1996 Appunti sulla ceramica fenicia tra Oriente e Occidente dall’VIII al VI sec. a.C.: Transeuphratène 12 (1996), pp. 85-95.

55 Lorenzo Nigro VO

1998 Protocolonizzazione fenicia in Sardegna: M. BALMUTH - R. TYKOT (eds.), Sardinian and Aegean Chronology. Proceedings of the International Colloquium “Sardinian Stratigraphyand Mediterranean Chronology”, Tufts University, Medford, March 17-19, 1995, Oxford 1998, pp. 341-346. BECHTOLD, B. - DOCTER, R. 2010 Transport Amphorae from Punic Carthage: an overview: L. NIGRO (ed.), Motya and the Phoenician Repertoire between the Levant and the West, 9th - 6th century BC. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Rome, 26th February 2010 (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica V), Roma 2010, pp. 85-116. BERNARDINI, P. 2006 Phoinikes e Fenici lungo le rotte mediterranee: A. MASTINO - P.G.I. SPANU - R. ZUCCA (a cura di), Tharros Felix 2 (Collana del Dipartimento di storia dell’Università degli studi di Sassari 30), Roma 2006, pp. 197-242. BIKAI, P.M. 1978 The Pottery of Tyre, Warminster 1978. 1987 The Phoenician Pottery of Cyprus, Nicosia 1987. BRAEMER, F. 1982 L’architecture domestique du Levant à l’âge du fer (Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations Cahiers 8), Paris 1982. BRIESE, C. 2007 Die phönizisch-punische Feinkeramik archaischer Zeit Red Slip-, Bichrome- und Glattwandige Ware (Plain Ware). Geschlossene Formen: H.G. NIEMEYER et alii (Hrsg.), Kathago. Die Ergebnisse der Hamburger Grabung unter dem Decumanus Maximus (Hamburger Forschungen zur Archäologie 2), Mainz am Rhein 2007, pp. 305-327. CALTABIANO, A. 2011 Gli approdi di Porta Sud e Porta Ovest a Mozia: L. NIGRO (a cura di), Mozia - XIII. Zona F. La Porta Ovest e la Fortezza Occidentale. Rapporto preliminare delle campagne di scavi XXIII - XXVII (2003-2007) condotte congiuntamente con il Servizio Beni Archaeologici della Soprintendenza Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Trapani (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica VI), Roma 2011, pp. 439-456. CALTABIANO, A. - SPAGNOLI, F. 2010 Mozia: la ceramica fenicia arcaica dal sondaggio stratigrafico III nella Zona D: L. NIGRO (ed.), Motya and the Phoenician Repertoire between the Levant and the West, 9th - 6th century BC. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Rome, 26th February 2010 (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica V), Roma 2010, pp. 117-149. CAPRIOTTI VITTOZZI, G. forthcoming Un vaso litico dall’Area Sacra del Kothon di Mozia: A. LEMAIRE (ed.), Mélanges en l’honneur de Josette Elayi: Phéniciens d’Orient et d’Occident (Cahiers de l’Institut du Proche-Orient ancien du Collège de France 2), Paris. CHARAF, H. 2008 Arqa during the Bronze Age: connections with the West: C. DOUMET-SERHAL (ed.), Networking patterns of the Bronze and Iron Age Levant. The Lebanon and its Mediterranean Connections, Beirut 2008, pp. 121-166. CIASCA, A. 1979 Scavi alle mura di Mozia (campagna 1978): Rivista di Studi Fenici 7 (1979), pp. 207-227. 1982 Insediamenti e cultura dei Fenici a Malta: H.-G. NIEMEYER, Phönizer im Westen. Die Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums über “Die phönizische Expansion im westlichen Mittelmeerraum” in Köln vom 24. bis 27. April 1979 (Madrider Beiträge 8), Mainz am Rhein 1982, pp. 133-154.

56 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

1993 Sulle mura di Mozia: M.L. FAMÀ (a cura di), Studi sulla Sicilia Occidentale in onore di Vincenzo Tusa, Padova 1993, pp. 27-31. DEGLI ESPOSTI, M. 1998 Area E2. I livelli del Ferro I e II. Architettura e materiali: S.M. CECCHINI - S. MAZZONI (a cura di), Tell Afis (Siria). Scavi sull’acropoli 1988-1992 (Ricerche di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente 1), Pisa 1998, pp. 231-269. DOCTER, R.F. 2007 Published Settlement Contexts of Punic Carthage: Carthage Studies 1 (2007), pp. 37-76. DOUMET-SERHAL, C. 2004 Jars from the First Millennium BC at Tell Rachidieh: Phoenician Cinerary Urns and Grave Goods: C. DOUMET-SERHAL (ed.), Decade. A decade of Archaeology and History in the Lebanon (Archaeology and History in the Lebanon Special Edition), Beirut 2004, pp. 70-79. 2006 Preliminary Report on the Iron Age at Sidon: British Museum Excavations 2003-2004: Archaeology and History in the Lebanon 23 (2006), pp. 2-29. DOUMET-SERHAL, C. (ed.) 2008 Networking patterns of the Bronze and Iron Age Levant. The Lebanon and its Mediterranean Connections, Beirut 2008. FINKELSTEIN, I. 1999 Hazor and the North in the Iron Age: A Low Chronology Perspective: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 314 (1999), pp. 55-70. FINKELSTEIN, I. - ZIMHONI, O - KAFRI, A. 2000 The Iron Age Pottery Assemblages from Areas F, K and H and Their Stratigraphic and Chronological Implications: I. FINKLSTEIN - D. USSISHKIN - B. HALPERN (eds.), Megiddo III. The 1992-1996 Seasons (Monograph Series 18), Jerusalem 2000, pp. 244-324. GUBEL, E. 2006 Notes on Phoenician Component of the Orientalizing Horizon: C. RIVA - N.C. VELLA (eds.), Debating Orientalization. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Change in the Ancient Mediterranean, London - Oakville 2006, pp. 85-93. GUIZZI, F. 2005 Mozia: l’attracco: L. NIGRO (a cura di), Mozia - XIII. Zona F. La Porta Ovest e la Fortezza Occidentale. Rapporto preliminare delle campagne di scavi XXIII - XXVII (2003-2007) condotte congiuntamente con il Servizio Beni Archeologici della Soprintendenza Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Trapani (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica VI), Roma 2011, pp. 457-463. KAMLAH, J. (ed.) 2012 Temple Building and Temple Cult. Architecture and Cultic Paraphernalia of Temples in the Levant (2.-1. Mill. B.C.E.) (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, 41), Wiesbaden 2012. KANIEWSKI D. - VAN CAMPO, E. - MORHANGE, C. - GUIOT, J. - ZVIELY, D. - SHAKED, I. - THIERRY, O. - ARTZY, M. 2013 Early urban impact on Mediterranean coastal environments: Nature Sci. Rep. 3, 3540 (2013), pp. 1-5. KANG, H.-G. - GARFINKEL, Y. 2009 The Early Iron Age IIA Pottery: Y. GARFINKEL - S. GANOR, Khirbet Qeiyafa Vol. 1. The 2007-2008 Excavation seasons (Israel Exploration Society), Jerusalem 2009, pp. 119-149. KARAGEORGHIS, V. 2002 Early Cyprus. Crossroads of the Mediterranean, Milan 2002.

57 Lorenzo Nigro VO

2011 Handmade Burnished Ware in Cyprus and elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean: V. KARAGEORGHIS - O. KOUKA (eds.), On Cooking Pots, Drinking Cups, Loomweights and Ethnicity in Bronze Age Cyprus and Neighbouring Regions. An International Archaeological Symposium held in Nicosia, November 6th - 7th 2010, Nicosia 2011, pp. 87-94. ISSERLIN, B.S.J. 1970 Motya (Trapani). Rapporto preliminare sugli scavi degli anni 1961-1965: Notizie degli scavi di antichità XXVI (1970), pp. 560-583. 1982 Motya: urban features: H.-G. NIEMEYER, Phönizer im Westen. Die Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums über “Die phönizische Expansion im westlichen Mittelmeerraum” in Köln vom 24. bis 27. April 1979 (Madrider Beiträge 8), Mainz am Rhein 1982, pp. 113-131. ISSERLIN, B.S.J. - DU PLAT TAYLOR, J. 1974 Motya. A Phoenician and Carthaginian City in Sicily. A Report of the Rxcavations undertaken during the years 1961-1965 on behalf of the University of Leeds, the Institute of Archaeology of London University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, Leiden 1974. LAMON, R.S. - SHIPTON, G.M. 1939 Megiddo 1. Seasons of 1925-34: Strata I-V (Oriental Institute Publications 42), Chicago 1939. LIVERANI, M. 1988 Vicino Oriente. Storia, società, economia, Roma - Bari 1988. MAEIR, A.M. (ed.) 2012 Tell es-Safi/Gath I: The 1996-2005 Seasons (Ägypten und Altes Testament 69), Wiesbaden 2012. MAEIR, A.M. - FANTALKIN, A. - ZUKERMAN, A. 2009 The earliest Greek imports in the Iron Age Levant: new evidence from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: Ancient West and the East 8 (2009), pp. 57-80. MAZAR, A. 2006 Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989-1996. Volume I. From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period (Israel Exploration Society), Jerusalem 2006. 2008 From 1200 to 850 B.C.E.: Remarks on Some Selected Archaeological Issues: L.L. GRABBE (ed.), Israel in Transition. From Late Bronze II to Iron IIA (c. 1250-850 B.C.E. Volume 1. The Archaeology, New York - London 2008, pp. 86-120. MOSCATI, S. 1988 La colonizzazione mediterranea: AA.VV., I Fenici. Catalogo della mostra. Palazzo Grassi, Venezia, 6 marzo - 6 novembre 1988, Milano 1988, pp. 46-53. MULLINS, R.A. 2007 The Late Bronze Age Pottery: A. MAZAR - R. MULLINS (eds.), Excavations at Beth Shean 1989-1996. Volume II. The Middle and Late Bronze Age Strata in Area R (Israel Exploration Society), Jerusalem 2007, pp. 390-547. NIEMEYER, H.G. - SCHUBART, H. 1975 Trayamar, die phönizischen Kamergräber und die Niederlassung an der Algarrobo- Mündung (Madrider Beiträge 4), Mainz 1975. NIGRO, L. 1994 Ricerche sull’architettura palaziale della Palestina nelle età del Bronzo e del Ferro (Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale V), Roma 1994. 2009 Il Tempio del Kothon e il ruolo delle aree sacre nello sviluppo urbano di Mozia dall’VIII al IV secolo a.C.: S. HELAS - D. MARZOLI (Hrsg.), Phönizisch und punisches Städtewesen.

58 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Akten der internationalen Tagung in Rom vom 21. bis 23. Februar 2007 (Iberia Archaeologica Band, 13), Mainz am Rhein 2009, pp. 241-270. 2010 Alle origini di Mozia: stratigrafia e ceramica del Tempio del Kothon dall’VIII al VI secolo a.C.: L. NIGRO (ed.), Motya and the Phoenician Repertoire between the Levant and the West, 9th - 6th century BC. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Rome, 26th February 2010 (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica V), Roma 2010, pp. 1-48. 2012 Scavi e restauri dell’Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ a Mozia, 2007-2009: il Tempio del Kothon, il Temenos Circolare, il Sacello di Astarte e il Tofet: C. AMPOLO (ed.), Sicilia occidentale. Studi, rassegne, ricerche. Atti delle settime giornate di studi sull’area elima e la Sicilia occidentale nel contesto mediterraneo, Erice 12-15 ottobre 2009 (Seminari e convegni 29), Pisa 2012, pp. 207-218. forthcoming a Il primo stanziamento fenicio a Mozia: nuovi dati dall’area sacra del Kothon: A. LEMAIRE (ed.), Mélanges en l’honneur de Josette Elayi: Phéniciens d’Orient et d’Occident (Cahiers de l’Institut du Proche-Orient ancien du Collège de France 2), Paris. forthcoming b Temples in Motya and their Levantine prototypes: Phoenician religious architectural tradition: Proceeding of the Beirut Conference 2012 (Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 15), Beyrouth. NIGRO, L. - LISELLA, A.R. 2004 Il Quartiere di Porta Sud: L. NIGRO - G. ROSSONI (a cura di), «La Sapienza» a Mozia. Quarant’anni di ricerca archeologica [1964-2004] (Quaderni di Archeologica Fenicio- Punica/Colour Monograph 01), Roma 2004, pp. 78-83. NIGRO, L. - SPAGNOLI, F. 2012 Alle sorgenti del Kothon. Il rito a Mozia nell’Area sacra di Baal ‘Addir - Poseidon. Lo scavo dei pozzi sacri nel settore C Sud-Ovest (2006-2011) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica/Colour Monograph 02), Roma 2012. NÚÑEZ, F.J. 2004 Preliminary report on ceramics: M.E. AUBET (ed.), The Phoenician cemetery of Tyre-Al Bass. Excavations 1997-1999 (Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises, Hors- Série I), Beyrouth 2004, pp. 281-373. 2008-2009 A snapshot of the Phoenician Ceramic Sequence: the neck-ridge jug from Tell el-Ghassil at the AUB Museum: Berytus 51-52 (2008-2009), pp. 47-70. ORSINGHER, A. 2013 La ceramica di impasto a Mozia tra cultura fenicia e tradizione indigena: L. GIRÓN - M. LAZARICH - M. CONCEIÇÂO (eds.), Actas del I Congreso Internacional sobre Estudios Cerámicos. Homenaje a la dra. Mercedes Vegas, Cádiz 1 al 5 de noviembre de 2010, Cádiz 2013, pp. 757-790. OTTOSON, M. 1980 Temples and Cult Places in Palestine (Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilization 12), Uppsala 1980. PESERICO, A. 2007 Die phönizisch-punische Feinkeramik archaischer Zeit Red Slip-, Bichrome- und Glattwandige Ware (Plain Ware). Offen Formen: H.G. NIEMEYER et alii (Hrsg.), Kathago. Die Ergebnisse der Hamburger Grabung unter dem Decumanus Maximus (Hamburger Forschungen zur Archäologie 2), Mainz am Rhein 2007, pp. 271-304. RAMON TORRES, J. 1995 Las ánforas fenicio-púnicas del Mediterraneo central y occidental (Instrumenta 2), Barcelona 1995. 2008 El comercio y el factor cartaginés en el Mediterráneo occidental y el Atlántico en época arcaica, in Los Fenicios y el Atlántico: R. GONZÁLEZ ANTÓN - F. LÓPEZ PARDO - V. PEÑA

59 Lorenzo Nigro VO

ROMO (eds.), Coloquio del Centro de Estudios Fenicios y Púnicos IV, Madrid 2008, pp. 233-258. SHARON, I. - ZARZECKI-PELEG, A. 2006 Podium Structures with Lateral Access: Authority Ploys in Royal Architecture in the Iron Age Levant: S. GITIN - J.E. WRIGHT - J.P. DESSEL (eds.), Confronting the Past. Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever, Winona Lake 2006, pp. 145-167. SHILOH, Y. 1970 The Four-Room House - Its Situation and Function in the Israelite City: Israel Exploration Journal 20 (1970), pp. 180-190. 1979 The Proto-Aeolic Capital and Israelite Masonry (Qedem. Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology of Jerusalem 11), Jerusalem 1979. SPAGNOLI, F. 2007-2008 Sepolture intramurali a Mozia: G. BARTOLONI - M.G. BENEDETTINI (a cura di), Atti del Convegno internazionale “Sepolti tra i vivi: evidenza ed interpretazione di contesti funerari in abitato”, Università di Roma «La Sapienza», 26-29 aprile 2006 (Scienze dell’Antichità 14), Roma 2007-2008, pp. 323-346. 2010 Cooking pots as an indicator of cultural relations between Levantine peoples in Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Origin, diffusion and typological development of cooking ware in Levantine a Cypriot repertoires (14th - 7th centuries BC) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica IV), Roma 2010. STERN, E. 1992 The Phoenicians Architectural Elements in Palestine During the Late Iron Age and the Persian Period: A. KEMPINSKI - R. REICH (eds.), The Architecture of Ancient Israel. From the Prehistoric to the Persian Period, Jerusalem 1992, pp. 302-309. TOTI, M.P. 2002 Anfore fenicie e puniche: M.L. FAMÀ (a cura di), Mozia gli scavi nella “Zona A” dell’abitato (Collana di archeologia del Centro Internazionale di Studi Fenici, Punici e Romani, Comune di Marsala, 1), Bari 2002, pp. 275-304. TUSA, S. 2010 Il sistema portuale di Mozia. Il Kothon: L Nigro (a cura di), Mozia - X. Zona C. Il Kothon. Zona D. Le pendici occidentali dell’Acropoli. Zona F. La Porta Ovest. Rapporto preliminare della XXII campagna di scavi - 2002 condotta congiuntamente con il Servizio Beni Archeologici della Soprintendenza Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Trapani (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica I), Roma 2010, pp. 445-464. TUSA, V. 1978 Relazione preliminare degli scavi eseguiti a Mozia negli anni 1972, 1973, 1974: A. CIASCA et alii, Mozia - IX. Rapporto preliminare della Missione congiunta con la Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Sicilia Occidentale (Pubblicazione del centro di Studio per la Civiltà Fenicia e Punica 18; Studi Semitici 50), Roma 1978, pp. 1-98. 1982 La presenza fenicio-punica in Sicilia: H.-G. NIEMEYER, Phönizer im Westen. Die Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums über “Die phönizische Expansion im westlichen Mittelmeerraum” in Köln vom 24. bis 27. April 1979 (Madrider Beiträge 8), Mainz am Rhein 1982, pp. 95-112. 1985 I Fenici e i Cartaginesi: G. PUGLIESE CARRATELLI (a cura di), Sikanie. Storia e civiltà della Sicilia greca, Milano 1985, pp. 577-631. VASSALLO, S. 2003 Ceramica indigena arcaica ad Himera: AA.VV., Atti delle Quarte Giornate Internazionali di Studi sull’Area Elima, Erice 1-4 dicembre 2000, Pisa 2003, pp. 1343-1356.

60 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

VEGAS, M. 1999 Phöniko-punische keramik aus Karthago: A. VON DEN DRIESCH et alii, Karthago III. Die Deutschen Ausgrabungen in Karthago (Deutsches Archäologisches Institute), Mainz am Rhein 1999, pp. 93-219. WRIGHT, G.R.H. 1985 Ancient Building in South Syria and Palestine (Handbuch der Orientalist), Leiden - Köln 1985. YADIN, Y. - AHARONI, Y. - DUNAYEVSKI, E. - DOTHAN, T. - AMIRAN R. - PERROT, J. 1960 Hazor II. An Account of the Second Season of Excavations, 1956, Jerusalem 1960. YADIN, Y. - AHARONI, Y. - AMIRAN, R. - DOTHAN, T. - DOTHAN, M. - DUNAYEVSKI, I. - PERROT, J. 1989 Hazor III-IV. An Account of the Third and Fourth Seasons of Excavations, 1957-1958, Jerusalem 1989.

61 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 1 - Aerial view of the Area of the “Kothon” (“Zona C”) at Motya, from west.

Fig. 2 - Wells and Building C8 of Phase 9 excavated in Sector C South-West at Motya.

62 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 3 - Phase 9 wells in Sector C South-West at Motya: Well 1, marl L.1650 and dark silt US.1659 layers in foreground; the south-eastern corner of the Kothon in background; from south-east.

63 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 4 - Pottery from Phase 9 wells in Sector C South-West (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC); ratio 1:4.

64 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 5 - Pottery from Phase 9 wells in Sector C South-West (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC); ratio 1:4.

65 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 6 - Plan of Building C8 of Phases 9-8 (Motya IV, 775-675 BC) in Sector C South.

66 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 7 - 3D model view from the south and view from north of Building C8 of Phases 9-8 (Motya IV, 775-675 BC) in Sector C South.

67 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 8 - Small finds from Building C8 of Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC).

68 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 9 - 1, Imported calcite alabastron from Building C8; 2, Pharaonic green serpentinite amphora from B.S.J. Isserlin’s excavations in the South Gate area.

69 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 10 - Red Slip and Black Bands Painted plates and carinated bowls from Building C8 of Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC); ratio 1:4.

70 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 11 - Red Slip hemispherical bowls and Plain Ware from Building C8 of Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC); ratio 1:4.

71 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 12 - Impasto Ware from Building C8 of Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC); ratio 1:4.

72 XVII (2013) Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya

Fig. 13 - Pottery assemblage from Building C8 of Phase 9 (Motya IVA, 775-750 BC): RS Painted juglet (1-2); Cypro-Phoenician amphoroid crater (3-4, 16); Transport Amphorae (5- 7); Impasto Ware small jars (8-10); Impasto Ware pithoi with a buff to pink - reddish fabric (11-14); Cypriote White Painted skyphos (15); ratio 1:4.

73 Lorenzo Nigro VO

Fig. 14 - Urban layout of Motya IVA (775-750 BC), with the southern area with the wells, the temple and Building C8 highlighted.

74 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 75-103]

POTTERS’ WHEELS FROM KHIRBET AL-BATRAWY: A RECONSIDERATION OF SOCIAL CONTEXTS*

Chiara Fiaccavento - Sapienza University of Rome

Nel “Palazzo delle asce di rame” della città del Bronzo Antico IIIB (2500-2300 a.C.) di Khirbet al-Batrawy sono stati rinvenuti tre dischi superiori di tornio da vasaio, una delle maggiori innovazioni tecnologiche del IV-III millennio a.C. Questa scoperta ha portato ad una riconsiderazione dello strumento in tutti i contesti noti del Bronzo Antico palestinese al fine di indagarne i risvolti socio-economici all’interno della società sud-levantina del periodo.

Keywords: potter’s wheel/tournette; Khirbet al-Batrawy; Southern Levant; Early Bronze Age; ceramic manufacturing production

1. INTRODUCTION The introduction in Southern Levant, during the second half of 5th Millennium BC, of the innovative technological device of the potter’s wheel,1 and its increased use especially in the 3rd Millennium BC, i.e. the use of rotary kinetic energy (RKE)2 to improve pottery manufacture, both in terms of time of realization and quality of production, and its cultural significance, has recently been disentangled by V. Roux and P. de Miroschedji.3 A long time passed since the beginning of excavations in the Southern Levant before the rotary device was recognized and its role re-evaluated,4 this is possible due to the fragmentary state of preservation of these tools retrieved in excavations. The finding of two complete tournettes of the Early Bronze III in the palatial complex of Khirbet Yarmouk has

* I wish to express my deepest thank to Prof. Lorenzo Nigro, who has given me the great opportunity to participate in the Khirbet al-Batrawy and Tell es-Sultan/Jericho excavations, introducing me to the study of the Early Bronze Age in Southern Levant, and who allowed me the publication of the just discovered items which are the object of this paper. 1 A number of studies were dedicated to Chalcolithic pottery of Southern Levant (see on them § 3. and fns. 21- 23). For a recent study on this topic, but focused on Iran (Susa, Shahr-i Sokhta and Tepe Rud-iBiyaban 2), Syria (Tell Mardikh/Ebla) and Turkey (Hacinebi Tepe) see Laneri 2011; on Northern Mesopotamia (with previous comparisons): Tell Feres al-Sharki - see Baldi 2012; Tell Atij and Tell Gudeda - see Boileau 2005; Tell Leilan - see Blackman et al. 1993. A recent study on the origins and use of potter’s wheel in Egypt claims that this innovative machine was introduced from the Levant during the reign of Pharoh Sneferu in the 4th Dynasty (c. 2600 B.C.) - see Doherty 2013. 2 The different fashioning techniques are recognizable through a combined study of surface features and microfabrics. Significant surface features include specific morphology of grooves, rilling, ridges and walls while significant microfabrics include specific structural patterns, air voids, particle orientation and joins. They have been extensively explained and experimentally tested by V. Roux and M.-A. Courty (Courty - Roux 1995; Roux - Courty 1998). 3 Roux - de Miroschedji 2009. 4 The identification of wheel macro-traces over EBA pottery is not a new information (starting from the pivotal study over the early pottery of Tell el-Mutesellim/Megiddo [Engberg - Shipton 1934]), however, since in most of finds only one disk was retrieved, the reconstruction of the complete object remained long hypothetical, based principally over the comparisons of the better known MB-LB stone pivot wheel (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 155). Chiara Fiaccavento VO shed new light over this peculiar instrument,5 clarifying definitively its functioning and its practical performance. The recent discovery of three pieces of potter’s wheel from the public complex of Khirbet al-Batrawy (Northern Jordan), here illustrated, suggests an additional re- examination of all the EBA potter’s wheels in their finding contexts, with the aim of reconstruction their operational utilization, in the perspective of what has been called “chaîne opératoire”,6 from the production of the object itself, to its belonging and its weight in economic terms in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levantine society.

2. POTTERS’ WHEELS FROM KHIRBET AL-BATRAWY The 6th-9th (2010-2012) seasons of excavations of Rome “La Sapienza” Expedition to Palestine & Jordan7 have further clarified stratigraphy and architecture of the public building unearthed in Area B South, located at the northern border of the khirbet dominating the valley of Upper Wadi Zarqa, called Palace B (consisting of two Pavilions: Building B1 and B3;8 fig. 1). The latter was erected inside the massive fortification system in the Early Bronze IIIA and lasted in use also during IIIB (Batrawy IIIB - phases 3d-a; 2500-2300 BC ca.), when it was tremendously destroyed.9 The Palace gathered productive and administrative functions, as it is testified by the impressive quantity of complete pottery vessels stored in it (among them also a ceremonial vessel),10 along with luxury objects, a bone knife, four copper axes and a dagger,11 a complete gemstones necklace,12 and three potters’ wheels, these last preserved only with their upper disk (§ 2.1.; 2.2.; 2.3.).13

5 The palatial complex of Khirbet Yarmouk, Palace B1 (superimposed to previous Palace B2), belongs to the last EB III phase of the city (de Miroschedji 2003). 6 The concept of “chaîne opératoire” refers to the series of technical operations necessary to produce finished items through the transformation of raw materials (Cresswell 1996). 7 Excavations at Khirbet al-Batrawy were carried out since 2005 (director: Lorenzo Nigro; field director: Maura Sala), under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and they were supported by Sapienza University of Rome, the Italian Ministry of Education and University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy. 8 The layout of the building shows two roughly symmetrical pavilions separated by a central corridor, with pillared halls and storerooms; Building B3 is the Western Pavilion, B1 the Eastern one (Nigro - Sala 2011, 89; Nigro [ed.] 2012, 178-188; Nigro 2012a). 9 For archaeological periodization and stratigraphic phases of Khirbet al-Batrawy: Nigro - Sala 2011, 86-88; Nigro (ed.) 2012, tab. 1.1, 10. 10 Preliminarily illustrated in Nigro 2010a, 73; 2011; Nigro - Sala 2011, 92-93, fig. 10. 11 Nigro 2010a, 73-74; 2010c, 568-570; Nigro - Sala 2011, 94-96, figs. 13-14. 12 Nigro 2012b. 13 For a preliminary illustration of one of them (§ 2.1.) see Nigro 2010a, 74; 2010c, 567-568; Nigro - Sala 2011, 93-94, figs. 11-12.

76 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

2.1. Tournette14 KB.10.B.87 (fig. 2) The upper disk of the first tournette was retrieved in 2010, inside the EB IIIB destruction layer F.1054,15 which filled up Pillared Hall L.1040,16 in the Western Pavilion of the building. This rectangular hall, 4.9 × 7.5 m, with a series of four aligned pillar bases, stored right inside a great amount of storage vessels (large pithoi and jars), along with several other value objects, including the disk KB.10.B.87. Actually the disk was retrieved vertically sunk into the more than 1.2 m thick collapse layer filling up the Hall (fig. 3), in between the rim of a pithos and wall W.1121. It consists in a basaltic stone disk, of a quite coarse texture, 28 cm in diameter and 3.3 cm in thickness. The upper face is quite flat, slightly depressed in the central part, an irregular surface with numerous hollows, of various dimensions. The central part looks like smoothed, coinciding with the more utilized part during wheel-moulding,17 showing a diameter of around 12-13 cm (which, thus, should coincide with the diameter of the small and thicker disk usually associated to the large one). These dimensions indirectly confirm the moulding and/or the finishing over the tournette especially of shapes of little dimensions - bowls, plates,18 juglets, besides neck and rim of the biggest vessels - pithoi and storage jars, as verified by surface features, visible on both the outer and the inner faces of the walls of the latter vessels. The lower face of this disk, slightly concave, presents a circular socket in form of a cone, deep 2.4 cm and with a diameter of 3.4 cm. The surface nearer to the socket is circularly polished, resulting glossy in that part abraded by the continuous rubbing with the lower disk; this last, not retrieved up to now, can be tentatively reconstructed, based on coeval parallels, as a basalt disk, with a biconical perforation, around 15-16 cm in diameter and 3.5 cm in thickness.19

14 The distinction between a wheel and a tournette rests on the revolution speed that the instrument can reach during the centering of the clay and the building of the vessel. Wheels that cannot exceed 80 revolutions per minute (rpm) whatever is the size of the vessel are called “tournettes” (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 164; Roux 2009a, 197-198). Fast wheel - stone pivot wheel - introduced in Southern Levant in the Middle Bronze II (with distinctive features in respect to those ones of 4th-3rd millennia BC here described - see Wood 1992; Roux 2009b) reached also 150 rpm and its speed decrease less by the potter’s pressures when centering lumps of clay (see e.g. experiments conducted by R. Amiran and D. Shenhav [1985]). 15 Field number KB.10.B.1054/u; Activity 3b, Square BnII7, Elevation 657.60 m AMSL. 16 Oillared hall L.1040 is illustrated in Nigro 2010a; (ed.) 2012, 151-164; Nigro - Sala 2011, 89-90. 17 For a better comprehension of the technique of manufacture, experimental tests with a potter are conducted utilizing one of the two tournettes of Kh. Yarmouk (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 164-166, figs. 7-8). 18 Up to now, in the excavated part of the building were not retrieved open shapes complete (no plates and only a few bowls - Nigro - Sala 2011, 96), thus the affirmation of the finishing of these forms over the tournette is based on the study of sherds. 19 During the last season of excavation and survey on the site (August-September 2013), in the southern slope of the khirbet, the lower part of a potter’s wheel was retrieved. At the first sight it seems to resemble the Middle Bronze typology, i.e. a stone pivot wheel. This kind of wheel is composed by a lower disk that is a base with a conical socket and an upper disk with a conical tenon. In the Batrawy specimen the tenon seems to belong to the lower part, possibly coinciding with the cone socket of the upper disk of the typology recovered on the site and here described. In this event, it might represent a sort of middle-way between the EB typology and the MB one. The absence of any MB or later presence at Khirbet al-Batrawy (with its last occupational phase in EB IVB - see Nigro [ed.] 2006, 77-107; 2008, 28-36, 102-105, 164-166, 294-305; 2012, 189-210; Nigro - Sala 2011, 88-89; Nigro et al. 2010; Sala 2012a), indirectly confirms the EB dating of the object (possibly of EB IVB and thus already of the northern and successive typology?), even if out of context.

77 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

2.2. Tournette KB.11.B.110 (fig. 4) The upper disk of the second tournette was retrieved in 2011, in the EB IIIB destruction layer F.1124,20 in another room of the Western Pavilion, L.1120, interpreted as a storeroom (fig. 5).21 The finding spot is, like the previous one, within the final destruction layer of the building. L.1120 was a long and narrow storeroom (2.3-2.6 m of width and 6.3 m of length),22 accessible from its northern side, through Pillared Hall L.1040 (and its door opening directly on the inner lane of the palace, L.1050). The disk is made of worked basalt stone, with a finer texture in respect with the previous specimen, less porous, with a diameter of 26.2 cm and a width of 3 cm. The upper face is flat and smoothed, the lower one is slightly concave culminating in the central part of the disk with a conical socket, oval shaped, 3.2 cm deep and 2.4 cm wide (diameter of the mouth). The polished circular area, resulting from the contact with the lower disk, showed a concentric series of lustrous rings (some lubricant had to be added to facilitate the rotary motion), measuring around 18.5 cm in diameter; this dimension can correspond to the approximate diameter of the lower disk, that is supposed to have a thickness of around 4.0 cm.23

2.3. Tournette KB.12.B.140 (fig. 6) The third fragmentary basalt potter’s wheel was found in the Eastern Pavilion. It was retrieved in 2012, in the EB IIIB destruction layer F.115424 inside the court (8 × 5.5 m open space) L.1046, accessible from entrance lane L.1050. Also this disk is made of basaltic stone and although it’s preserved only a little more than a quarter of the total area, all its dimensions can be determined from existing fragmentary evidence. The disk measures around 27 cm in diameter and 4.3 cm in thickness, with a central socket of circular form, 1.6 cm deep and 2.8 cm wide. Its texture is coarse, with numerous and large vesicles on both faces and scarce working traces, fact which makes more difficult the reconstruction of the dimensions of the lower disk. It appears of an inferior quality (or only much more damaged by erosion) in respect of previous ones retrieved in Halls L.1040 and storeroom L.1120.

3. TOURNETTES FROM EBA SOUTHERN LEVANT: A CLOSER LOOK TO THE CONTEXTS In Southern Levant, the wheel coiling technique appeared first in Chalcolithic societies (end of 5th - beginning of 4thmillennium BC),25 basically being linked and roughly restricted to the manufacture of ceremonials vessels (little open bowls with rectilinear walls, named

20 Preliminary number KB.11.B.1124/u; Activity 3b, Squares BnII8+BnII9+BmII9, Elevation 658.27 m AMSL. 21 Nigro 2012a, 705. 22 Nigro (ed.) 2006, 179-181. 23 One of the two lower disks retrieved at Khirbet Yarmouk presents dimensions similar to that of tournette KB.11.B.110: the upper disk discovered in Area Ja, Stratum J-3, shows a diameter of 26.5 cm and a thickness of 3.3 cm, with a lower disk measuring 18.4 cm in diameter and 4.0 cm in thickness (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 160, figs. 5-6). 24 Preliminary number KB.12.B.1154/b; Activity 3b, Square BpII9, Elevation 658.30 m AMSL. 25 Mazar 1990, 69.

78 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

“V-shaped bowls”, systematically retrieved in funerary contexts).26 Such ceremonial vessels were produced by a few craftsmen attached to a politico-religious élite according to recent hypothesis.27 With the collapse of the social system, at the end of the Late Chalcolithic period, the specific social demand of this technique ceased, producing a strong break in the transmission of the wheel-craft technique, that will appear extensively again only in Early Bronze II (§ 3.2.). The limited employ of the rotative device during the Chalcolithic, here just briefly hinted at, used for a restricted number of vessels with a clear cultural connotation, makes less necessary the investigation of each potters’ wheel finding spot in order to circumscribe its use at that time.28 Conversely, taking into account the EBA specimens, their number and varying distribution, may provide interesting insights about the socio-economic role of this tool, the status of its owners and its use within the early urban society. A re-examination of EBA potters’ wheels finding contexts through time (tab. 1; fig. 7), it may be possible to underline some aspect of this social complexity, suggesting a feasible social practise.

3.1. Early Bronze I (3400-3000 BC) After the collapse of the Chalcolithic society, there was a significant shift of settlement patterns, with decisive achievements in agricultural methods, trade relations and metalwork and craft production. If the EB IA (3400-3200 BC) still showed a somewhat simple agriculture based village economy, EB IB (3200-3000 BC) represents the formative stage of the successive urban culture, including control and exchange on long-distances routes, the appearing of the earliest fortified settlements, the erection of former communal and cult buildings,29 and an emerging economic specialization. Though EB I pottery is largely hand-fashioned, there is a resilience area that continued to use the wheel-coiling technique: in southwestern Palestine in fact, during EB IA (3400- 3200 BC), some open bowls are still coiled over the wheel with the same method used in

26 The theory about the ceremonial function of the Chalcolithic V-shaped bowls was elaborated starting from the examination of this kind of shape recovered at the site of Abu Hamid, in the middle Jordan Valley; it was the only form presented in the necropolis that was produced through the RKE and with a non-local clay (Roux - Courty 1997); successively, through the broadening of the studied area, comprising all the Southern Levant and sampling every possible finding context (ecological niches and/or “functions” - domestic, funerary, worship) it was confirmed the wheel-coiling production of this form, along with a limited range of other vessels, and the probably connection with itinerant potters specialized in this type of manufacture (Roux - Courty 2005). 27 Roux - Courty 2005; Roux 2007, 203-205. 28 There are only two specimens recovered from LC sites, but one is unpublished (from Tel Halif, Jacobs - Borowski 1993, 79; Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 162) and one is from a disturbed context (from Wadi Gazzeh/Nahal Besor Site E - Macdonald - Starkey - Harding 1932, 7, pls. XXII:21, XXVIII:24). 29 In EB I almost all contexts are simply domestic or of cult nature (Nigro 2008; Sala 2011). The emergence of somewhat similar to leading institutions in EB I is debated and roughly identifiable only at the end of the period (EB IB) with the erection of the earliest public buildings of administrative function, such as Building 7102 of Tell el-‘Areini (Brandl 1989, 365-368; Nigro 2007), and Building MA at Beth Shean (Mazar - Rotem 2009).

79 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

Chalcolithic times (thinning and shaping of the body done with the help of RKE).30 In EB IB (3200-3000 BC) the wheel coiling technique seems to disappear completely,31 even though there are many sites where ceramics exhibit string cut marks on the outside of the bases, it seems to be utilised for finishing operations only.32 EB I potters’ wheels were retrieved in three sites: one is from Tell el- Mutesellim/Megiddo, one from Mezer, and seven potters’ wheels from one single site in the southern coastal plain, Ashqelon Barnea.33 All fragments belong to the lower part of the instrument. The finding context of the Megiddo specimen is unknown,34 whereas the object from Mezer was recovered from a domestic building composed of two parallel rooms (B8, B2) in Area B, Stratum I (EB IA).35 At Ashqelon Barnea, six lower wheels were retrieved in an open working area inside a domestic quarter of Stratum II (EB IB-EB IIA) Area B, while the seventh one, was found in the following layer (Building D6, Stratum I - EB II), though within a domestic structure.36

3.2. Early Bronze II (3000-2700 BC) The progressive affirmation of the urban society in EB II, developing from a village- based into a city-centered society,37 is reflected in an increasing social complexity visible both in urban organization, with the emergence of public38 and cultic architecture,39 and in the growth of specialization and standardization, reflected in pottery production,40 and in

30 Observations over many repertoires of this area seem to confirm this datum: on Ashqelon Afridar see Braun - Gophna 2004, Golani 2004; generally on southwestern Canaan: Yekutieli 2001. 31 The technique might be disappeared almost completely in this period but the use of the tournette for finishing operations demonstrates that the object itself continued to exist (for possible implications see § 5.). 32 Technological studies were conducted by G. Charloux on ceramic material from Tell el-Farah N, Megiddo and Khirbet Yarmouk (Charloux 2006) and by V. Roux on pottery from Beth Shean, Tell el-‘Areini, Hartuv, Mod’in (Roux 2007, 205-206). 33 Another potter wheel (but with no specification if it is the upper or the lower part) was found at Horvat Ptora in an EB I context (Milevski 2011, 39). 34 The object is reported only in a note within the description of Chalcolithic and Early Bronze pottery (ascribed to Stage I). The biconical perforation and the glassy wear on one side there detailed (Engberg - Shipton 1934, 40) allow to identify it with a lower disk. 35 Dothan 1959, 27-28, fig. 8:16, pl. 2:F. 36 Rosenberg - Golani 2012, 39, fig. 6. 37 There is not a general consensus about the use of terms such “urbanism” or “city” for Southern Levantine entities of 3rd Millennium BC, especially in comparison with contemporary Mesopotamia and Egyptia. On this issue, see: Chesson - Philip 2003; Savage - Falconer - Harrison 2007; Schaub - Chesson 2007; contra Nigro 2009, 657-658, who emphasizes the Levantine EBA culture as a distinct historic-archaeological phenomenon, with its own features. On the Batrawy urban specificity see, lastly, Nigro 2013a. 38 Public architecture is represented by defensive systems (Mazar 1990, 119-123; on the Batrawy system: Nigro [ed.] 2008, chs. 3, 5, 6; [ed.] 2012, ch. 2), communal buildings (‘Ai water reservoir - Callaway 1980, and Granary Building of Khirbet Kerak - Esse 1991, 33-53; Mazar 2001) and the earliest palatial buildings (Khirbet Yarmouk - de Miroschedji 2003; Megiddo, Palace 3177 - Loud 1948, 70-78; Nigro 1994, 1-27). 39 On EB religious architecture, see: Sala 2008. 40 Pottery segmentation clearly recognizable in EB I underwent a general decline, showing in following EB II two broad horizons of pottery production: the northern group, with the predominance of Metallic Ware (Greenberg - Porat 1996), and the central-southern group, with the specialized production of Red Burnished Ware (Amiran 1969, 58-59).

80 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts the collection of luxury goods (high quality copper and stone objects)41 along with complexes trading networks of specific commodities.42 Within this framework, also the increase of potters’ wheels attestations might be viewed as an indicator of manufacturing specialization, even if pottery production over the slow wheel is very far from being a “mass-production” (§ 5.). There are several wheel specimens of this period known, sparsely distributed all over the region. Basically two different finding contexts are attested to: the first one is domestic dwellings, which, like in the previous period, in the majority of cases, gave back the lower parts of the wheels. Known examples are from Arad,43 Tell Abu al-Kharaz,44 Tel Dalit/Khirbet Ras ed-Daliye,45 Tell el-Mutesellim/Megiddo and Qiryat ‘Ata. Except for Qiryat ‘Ata46 and Megiddo,47 where wheels finding spots are uncertain, in all the other cases the lower wheels are clearly linked to domestic compounds, with their typically rectangular plan, and series of parallels or agglutinated rooms. The second type of finding context is more related to pottery production, including, on the one hand, a potter’s workshop inside a city quarter, and, on the other hand, the only published EB pottery kiln of the region.48 The latter was excavated at Tell el-Farah North, in local Stratum IVD of Area II. It consisted of a kiln (fig. 8), with two rooms, an underground heating chamber measuring 1.20 m in diameter, with a small entrance to place

41 About metal weapons, see: Philip 1989 and Miron 1992. 42 Along with the hypothesized oil-container function for Metallic Ware pithoi, produced only in a limited area in Northern Palestine, but largely traded all over the region (especially in the north), there are others objects of commerce and/or exchange between the emerging institutions and Egypt, in the form of palettes, mace-heads and stone vessels, as insignia of élite rank (de Miroschedji 2002; Sala 2012b). 43 At Arad R. Amiran mentioned as possible potter’s wheels seven elements, of which 5 are the upper disk (with the upper face flat and the lower one carved with a circular hollow), and 2 the lower one (with biconical perforation and smaller dimensions) (Amiran et al. 1978, 57, pl. 77:5-11); however they were made in soft limestone or chalk (except one lower disk, in basalt -Amiran et al. 1978, pl. 77:9) and she didn’t recognized over them any traces of turning action. The only element in basalt was retrieved into a house of Level III (L. 1555, Amiran et al. 1978, 20). 44 A lower wheel from Tell Abu al-Kharaz derives from the domestic quarter of Area 2, Phase II of the site; unfortunately the context (L.203) is disturbed by MB-LB intrusions and doesn’t permit a deeper insight of it. Anyway also this lower wheel is in limestone instead of basalt rock (Fischer 2008, 363, fig. 324:8, into the text: figs.142:2, 146). 45 The wheel was recovered in the western quadrant of a domestic structure of local Stratum II (phase b) (Gophna [ed.] 1996, 38-41). In spite its identification as the lower part of the tournette, it was erroneously published upside-down and reconstructed as based over another missing part, the “socket”, of which the retrieved disk would be the pivoted part (Pelta 1996). 46 At Qiryat ‘Ata the lower part of a basalt tournette was recovered in a stratum of debris (Area A - Stratum I); the upper fragmentary part of another wheel, deriving from Stratum I of Area C, is made of siliceous limestone in place of basalt (see fn. 36) and the context is not registered (Rowan 2003, 191-192, fig. 6.3:1-2). 47 The lower wheel reported from Megiddo is ascribed to Stratum XVIII/Level J-4 (Area BB, L.4014, Sq. N16), in one of the loci adjacent to the EB II monumental temple (dated to the EB IB by the excavators see Finkelstein - Ussishkin 2000, 7-8, 17-18; contra Sala 2008, 110-113; Nigro [ed.] 2010, 335-337). 48 Another pottery kiln has been reported from Khirbet Kerak, in the courtyard of the Circles Building, in Area SA (Maisler - Stekelis - Avi-Yonah 1952, 227, fig. 3; Paz 2006, 63-67). It probably belongs to the final part of the occupation (EB III - Local Phase D), in which the preceding public building is abandoned (and left unfinished) and the newcomers (KKW folks) occupied the city as squatters (Greenberg et al. 2012, 97-102).

81 Chiara Fiaccavento VO and discard the fuel.49 Next to this structure there were pottery manufacturing traces, punchers, polishing pebbles and the lower disk of a tournette.50 The most noteworthy case, in every respect - both in number of retrieved pieces that in type of finding context, is that of Khirbet Kerak, in Southern Galilee. Here a potter’s establishment, located two blocks away from the gate, in Area EY - site Period C,51 was uncovered. At the beginning of the period belonged one upper wheel retrieved in room EY 196, which was associated to unbaked vases, scraps of coils, bowls fragments and kneaded lumps. Early Period C quarter underwent a partial collapse (maybe due to some earth tremors) and was rebuilt a first time along the same earlier layout (a compound based on pillared broad-rooms). In the next phase (Late Period C - local Stratum 7) emerged a new configuration based on square multi-roomed units, probably devoted to small, nuclear families.52 In one of these rooms, EY 160, the upper disk of a tournette was retrieved as part of an interred deposit, covering as a lid a complete hole-mouth pot.53 East to this room, inside the courtyard EY 575, several others potters’ wheels were recovered (14 pieces, no less than 10 complete tournettes), along with flint scrapers, “southern pottery”54 and waste materials (unfired vessel fragments and lumps of clay) thrown into a pit. Most remarkable is the recovery, among the others, of an unfinished wheel,55 just roughly hewed, demonstrating that, at least in some cases, the finishing touch of this technical tool was accomplished by their final user (§ 4.).

49 de Vaux 1955, fig. 8. 50 Not illustrated in the report but so described: «disque de basalte, assez mince, poli sur une surface et percé d’un trou central» (de Vaux - Steve 1947, 405). 51 Area EY is a 250 sq. m area excavated by E. Eisenberg and O. Yogev in the 1980s (1981-1982, 1985-1986) and published by E. Eisenberg and R. Greenberg in 2006 (ch. 8, Greenberg et al. [eds.] 2006). Period C corresponds to Early Bronze II (with three subperiods - Early, Middle and Late Period C). 52 Greenberg et al. 2012, 94-96, figs. 10-11; Eisenberg - Greenberg 2006, 365-368, figs. 8.27-8.29; 8.79-8.80; Greenberg - Eisenberg 2002, 217, figs. 13.5, 13.7:4. 53 Room EY 160 contained two similar pottery deposits, each consisted of a covered holemouth pot, a large jar, and a small jar. The six vessels were intentionally interred. Above the southern cache there were two jugs of unusual proportions, and one of them had incised a graffito interpreted as an Egyptian name (Greenberg - Eisenberg 2002). According to the excavators, both the architecture and finds from the area suggest ritual usage-perhaps as in a small neighborhood shrine (Eisenberg - Greenberg 2006, 366). 54 In EB II were individuated two competitive pottery industries. The first is that of the North Canaanite Metallic Ware (NCMW), centered in the northern extremes of the Jordan Valley that distributed its products in great quantities across the region extending between the Jezreel Valley (in northern Israel) and the Litani River (in southern Lebanon) (Greenberg - Porat 1996). The other, producing the so-called “southern pottery”, was represented in Area EY, using the same potting techniques and shapes but in a locally procured clay (Greenberg et al. 2012, 95). 55 Greenberg 2011, figs. 8, 46-48; Greenberg et al. 2012, 95, fig. 14a.

82 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

EARLY BRONZE I RETRIEVAL CONTEXT PART (3400-3000 BC) (NUMBER OF PIECES RETRIEVED)

Meser I domestic lower Ashqelon Barnea domestic/industrial lower (6) Megiddo Stg IV unknown lower total lower: 8 EARLY BRONZE II RETRIEVAL CONTEXT PART (3000-2700 BC) Arad domestic lower Qiryat Ata I domestic (?) lower Qiryat Ata I unknown upper Tel Dalit II domestic lower Tell el-Far‘ah N manufacturing area lower Tell Abu al-Kharaz domestic quarter lower

Megiddo XVIII unknown lower Khirbet Kerak potter’s workshop inside domestic quarter upper/lower (continuous occupation into EB III) (14 pieces) ↓ total upper: 6 lower:11 EARLY BRONZE III RETRIEVAL CONTEXT PART (2700-2300 BC) Tel Qashish B-XIIA domestic lower Megiddo XVI annex of the religious building? upper Khirbet Yarmouk palatial building complete Khirbet Yarmouk annex of the palatial building complete Jericho/Tell es-Sultan proximity of palatial building upper

Tell el-‘Umeiri domestic (?) upper Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘ unknown upper/lower Khirbet al-Batrawy palatial building upper (3) Khirbet Iskander public complex (?) lower Beth Shean unknown upper total upper: 10; lower:5 EARLY BRONZE IV RETRIEVAL CONTEXT PART (2300-2000) Nahal Alexander domestic lower

total retrieved pieces during upper: 21; lower: 30 Early Bronze Age

Tab. 1 - Type of finding context and part of potter’s wheel retrieved, subdivided into periods.

83 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

3.3. Early Bronze III (2700-2300 BC) Early Bronze III shows a great continuity with the preceding period, which makes it difficult sometimes to distinguishing it from the previous EB II, even though transformations in ceramics technology and, especially, types and wares distribution and attestations are detectable all over the Southern Levant. From this period, the apex of the 3rd Millennium Levantine urban culture, the highest percentage of retrieved potters’ wheels consists of the upper part of the tools, with the exception of the finds from Khirbet Yarmouk, where two entire tournettes (each one consisting of two disks) were retrieved; they both belong to the final phase of EB III. The two instruments were stored, respectively, one inside Palace B1 (upper storey of the Hypostyle Hall), and the other in the immediate vicinity of the Palace.56 Along with the Yarmouk specimens (together with those found in the Palace of Batrawy illustrated here, § 2.), there are other EB III exemplars which probably were found in public buildings. The upper wheel from Tell es-Sultan/Jericho57 was found in Square HII (phases xiii-xiv- Sultan IIIc2), in the narrow units (maybe storerooms) immediately east of EB IIIB Palace G.58 Another upper wheel was recovered near to the EB IIIA59 sacred area of Tell el- Mutesellim/Megiddo.60 Unfortunately unknown are the finding contexts of the upper disks from Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘61 and Beth Shean,62 while the fragmentary disk from Tell el-‘Umeiri belonged to the collapsed upper storey of an EB III dwelling in Field D,63 which yielded more than 30 complete vessels.64 The lower parts of two tournettes were found respective at Tell el-Qassis, inside a rectangular domestic building of Area B,65 and in an area of specialized activities, at

56 The first tournette was discovered in 1997 in Area Bh, Sq. U 39, Locus 1965; the other ones was discovered in 1999, in Area Ja, Sq. K 41, Locus 2104, stratum that precedes the two superimposed Palaces B2 and B1, also dated to the latter half of EB III (de Miroschedji 2003; Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 157-160). 57 Dorrell 1983, n. 2904, 559-560, fig. 231:2, pl. 21:b. 58 EB IIIB Palace G of Jericho is illustrated in Marchetti 2003, 300-303, fig. 4; Nigro 2006, 20-22, figs. 29-32; 2009b, 50, fig. 6; 2013b, fig. 5; Nigro et al. 2011, 586-593. 59 The EB IIIA dating of stratum XVII/level J-6 and stratum XVI/level J-5 was proposed by D. Esse (1991, 84- 87) and confirmed by the excavations of Tel Aviv University (Finkelstein - Ussishkin 2000, 587-588). 60 Area BB, Square M13, Stratum XVI (Loud 1948, pl. 268:2); it’s interesting to underline the retrieval, inside the domestic dwelling area, next to cultic platform 4017 (in Square N 13, Stratum XVII, Locus 5210 - Loud 1948, fig. 392, pl. 257:1-2), of two lower wheels made of ceramic, much smaller than the common dimensions of this object, maybe a miniature imitation of the stone/basalt object, that have had only a restricted use. 61 From Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘ derived both a fragmentary lower wheel (Lee 2003, figs. 21.2:3, 633) that a fragmentary upper one (but described as “basalt socket” and not drawn: Lee 2003, figs. 21.8, 633), together with an upper disk made of pottery(?) (From Field XVI.1, Stratum I-BA IV: Lee 2003, figs. 12.6:1-2, 633). 62 In exhibition at Rockfeller Museum of Jerusalem, but not reported in archaeological reports. 63 Square 5K77, locus 9, an earthy layer assigned to Field Phase 4, belonging to EB III (the wheel was there called “stone-platter”: Mitchell 1989, 287; lately recognized as potter’s turntable - Herr et al. 1999, 112; Harrison 2000, 97). 64 The pure domestic function attributed by the diggers (Mitchell 1989; Harrison 1997, 113-174) to this building seems odd: such a concentration of pottery inside a simple domestic building it seems quite unusual, since the EB household inventory was generally much more modest. 65 Locus 607, Area B, Stratum XIIIA (BA III), Sq. AG-AH/15 (Ben-Tor et al. 2003, 80-82, fig. 41, pl. 9.20).

84 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

Khirbet Iskander.66 The latter does not seem devoted to a simple domestic in function, for a number of higher status items were found in it.67

3.4. Early Bronze IV (2300-2000 BC) With the collapse of the early Levantine urban culture at the end of EB IIIB, the wheel- fashioning (but also the wheel-finishing) technique had a partial standstill, significantly linked to the breakdown of that socio-economic system also implying the standard manufacturing of pottery. EB IVA (or “Early EB IV”) pottery clearly shows the absence of the applications of the rotary device to all the repertoire, illustrated by entirely handmade vessels. Conversely in “Late EB IV” (EB IVB) the slow wheel was reintroduced and employed systematically to form closed shapes necks and to finish vessels.68 In spite of the absence of wheel traces in Early EB IV, evidently the technical skills involved in the use of the potter’s wheel, along with the production of the tool itself, didn’t stop or was resumed, maybe reflecting the gradual reintroduction of the Southern Levant in an inter-regional network, with sharing to some extent the socio-economic sphere.69

4. BASALT POTTERS’ WHEELS: CIRCULATION AND PROCUREMENT OF BASALT TOOLS The obvious consideration that potters’ wheels are, in most cases, primarily basalt objects and, in this respect, finished items themselves (so not only technical devices to reach a better pottery production), is a datum not always taken into account.70 There are several simple reasons that can explain this trend: the ubiquitous presence of pottery in comparison with fragmentary basaltic production (especially for the EB II-III periods);71 the diagnostic chronological and cultural value attributable to ceramic classes and to specific pottery productions;72 the durable life of basalt tools that can reflect also a

66 Sq. B5, Phase C1 (end of EB III) (Richard - Long 2005, 272-273). 67 Objects like a complete limestone piriform-shaped mace-head, a stamp seal with a rectangular base, and a heavy hematite stone in the form of a cosmetic grinder (Richard - Long 2005, 273). 68 A vast examination of EB IV pottery repertoires has been recently conducted by M. D’Andrea (2012, 21-25), deepening the ceramic knowledge of this period and confirming this datum about the reintroduction of slow wheel in EB IVB (for single sites, partially pointed out before: see, for example, for Tell es-Sultan: Nigro 2003, 131-134, 138-139). Only one basalt lower potter disk was retrieved at Nahal Alexander (Dar 1977, pl. 4:7, 16) scattered in a EB IV domestic village. 69 D’Andrea 2012, 25, 44-47. 70 About the underestimated value given to the study of groundstone artifacts and its anthropological potential see Rutter - Philip 2008. Recently centered on this field of study: Rowan - Ebeling (eds.) 2008; Milevski 2011, ch. 5, 107-120. 71 Several studies about style, provenance and exchange are conducted over Chalcolithic and EB I groundstone assemblages, both for their preponderance in material culture of these periods and for the outstanding cultural connotation of at least a part of this kind of production (Rutter 2003, with previous references). 72 Suffice it to think about some of the better known pottery productions of EB Southern Levant, for instance, Gray Burnished Ware (GBW - Wright 1937, 42-55; Amiran 1967, 47, pl. 10), North Canaanite Metallic Ware (NCMW - Greenberg-Porat 1996) or Khirbet Kerak Ware (KKW - recently Greenberg - Goren [eds.] 2009), to evoke distinct chronological phases (regardless the nuances!).

85 Chiara Fiaccavento VO long-life span and thus less precise temporal and social implications.73 The latter could also be considered a positive characteristic for artifacts made of rock, since they are virtually indestructible and do not generally undergo chemical or physical changes during their manufacture, use or subsequent deposition.74 Furthermore, basalt objects have a great potential for provenance studies (and interconnected trade/exchange networks), using geochemistry and elements in traces. Recent geochemical analysis indicate that there was a deliberate concentration, over an extended period of time, on a particular subset of the potential outcrops of basaltic rock in the Southern Levant. For Chalcolithic and EB I periods, two main sources were identified: one in the region of Mount Hermon (Jebel esh-Sheikh) and one in the North Jordan Valley, while the basaltic rocks of the Kerak Plateau were identified as a minor source.75 Artifacts originating from these sources were distributed across the region, and even occur at sites close to other important sources. At present there is a lacking of chemical data for EB II-III basalt artifacts,76 being basically restricted to spindle whorls, grinding stones, grinders and pestles, that means to a strictly utilitarian inventory. Potters’ wheels are not generally investigated in this way,77 notwithstanding their recognized value as technical devices with a social significance. Provenance studies could allow a deeper insight into the procurement of this tool, and the possible social and economic charge of its acquirement. Even so, since quarry and production sites have not been yet identified, the scale and the characteristics of EB exchange and redistribution basalt systems it is far from being fully understood.

5. CONCLUSIONS The three basalt potters’ wheels, recovered from the EB IIIB palatial complex of Khirbet al-Batrawy, allow us to drown out some observations about this innovative long- living technical tool, its use and the possible underlying social practices tied to it. Previous studies focused some fundamental issues: the manufacturing technique that the slow wheel assured as a technical mean,78 and the status of specialized product of this kind

73 This affirmation is incorrect when related to basalt objects with clear stylistic and cultural features (especially basalt bowls such as Chalcolithic-EB I “V-shaped” or pedestalled bowls - i.e. Amiran - Porat 1984; Braun 1990; van den Brink et al. 1999). 74 Rutter et al. 2003. 75 Rutter 2003, 214-215; Rutter - Philip 2008, 344-344, fig. 21.1. The identification of sources in the North Jordan Valley and Kerak Plateau had previously been made by Philip and Williams-Thorpe (1993; 2001). 76 Chemical analysis over LB-IA basalt artifacts had demonstrated that the increase of sources in these late periods are relatively low, providing evidence for the long-term exploitation of a relatively small number of outcrops (Rutter 2003). 77 Analysis over the upper disk of a tournette of Khirbet Yarmouk (conducted by N. Porat) indicates that it originates from a Neogene basalt area in the Golan or in Jordan (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 159). 78 Experimental observations have demonstrated efficiency of the instruments for wheel-coiling pots of different dimensions, but inefficiency for wheel-throwing technique (fn. 13); moreover only a little percentage of the pottery repertoire of a leading site as Yarmouk presented surface features and microfabrics significant of the use of RKE, representing only 0.6% of the assemblage, less than 3% of the Minimum Number of Individuals (Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 166-170; Roux 2009a, 202-209).

86 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts of tool, necessarily produced in workshops close to basaltic outcrops, dislocated elsewhere than in villages or urban centers that demanded these specific items and that gave them back in archaeological contexts.79 Regarding to the relative rarity of potters’ wheels along a lapse of time taken into account covering about a millennium and a half, with morphological characteristics showing a strong resistance to change, it seems convincing the hypothesis of specialized craftsmen responsible of the production of this kind of objects, transmitting their skills over many generations.80 This might be related also to the transmission of the tool itself, handed in inheritance with the practical knowledge that allowed its use, as it documented for moulds for smiths and metalworkers. The “stylistic” immobility of potters’ wheels, in fact, does not permit a certain chronological attribution of single items outside their retrieval setting, and the absence of these objects from funerary contexts seems, at a first glance, to reveal the utilitarian function as the prime one.81 But there are other aspects to underline. The choice of basalt for doing the wheels is a cultural choice, since other stones, easy to find and to work (such as limestone), are known and utilized for the same goal, but in minor percentage and never in public compounds.82 So this implies that basalt, as a prestigious raw material, had accumulated on itself social and traditional significance, linked to its economic value and its symbolic properties.83 Moreover, the almost totality of the retrieved wheels follows a remarkable trend: except for the wheels from Khirbet Yarmouk, actually the only known complete tournettes found in a definitive public complex, the other specimens are roughly distributed along a logical subdivision, evolving temporally. In Early Bronze I all the wheels retrieved are the lower part and derive from domestic contexts84 (or as the case of Ashqelon Barnea identifying a sort of communal workshop area); in Early Bronze II, basalt wheels continue to be used (or stored) in dwelling quarters, as regards the lower disk, but the entire instrument (in several exemplars) was found only into an urban potter’s laboratory at Khirbet Kerak, outlining the earliest emerging pottery specialization.85 This kind of technical skill seems to move, in Early Bronze III, toward an

79 As previously highlighted, the unfinished wheel from Khirbet Kerak (§ 3.3.) let to think that the craft organization may be variable along time and that in some cases the finishing touch over the objects was done in the same centre that requested the good. 80 Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 170. 81 By way of illustration a basalt potter’s wheel from Early Iron Age I was retrieved in one of the tombs of Megiddo (Tomb 39 in Sq. V 18: Guy 1938, pl. 164:20, 117-119), pointing to a shift in the social recognition of the potter, represented also in his funerary context as a professional worker. 82 See the examples from Arad (fn. 44), Tell Abu al-Kharaz (fn. 45), Qiryat ‘Ata (fn. 47) and Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘ (fn. 62). 83 Rosenberg - Golani 2012, 42. 84 See fn. 30. 85 The retrieval of several potters’ wheels in an open area next to a building with a particular character, maybe of domestic shrine (fn. 54), is relevant to define the possible outstanding role of the craft specialization, also in the particular social situation of the site, that presented a neighborhood division between northern and southern quarters (fn. 55).

87 Chiara Fiaccavento VO allocation inside centralized powers (palaces or temples) holders of the entire instrument or, at least, of its upper part (with the lower, as easily transportable, in single’s hands). This would imply that the opportunity to use this technique was strongly linked to the public sphere, with the incorporation of potters in some kind of shared practices (or rituals?), maybe oriented to the creation of an interconnected craft system, not primarily in terms of practical results,86 but above all in the construction of a communal identity. In this sense, the social importance resided more on the institution that promoted and perhaps controlled the technical tool instead that on the potter that utilized it. He/she87 (the potter) could be viewed as a social mean of power manifestation and of control over a technological innovation, maybe shared between several settlements such a dependent specialist,88 keeping in mind that this technique required a long-training in order to acquire the skill and necessitated of continuous exercise to maintain it. This should be the reason for which the hypothetical status of the potter is not yet recognizable in tombs, for the very low percentage of wheel-coiled vessels in Early Bronze Age Southern Levant, that never replaced the hand-coiling technique, and for the temporary break at the end of Early Bronze III, with the decline of the first urban system.

REFERENCES

AMIRAN, R. 1969 Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land, From the Prehistoric to the Persian Period, Jerusalem 1969. AMIRAN, R. - PORAT, N. 1984 The basalt vessels of the Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age I: Tel Aviv 11 (1984), pp. 11-19. AMIRAN, R. - SHENHAV, D. 1984 Experiments with an ancient potter’s wheel: P.M. RICE (ed.), Pots and Potters. Current Approaches in Ceramic Archaeology (Monograph XXIV), Berkeley 1984, pp. 107-112. AMIRAN, R. - SHILOH, Y. - PARAN, U. 1978 Early Arad, The Chalcolithic Settlement and Early Bronze Age City. First-fifth Seasons of Excavations, 1962-1966 (Judean Desert Studies), Jerusalem 1978.

86 Analysis of V. Roux over Khirbet Yarmouk pottery had demonstrated that not only there’s a minimal percentage of wheel-coiled vessels along all EB II-III periods, but not even a significant spatial shift in distribution of these last inside the settlement, so wheel-built items were not a prerogative of an élite (Roux 2009a, 203-207). 87 In ethnographic parallels, with a socio-economic situation somewhat similar to that of Early Bronze Age, pottery production seems to be carried out by women (Gosselain 2002); nevertheless the word for “potter” in the one who forms” (lit. the creator, but more frequently referred to the“ ,(יצר) the Old Testament, yatsar potter, see Isa. 29:16), is masculine gender. This datum supports the hypothesis that, at least in “Bible times” (Iron Age II and later), the vast majority of potters were men. 88 Roux - de Miroschedji 2009, 170-171. Contra Charloux (2006, 415-416), who retains that the general sense of homogenization is due to a generalization of the demand, stimulating a standardized production in terms of paste, firing and shapes, but not linked to itinerant potters or to centralized production.

88 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

BALDI, J.S. 2012 Identità tecniche e identità sociali a Tell Feres al-Sharqi tra fine Ubaid e LC2. Alcune riflessioni ceramologiche sull’apparizione del mestiere di vasaio nel nord della Mesopotamia tardo calcolitica: S. MAZZONI (ed.), Studi di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente: scritti degli allievi fiorentini di Paolo Emilio Pecorella, Firenze 2012, pp. 11-38. BEN-TOR, A. - BONFIL, R. - ZUCKERMAN, S. (eds.) 2003 Tell Qashish: A Village in the Jezreel Valley, Final Report of the Archaeological Excavations (1978-1987) (Qedem Reports 5), Jerusalem 2003. BLACKMAN, J - STEIN, G. -VANDIVER, P. 1993 The Standardization Hypothesis and Ceramic Mass Production: Technological, Compositional and Metric Indexes of Craft Specialization at Tell Leilan: American Antiquity 58/1 (1993), pp. 60-79. BOILEAU, M.-C. 2005 Pottery Production and Distribution in Third Millennium Northeast Syria: Technological Study of Tell’Atij and Tell Gudeda pottery (Edition de la MSH), Paris 2005. BRANDL, B. 1989 Observations on the Early Bronze Age Strata of Tel Erani: P. DE MIROSCHEDJI (ed.), L’Urbanisation de la Palestine à l’âge du Bronze ancien. Bilan et perspectives des recherches actuelles. Actes du Colloque d’Emmaüs (20-24 octobre 1986) (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 527), Oxford 1989, pp. 357-388. BRAUN, E. 1990 Basalt bowls of Early Bronze I horizon in the southern Levant: Paléorient16/1 (1990), pp. 87-96. BRAUN, E. - GOPHNA, R. 2004 Excavations at Ashqelon, Afridar-Area G:‘Atiqot 45 (2004), pp. 185-242. CALLAWAY, J.A. 1980 The Early Bronze Age Citadel and Lower City at Ai (et-Tell): A Report of the Joint Archaeological Expedition to Ai (et-Tell) 2, Cambridge 1980. CHARLOUX, G. 2006 Artisanat et Urbanisation de la Palestine à l’Âge du Bronze Ancien: Apport de l’étude des céramiques à la structure sociale, PhD Diss., Université Paris 1, Paris 2006. COURTY, M.-A. - ROUX, V. 1995 Identification of wheel throwing on the basis of ceramic surface features and microfabrics: Journal of Archaeological Science 22, pp. 17-50. DAR, S. 1977 Ancient Settlements in ‘Emeq Hepher: The Sites of Tell Nurit, Nahal Alexander and the Rockcut Tombs of Ma‘abarot, Kibbutz Ma‘abarot 1977 (in Hebrew). D’ANDREA, M. 2012 The Early Bronze IV Period in South-Central Transjordan: Reconsidering Chronology Through Ceramic Technology: Levant 44/1 (2012), pp. 17-50. DOHERTY, S. 2013 The origins and the use of the potters wheel in Ancient Egypt, PhD Diss. Cardiff University 20136 (unpublished; online abstract http://orca.cf.ac.uk/45612/). DORRELL, P.G. 1983 Appendix A: stone vessels, tools, and objects: K. M. KENYON - T. A. HOLLAND (eds.), Excavations at Jericho: Volume 5: The Pottery Phases of the Tell and Other Finds. London 1983, pp. 485-575.

89 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

DOTHAN, M. 1959 Excavations at Meser, 1957. Preliminary report on the second season: Israel Exploration Journal 9, pp. 13-29. EISENBERG, E. - GREENBERG, R. 2006 Chapter 8: Area EY: The Eisenberg - Yogev Excavations, 1981-1982, 1985-1986: R. GREENBERG - E. EISENBERG - S. PAZ - Y. PAZ (eds.), Bet Yerah: The Early Bronze Age Mound I: Excavations Reports 1933-1986 (Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 29), Jerusalem 2006, pp. 339-468. ENGBERG, R.M. - SHIPTON, G.M. 1934 Notes on the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Pottery of Megiddo(Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 10), Chicago 1939. ESSE, D.L. 1991 Subsistence, Trade and Social Change in Early Bronze Age Palestine (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 50), Chicago 1991. FINKELSTEIN, I. - USSISHKIN, D. 2000 Area Archaeological and Historical Conclusions: I. FINKELSTEIN - D. USSISHKIN - B. HALPERN (eds.), Megiddo III. The 1992-1996 Seasons (Tel Aviv Monograph Series 18), Tel Aviv 2000, pp. 576-605. FISCHER, P.M. 2008 Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley. Volume I: The Early Bronze Age (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie, Band XLVIII), Wien 2008. GOLANI, A. 2004 Excavations at Ashqelon, Afridar-Area E: ‘Atiqot 45 (2004), pp. 242-262. GOPHNA, R. (ed.) 1996 Excavations at Tel Dalit, Tel Aviv 1996. GOSSELAIN, O. 2002 Poteries du Cameroun, Paris 2002. GREENBERG, R. 2011 Life in the City: Tel Bet Yerah in the Early Bronze Age: M. S. CHESSON (ed.), Daily Life, Materiality and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant. Papers in Honor of Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, Winona Lake 2011, pp. 41-54. GREENBERG, R. - EISENBERG, E. 2002 Egypt, Bet Yerah and Early Canaanite Urbanization: E.C.M. VAN DEN BRINK - T.E. LEVY (eds.), Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th Through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE, New York 2002, pp. 213-222. GREENBERG, R. - GOREN, Y. (guest eds.) 2009 Transcaucasian Migrants and the Khirbet Kerak Culture in the Third Millennium BCE, The Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Annual Symposium, March 23, 2008: Tel Aviv 36/2 (2009). GREENBERG, R. - EISENBERG, E - PAZ, S. - PAZ, Y. (eds.) 2006 Bet Yerah: The Early Bronze Age Mound I: Excavations Reports 1933-1986 (Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 29), Jerusalem 2006. GREENBERG, R. - PAZ, S. - WENGROW, D. - ISERLIS, M. 2012 Tel Bet Yerah: Hub of the Early Bronze Age Levant: Near Eastern Archaeology 75/2 (2012), pp. 88-107.

90 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

GREENBERG, R. - PORAT, N. 1996 A Third Millennium Levantine Pottery Production Centre: Typology, Petrography, and Provenance of the Metallic Ware of Northern Israel and Adjacent Regions: Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 301(1996), pp. 5-24. GUY, P.L.O. 1938 Megiddo Tombs (Oriental Institute Publications 33), Chicago 1938. HARRISON, T.P. 2000 Field D: the Lower Southern Terrace: L.G. HERR - D.R. CLARK - L.T. GERATY - R.W. YOUNKER - Ø.S. LABIANCA (eds.), Madaba Plains Project 4: The 1992 Season at Tell al- ‘Umayri and Subsequent Studies, Berrien Springs 2000, pp. 95-154. JACOBS, P. - BOROWSKI, O. 1993 Notes and News: Tell Halif, 1992: Israel Exploration Journal 43/1 (1993), pp. 66-70. LANERI, N. 2011 The Life-History of the Potter’s Wheel in the Ancient Near East: S. SCARCELLA (ed.), Archaeological Ceramics: A Review of Current Research (BAR International Series 2193), Oxford 2011, pp. 64-72. LEE, J.R. 2003 Worked stones: W.E. RAST - R.T. SCHAUB, Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘: Excavations at the Town Site (1975–1981), Part 1: Text, Part 2: Plates and Appendices (Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan, Volume II), Winona Lake 2003, pp. 622-637. LOUD, G. 1948 Megiddo II. Seasons of 1935-1939 (Oriental Institute Publications 62), Chicago 1948. MACDONALD, E. - STARKEY, J.L. - HARDING, G.L. 1932 Beth Pelet II (Publication of the Egyptian Research Account 52), London 1932. MAISLER, B. - STEKELIS, M. - AVI-YONAH, M. 1952 The excavations at Beth Yerah (Khirbet el-Kerak) 1944-1946: Israel Exploration Journal 2 (1952), pp. 165-173, 218-229. MARCHETTI, N. 2003 A Century of Excavations on the Spring Hill at Tell es-Sultan, Ancient Jericho: A Reconstruction of Its Stratigraphy: M. BIETAK (ed.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C. II, Proceedings of the SCIEM2000 -EuroConference (Haindorf 2001), Wien 2003, pp. 295-321. MAZAR, A. 1990 Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10000 - 586 B.C.E., New York 1990. 2001 On the significance of the Early Bronze III Granary of Beth Yerah: S.R. WOLFF (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas L. Esse (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 59), Chicago 2001, pp. 447-464. MAZAR, A. - ROTEM, Y. 2009 Tel Beth Shean During the EB IB Period: Evidence for Social Complexity in the Late 4th Millennium BC: Levant 41 (2009), pp. 131-153. MILEVSKI, I. 2011 Early Bronze Age Goods Exchange in the Southern Levant: A Marxist Perspective, London 2011. MIRON, E. 1992 Axes and Adzes from Canaan (Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9), Stuttgart 1992. DE MIROSCHEDJI, P. 2002 The socio-political dynamics of Egyptian-Canaanite interaction in the Early Bronze Age: E.C.M. VAN DEN BRINK - T.E. LEVY (eds.), Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th Through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE, New York 2002, pp. 39-57.

91 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

2003 The Late EB III Palace B1 at Tel Yarmouth: A Descriptive Summary: Eretz Israel 27 (2003), pp. 153-170. MITCHELL, L.M. 1989 Field D: the Lower Southern Terrace: L.T. GERATY - L.G. HERR - Ø.S. LABIANCA - R.W. YOUNKER (eds.), Madaba Plains Project 1: The 1984 Season at Tell al-‘Umayri and Vicinity and Subsequent Studies, Berrien Springs 1989, pp. 282-295. NIGRO, L. 1994 Ricerche sull’architettura palaziale della Palestina nelle età del Bronzo e del Ferro (Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale V), Roma 1994. 2003 Tell es-Sultan in the Early Bronze Age IV (2300-2000 BC). Settlement vs Necropolis - A Stratigraphic Periodization: Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale IX (2003), pp. 121-158. 2005 Tell es-Sultan/Gerico alle soglie della prima urbanizzazione: il villaggio e la necropoli del Bronzo Antico I (3300-3000 a.C.) (Rome “La Sapienza” Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 1), Roma 2005. 2006 Results of the Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan: at the Dawn of Urbanization in Palestine: L. NIGRO - H. TAHA (eds.), Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in the Context of the Jordan Valley: Site Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development, Proceedings of the International Workshop (Ariha 2005) (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 2), Rome 2006, pp. 1-40. 2007 Alle origini della prima urbanizzazione palestinese: il caso dell’Edificio 7102 di Tell el- ‛Areini: Vicino Oriente 13 (2007), pp. 25-38. 2008 Tell es-Sultan/Jericho from Village to Town: A Reassessment of the Early Bronze Age I Settlement and Necropolis: J. M. CÓRDOBA - M. MOLIST, MªC. PÉREZ - I. RUBIO - S. MARTÍNEZ (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (5-8 April 2006), Volume II, Madrid 2008, pp. 645-662. 2009a Khirbet al-Batrawy: A Case Study of 3rd Millennium Urbanism in North-Central Jordan: D. CLARK - B. PORTER (eds.), Studies in History and Archaeology of Jordan X (2009), pp. 657-677. 2009b The Built Tombs on the Spring Hill and The Palace of the Lords of Jericho (‘dmr Rha) in the Middle Bronze Age: J.D. SCHLOEN (ed.), Exploring the longue durée. Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, Winona Lake 2009, pp. 361-376. 2010a In the Palace of the Copper Axes/Nel Palazzo delle Asce di Rame. Khirbet al-Batrawy: the discovery of a forgotten city of the III millennium BC in Jordan/Khirbet al-Batrawy: la scoperta di una città dimenticata del III millennio a.C. in Giordania (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine &Transjordan/Colour Monographs I), Rome 2010. 2010b Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in the Early Bronze II (3000-2700 BC): the rise of an early Palestinian city. A synthesis of the results of four archaeological expeditions (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 5), Rome 2010. 2010c Quattro asce di rame dal Palazzo B di Khirbet al-Batrawy (Bronzo Antico IIIB, 2500- 2300 a.C.): Scienze dell’Antichità 16 (2010), pp. 561-572. 2011 Dominating the River: Khirbet al-Batrawy, an EB II-III City in North-Central Jordan: Syria 88 (2011), pp. 59-74. 2012a Khirbet al-Batrawy: American Journal of Archaeology 116/4 (2012), pp. 705-706. 2012b An EB IIIB (2500-2300 BC) gemstones necklace from the Palace of the Copper Axes at Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan: Vicino Oriente XVI (2012), pp. 227-243.

92 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

2013a Urban Origins in the Upper Wādī az-Zarqā’, Jordan: The City of Khirbat al-Batrāwī in the third Millennium BC: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan XI (2013), pp. 489-506. 2013b The Ninth Season (2013) of Archaeological Activities at Tell es-Sultan/Ancient Jericho, By Rome “La Sapienza” University and the Palestinian MOTA-DACH (online report: http://www.lasapienzatojericho.it/Results%202013/results2013.htm#_ftn1). NIGRO, L. (ed.) 2006 Khirbet al-Batrawy. An Early Bronze Age Fortified Town in North-Central Jordan. Preliminary Report of the First Season of Excavations (2005) (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 3), Rome 2006. 2008 Khirbet al-Batrawy II. The EB II-III city-gate, the EB II-III fortifications, the EB II-III temple. Preliminary report of the second (2006) and third (2007) seasons of excavations (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 6), Rome 2008. 2012 Khirbet al-Batrawy III. The EB II-III triple fortification line and the EB IIIB quarter inside the city-wall. Preliminary report of the fourth (2008) and fifth (2009) seasons of excavations (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan 8), Rome 2012. NIGRO, L. - SALA, M. 2011 Preliminary Report of the Sixth Season (2010) of Excavations by the University of Rome “La Sapienza” at Khirbat al-Batrāwī (Upper Wādī az-Zarqā’): Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011), pp. 85-100. NIGRO, L. - SALA, M. - MONTANARI, D. - TUMOLO, V. 2010 The Early Bronze Age IV Village at Khirbet al-Batrawy, Jordan: P. MATTHIAE - F. th PINNOCK - N. MARCHETTI - L. NIGRO (eds.), Proceedings of the 6 International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 5 May - 10 2008, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Vol. 3, Wiesbaden 2010, pp. 461-468. NIGRO, L. - SALA, M. - TAHA, H. - YASSINE, J. 2011 The Early Bronze Age Palace and Fortifications at Tell es-Sultan/Jericho. The 6th - 7th seasons (2010-2011) by Rome “La Sapienza” University and the Palestinian MOTA- DACH: Scienze dell’Antichità 17 (2011), pp. 571-597. PAZ, S. 2006 Area SA: The Stekelis - Avi-Yonah Excavations (Circles Building), 1945-6: R. GREENBERG - E. EISENBERG - S. PAZ - Y. PAZ (eds.), Bet Yerah: The Early Bronze Age Mound I: Excavations Reports 1933-1986 (Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 29), Jerusalem 2006, pp. 53-103. PELTA, R. 1996 Special reports. Chapter 8. A potter’s wheel from Tel Dalit: R. GOPHNA (ed.), Excavations at Tel Dalit, Tel Aviv 1996, pp. 171-185. PHILIP, G. 1989 Metal Weapons of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in Syria-Palestine (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 526), Oxford 1989. PHILIP, G. - WILLIAMS-THORPE, O. 1993 A provenance study of Jordanian basalt vessels of the Chalcolithic and EBI periods: Paléorient 19/2 (1993), pp. 51-63. 2001 The production and consumption of basalt artefacts in the southern Levant during the 5th- th 4 millennia BC: A. MILLARD (ed.), Archaeological Sciences ‘97 (British Archaeological Reports. International Series S939), Oxford 2001, pp. 11-30.

93 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

RICHARD, S. - LONG, J.C. 2005 Three Seasons of Excavations of Khirbat Iskander, 1997, 2000, 2004: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 49 (2005), pp. 261-275. ROSENBERG, D - GOLANI, A. 2012 Groundstone Tools of a Copper-Smiths’ Community: Understanding Stone-Related Aspects of the Early Bronze Age Site of Ashqelon Barnea: Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 25/1 (2012), pp. 27-51. ROUX, V. 2007 Non emprunt du façonnage au tour dans le Levant Sud entre le Ve et le IIIe mill. Av. J.- C.: des régularités pour des scénarios historiques particuliers: P. ROUILLARD - C. PERLES- E. GRIMAUD (eds.), Mobilités, immobilisme. L’emprunt et son refus, Paris 2007, pp. 201- 213. 2009a Wheel Fashioned Ceramic Production during the Third Millennium BCE in the Southern Levant: a Perspective from Tel Yarmuth: S. ROSEN - V. ROUX (eds.), Techniques and people: anthropological perspectives on technology in the archaeology of the proto- historic and early historic periods in the Southern Levant, Paris 2009, pp. 195-212. 2009b The Potter’s wheel in Middle Bronze II in the Southern Levant: Technological study of the Beth Shean Ceramics: The Archeotek Journal 3/4 (2009) (http://www.arkeotek.org/). ROUX, V. - COURTY, M.A. 1997 Les bols élaborés au tour d’Abu Hamid: Rupture technique au 4e mill. avt. J.-C. dans le Levant sud: Paléorient 23/1 (1997), pp. 25-43. 1998 Identification of wheel-fashioning methods: technological analysis of 4th-3rdmillennium BC oriental ceramics: Journal of Archaeological Science 25 (1998), pp. 747-763. 2005 Identifying Social Entities at a Macro-regional Level: Chalcolithic Ceramics of South Levant as a Case-Study: A. LIVINGSTONE-SMITH - D. BOSQUET- R. MARTINEAU (eds.), Pottery Manufacturing Processes: Reconstitution and Interpretation. Acts of the XIV UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001 (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1349), Oxford 2005, pp. 201-214. ROUX, V. - DE MIROSCHEDJI, P. 2009 Revisiting the History of the Potter’s Wheel in the Southern Levant: Levant 41/2 (2009), pp. 155-173. ROWAN, Y.M. 2003 The Groundstone Assemblage: A. GOLANI (ed.), Salvage Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat ‘Ata (Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 18), Jerusalem 2003. ROWAN, Y.M. - EBELING, J.M. (eds.) 2008 New Approaches to Old Stones; Recent Studies on Ground Stone Artifacts, London - Oakville 2008. RUTTER, G. 2003 Basaltic-rock Procurement Systems in the Southern Levant: Case studies from the Chalcolithic- Early Bronze I and the Late Bronze-Iron Ages, PhD Diss., University of Durham, 2003 (unpublished). RUTTER, G. - PEARSON, D.G. - PHILIP, G - DAY, J.M.D. - OTTLEY, C.J. 2003 The Use of ICP-MS in Provenancing Igneous Stone Artefacts: Examples from the Southern Levant: G. HOLLAND - S.D. TANNER (eds.), Plasma Source Mass Spectroscopy; Applications and Emerging Technologies (Special Publication Royal Society of Chemistry), Cambridge 2003, pp. 209-218.

94 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

RUTTER, G. - PHILIP, G. 2008 Beyond Provenance Analysis: The Movement of Basaltic Artefacts through a Social Landscape: Y.M. ROWAN - J.M. EBELING (eds.), New Approaches to Old Stones; Recent Studies on Ground Stone Artifacts, London - Oakville 2008, pp. 343-360. SALA, M. 2008 L’architettura sacra della Palestina nell’età del Bronzo Antico I-III (Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale XIII), Roma 2008. 2011 Sanctuaries, Temples and Cult Places in Early Bronze I Southern Levant: Vicino & Medio Oriente XV (2011), pp. 1-32. 2012a An EB IVB (2200-2000 BC) Farmers’ Community at Khirbet al-Batrawy (North-Central Jordan): R. MATTHEWS - J. CURTIS (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 12 April - 16 April 2010, the British Museum and UCL, London 2012, pp. 697-706. 2012b Egyptian and Egyptianizing Objects From EB I-III Tell es-Sultan/Ancient Jericho: Vicino Oriente XVI (2012), pp. 275-302. DE VAUX, R. 1955 Les Fouilles de Tell el-Far’ah, près Naplouse. Cinquième campagne: Revue Biblique 62 (1955), pp. 541-582. DE VAUX, R - STEVE, A.M. 1947 La Première Campagne de Fouilles à Tell el-Far’ah, près Naplouse: Revue Biblique 54/3- 4 (1947), pp. 394-433, 573-589. VAN DEN BRINK, E.C.M - ROWAN, Y.M. - BRAUN, E. 1999 Pedestaled basalt bowls of the Chalcolithic: new variations: Israel Exploration Journal 49 (1999), pp. 161-183. WOOD, B.G. 1992 Potter’s Wheel: D.N. FREEDMAN (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, New York 1992, pp. 427-429. WRIGHT, G.E. 1937 The Pottery of Palestine from the Earliest Times to the End of the Early Bronze Age, New Haven 1937. YEKUTIELI, Y. 2001 The Early Bronze Age IA of Southwestern Canaan: S.R. WOLFF (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and the Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas Esse (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 59), Chicago 2001, pp. 659-688.

95 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

t

basal where the Hall L.1040,

Pillared the foreground the

atrawy, from north-west. In

Fig. 1 - EB IIIB Palace B of Khirbet al-B Khirbet IIIB Palace B of 1 - EB Fig. was KB.11.B.110 wheel basalt the where L.1120, storeroom the background the in was recovered; KB.10.B.87 wheel & Palestine Jordan). to Expedition «La Sapienza» of Rome (courtesy recovered

96 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

Fig. 2 - Drawing and photos of potter’s wheel KB.10.B.87 (courtesy of Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition to Palestine & Jordan).

97 Chiara Fiaccavento VO F.1054, inside PillaredL.1040 Hall (after Nigro 2010c, fig.

Fig. 3 - Basalt potter’s wheel KB.10.B.87 in destruction layer 567). 12,

98 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

Fig. 4 - Drawing and photos of potter’s wheel KB.11.B.110 (courtesy of Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition to Palestine & Jordan).

99 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

Fig. 5 - Basalt potter’s wheel KB.11.B.110 in destruction layer F.1124, inside storeroom L.1120 (courtesy of ROSEPAJ; preliminary online report “Discoveries 2011”).

100 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

Fig. 6 - Drawing and photo of potter’s wheel KB.12.B.140 (courtesy of Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition to Palestine & Jordan).

101 Chiara Fiaccavento VO

Fig. 7 - Early Bronze I-IV sites in Southern Levant, where pieces of potter’s wheels were retrieved.

102 XVII (2013) Potters’ wheels from Khirbet al-Batrawy: a reconsideration of social contexts

Fig. 8 - Potter’s kiln discovered at Tell el-Farah North, plan and section (after de Vaux 1955, fig. 9, 558-562).

103

[Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 105-114]

A COPPER JAVELIN HEAD IN THE UCL PALESTINIAN COLLECTION

Daria Montanari - Sapienza University of Rome

Il giavellotto di rame presentato in questa sede, conservato nella collezione palestinese dello University College di Londra, è ritenuto proveniente dagli scavi condotti da W.M.F. Petrie nel sito di Tell el-‘Ajjul agli inizi del XX secolo. L’arma si presta ad un’analisi tipologica che consente di sostanziare meglio le ipotesi circa il contesto di provenienza e l’attribuzione cronologica.

Keywords: UCL; javelin; Tell el-‘Ajjul; W.M.F. Petrie; Early Bronze IVB

The javelin discussed in this paper is presently preserved in the Palestinian Collection of the Institute of Archaeology of the University College - London, bearing the accession number 2006/19.1 As it is stated in the Institute report, it was devoid of marking or labels indicating its provenance. However, according to the Collection Register it probably belonged to the W.M.F. Petrie Palestinian Collection,2 most probably from the excavations at Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Wadi Gaza, conducted by the British School of Archaeology under William Matthew Flinders Petrie’s direction from 1930 to 1934. I was informed about this weapon by Dr. Rachael Sparks, who also allowed me to study it as part of my PhD research project concerning Early Bronze Age metal weapons in the Southern Levant.3 I wish to express to her my sincere gratitude.

1. UCL COPPER JAVELIN N° 2006/19 The UCL javelin is made of copper alloy, and it has a massive body, a long leaf-shaped blade, and a coiled and folded tang (fig. 1). The blade has a lozenge-shaped cross-section and a midrib on both faces; the body has a round cross-section; the tang has a squared cross-section due to the hammering and work hardening. The whole length of the javelin is 29 cm, the blade is 9.8 cm long, the tang is 7 cm long; the width of the blade is 1.9 cm; the diameter of the body is 1.1 cm; the thickness of the blade is 0.5 cm; the thickness of the tang is 0.4 cm; the weight is 176 g. Since no data are available in the UCL Museum Register concerning the provenience of such interesting item, one has, thus, to rely upon a comparative study and on the formation of the UCL collection in order to trace back the origin of the metal weapon. The leaf-shaped javelin was presumably found during Petrie’s archaeological excavations in the cemetery of Tell el-‘Ajjul in Southern Palestine.4 Two of similar javelins in the UCL Collection were retrieved in Tell el-‘Ajjul by W.M.F. Petrie. Even though this find does not appear in Petrie’s field reports, there is a certain range of possibility that it was retrieved at Tell el-‘Ajjul, such as it is proposed by the Collection Register and as it

1 Ucko - Sparks - Laidlav 2007, 81, cat. 53. 2 Ucko 1998; Sparks 2005; 2013a; 2013b; Ucko - Sparks - Laidlav 2007. A catalogue of of Petrie Palestinian material is available on-line at http://archcat.museums.ucl.ac.uk/. 3 I would like to express my thankfulness to Prof. Lorenzo Nigro, my tutor and guide over the years, who encouraged this my study trip and motivated my PhD research. 4 The Cemetery 100 - 200 is published in Petrie 1931, 8; the Cemetery 1500 is published in Petrie 1932, 14-16.

Daria Montanari VO suggested by the comparison with the other coeval specimens.5 Specifically, as it will be detailed further (§ 3.), the javelin 2006/19 shares some features, such as coiled and folded tang and elongated blade, with two specimens from Tombs 227 and 275 of Tell el-‘Ajjul.

2. SOUTHERN LEVANTINE JAVELINS: AN OVERVIEW Javelins are deemed a reference class of metal weapons for Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age. Especially in the Early Bronze IV, javelins figure out as a meaningful presence, in relationship with warfare and social change in that period. Javelins are long-distance weapons, suitable to be thrown,6 composed of two parts of different material: a perishable wooden handle, and a metal point, the head. This weapon was made by melting bronze in a mould, and by hammering and work hardening the molten product. EB IV Southern Levantine javelin heads usually have a coiled and folded tang to be inserted into the wooden handle; sometimes this part of the haft could be outer reinforced by metallic bends, like as in the case of a specimen from ‘Ain Samiya,7 strings or fibre strips wrapped around the wooden pole. The tang inserted in the handle corresponds roughly to a third of the whole length of the weapon. Javelins can be basically subdivided in two main types: the simple one and the leaf- shaped one. The former type8 is represented by a bipartite weapon, with folded, coiled tang,9 plain body, squared cross-section, that is the classic “poker-spear”,10 or with circular cross-section, and a pointed tip. The latter type11 is tripartite: it has a folded, coiled tang, a short central body, with alternatively squared or circular cross-section, and the leaf-shaped blade. The javelin head preserved in the UCL Palestinian Collection belongs to the leaf-shaped type.

2.1. Leaf-shaped javelins Leaf-shaped javelins were mainly found in funerary contexts of Early Bronze IV Southern Levant. More precisely, they were retrieved in Early Bronze IVB12 tombs in the

5 The report of the UCL Collection indicates that the javelin has not yet been matched to a published source. 6 Yadin 1963, 10. 7 Dever 1972a, 103-106, fig. 5:3. 8 The simple type corresponds to De Maigret’s types A4ii and A4iii (De Maigret 1976, 70-77, figs. 14, 15), and to Philip’s types 5 and 13 (Philip 1989, 75-77, fig. 15). It is sometimes in literature referred as “pike”. 9 Only in a few cases a straight tang is attested to, like as it is shown by specimens recovered at Byblos (Dunand 1937-1939, 375, pl. C:5493 ), ‘Ain Samiya (Dever 1972a, 103-106, fig. 6:6-7), and at el-Musherifeh (Ibrahim - Qadi 1995, 88, fig. 8:3). 10 Woolley 1934, 303; Kenyon 1965, 49. 11 The leaf-shaped type corresponds to De Maigret’s types A3iv (De Maigret 1976, 63-67, fig. 12), and to Philip’s types 6 and 13 (Philip 1989, 76-77, figs. 17-18). 12 The attribution to that sub-period of the Early Bronze IV is allowed by some pottery vessels recorded in each tomb, characterized by specific features (Nigro 2003a, 134; D’Andrea 2012, 22-23, fig. 3). They are: jars with wheel-made rim and combed band on shoulder, such as in Tomb G 83 at Tell es-Sultan/Jericho (Kenyon 1965, fig. 80:2), in Tombs 2032 (Tufnell 1958, fig. 13, pl. 67:477), 2100 (Tufnell 1958, fig. 13, pl. 67:471), and 2111 (Tufnell 1958, fig. 13, pl. 67:469) at Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish; jar with incised decoration below the

106 XVII (2013) A copper javelin head in the UCL Palestinian Collection sites of: Tell es-Sultan/Jericho,13 el-Jib/Gibeon,14 Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish,15 Tell el-‘Ajjul,16 and in the necropolis of Tiwal esh-Sharqi17 in Transjordan. In four cases, leaf-shaped javelins were associated with another weapon, the dagger,18 that is: at Tell es- Sultan/Jericho, Tombs G 83 and M 13, at Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish, Tomb 2111, and at Tiwal esh-Sharqi, Tomb SE.1.19 Moreover, six specimens bought on the market, though belonged to funerary equipment, and were probably plundered at ‘Ain Samiya,20 Jebel Qa‘aqīr,21 and Khirbet el-Kirmil.22 They too are dated to late Early Bronze IV.23 Leaf-shaped javelins might be subdivided into two groups according to the length of the blade in respect of the whole length of the weapon. They could be short or long; the short type has a blade length between 4 and 6.7 cm, and usually exhibits a blade with rounded

wheel-made rim, such as in Tomb 227 at Tell el-Ajjul/Gaza (Petrie 1931, pl XLIV:33, M10); “teapots” with wheel-made rim and combed band on shoulder, such as in Tomb 2032 at Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish (Tufnell 1958, pl. 67:487), or completely combed, such as in Tomb M 13 at Tell es-Sultan/Jericho (Kenyon 1965, fig. 80:11); beaker with wheel-made rim and incised spiral below the rim, such as in Tomb M 13 at Tell es- Sultan/Jericho (Kenyon 1965, fig. 80:12). 13 Tombs G 83 and M 13 (Kenyon 1965, respectively 150, fig. 41:11; 153, fig. 41:13; Nigro 2003a, 137). 14 Tomb 13 (Pritchard 1963, 20-21, 98, fig. 18:9). This javelin might be dated to the Early Bronze IVB following the guideline established by the author (Pritchard 1963, 21), who linked the weapon to a combed sherd (Pritchard 1963, fig. 18:8), comparable with Early Bronze IVB wave-combed beaker and jar recovered at Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish (Tufnell 1958, pl. 66:404, 423). 15 Tombs 2032, 2100, 2111 (Tufnell 1958, 75-78, respectively pl. 22:2, 3, 1). 16 Tombs 227, 275 (Petrie 1931, 11-12, respectively pl. XIX:49, 48); there is unfortunately no published record belonging to Tomb 275, but the javelin. The Cemetery 100 - 200 is generally dated to Early Bronze IVB (Kenyon 1956, 47). 17 Tomb SE.1 (Tubb 1990, fig. 40b). 18 Garfinkel - Cohen (eds.) 2007, 63. A ceremonial meaning has been proposed for javelins and spearheads associated to daggers (Lapp 1966, 53) or a status-symbol value (Prag 1974, 102; Greenhut 1995, 31); but it is also possible that these weapons were a hallmark of the military specialization of the owner, after accompanied the deceased most of his life, these go together with him also in the tomb (see below § 4.). 19 The Tomb SE.1 contained two individuals, identified as a male and a female. It seems reasonable to attribute the weapons to the male deposition, though these were recovered in the centre of the chamber away from both skeletons, placed near the northern wall (Tubb 1990, 54-55, fig. 39b). 20 Dever 1972a, 103-106, fig. 5:1-3. These weapons were originated together with some Early Bronze IVB pottery vessels, such as combed jars, jars with incision below the rim, wave-combed and incised “teapot” jars, and incised and combed beakers (Dever 1972a, figs. 2-3) from the cemetery of ‘Ain Samiya (Dever 1972a, 97). 21 Dever 1972b, 233; 1997, 210-211. The Jebel Qa‘aqīr cemetery is dated to the final part of the Early Bronze IV according to the pottery recorded, like as combed jars, combed and wave-combed beakers (Dever 1970, fig. 3- 4; 1972b, 233). Other two javelins, probably of the leaf-shaped type (Dever 1975, 32), were recovered at Jebel Qa’aqīr (London 1985, 97-98). 22 Dever 1975, 31-32, fig. 6:6-7. The pottery repertoire from the cemetery of Khirbet el-Kirmil can be dated to Early Bronze IVB (Dever 1975, figs. 4, 6), except a few vessels that are slightly recent (Dever 1975, fig. 6:2, 4). 23 Cemeteries of central and south of Palestine are more representative of the later part of the Early Bronze IV (Oren 1973, 56, 59-60), as it is confirmed by pottery vessels previously illustrated (fns. 15-17). Looting activities, however, made this dating limitedly reliable.

107 Daria Montanari VO tip, rounded base, and a lozenge-shaped cross-section.24 The long type, that has a blade length between 7 and 7.5 cm, could have a triangular shaped blade, sometimes with base corners, a marked midrib, and a lozenge-shaped cross-section, that sometimes shows concave sides.25 Leaf-shaped javelins generally do not exceed 33 cm in length and 200 g in weight.

3. COMPARISONS TO THE UCL JAVELIN On the ground of typological analysis, the UCL javelin 2006/19 represents a well- known Southern Palestinian type of Early Bronze IV, sharing distinctive features with some already known leaf-shaped specimens. It has a coiled and folded tang, with squared cross- section, such as the javelins recovered at Tell es-Sultan/Jerico, Tomb M 13,26 at el- Jib/Gibeon, Tomb 13,27 Jebel Qa‘aqīr,28 Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish, Tombs 2032 and 2100,29 Tell el-‘Ajjul/Gaza, Tomb 227,30 and a circular central body, like as the other leaf-shaped javelins, (with the exception of two specimens from ‘Ain Samiya31 and Tell es- Sultan/Jericho, Tomb G 8332). The blade is elongated, as like as of the javelin from Tomb 275 of Tell el-‘Ajjul, which shows a dorsal ridge and concave sides, quite similar to another specimen from ‘Ain Samiya.33 It may be observed that EB IVB cemeteries and tombs where leaf-shaped javelins were retrieved are concentrated in the central and southern region of Palestine, even though a javelin of this type was collected also at Tiwal esh-Sharqi, in Jordan.34

4. CONCLUSIONS: CHRONOLOGICAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF UCL COPPER JAVELIN N° 2006/19 If the UCL javelin was part of the conspicuous heritage of antiquity brought to London by Petrie from the Palestinian site of Tell el-‘Ajjul, it seems highly probable that it belonged to a funerary context, as it was the case of the other known specimens mentioned above (§ 2.1., 3.). It might be attribute to a tomb of a grave of the Cemetery 100 - 200, where other two leaf-shaped javelins of the same type were recovered, in Tombs 227 and

24 These features are shown by specimens from el-Jib/Gibeon (Pritchard 1963, fig. 18:9), Tell ed- Duweir/Lachish (Tufnell 1958, pl. 22:1, 3), and Tell el-‘Ajjul (Petrie 1931, pl. XIX:49). 25 Concave sides are shown by specimens from Khirbet el-Kirmil (Dever 1975, fig. 6:6-7), and Jebel Qa‘aqīr (Dever 1972b, 233). Two specimens exceed the maximum blade length of 7.5 cm, they are one from Khirbet el-Kirmil (Dever 1975, 31-32, fig. 6:6), with a 10 cm blade, and one from Jebel Qa‘aqīr (Dever 1972b, 233), with a 14 cm blade. The UCL javelin head has overall dimensions and tripartite measures almost equal to that of Khirbet el-Kirmil. 26 Kenyon 1965, fig. 41:13; this item seems to have a squared cross-section only at the tip of the tang. 27 Pritchard 1963, fig. 18:9. 28 Dever 1972b, 233. 29 Tufnell 1958, respectively pl. 22:2, 3. 30 Petrie 1931, pl. XIX:49. 31 Dever 1972a, fig. 5:1. 32 Kenyon 1965, fig. 41:11. 33 Dever 1972a, fig. 5:3. 34 Tubb 1990, 96.

108 XVII (2013) A copper javelin head in the UCL Palestinian Collection

275,35 while no javelins at all were retrieved in the Cemetery 1500,36 the other necropolis of Tell el-‘Ajjul. On the basis of the considerations illustrated above, UCL javelin head 2006/19, sharing common features with a series of leaf-shaped specimens (§ 3.), may be convincingly attributed to a distinguished type attested in Southern Levant during Early Bronze IVB. It seems strongly distinctive of a group of funerary equipment, which may be attributed to EB IV warriors,37 also because javelins are usually associated with other weapons, namely daggers.38 Moreover, the appearance of javelins, and especially of the leaf-shaped type during the Early Bronze IVB should be reconsidered in regard to the introduction of new technologically advanced skills and to the spreading of new weapon types. Throughout the Early Bronze IV in addition to javelins some new weapons make their appearance in funerary contexts, such as fenestrated axes of the broad earlier type,39 hooked and socketed spearheads,40 all of them possibly characteristic of warrior burials too.41

35 Petrie 1931, 11-12, respectively pl. XIX:49, 48. 36 Petrie 1932, 14-16. 37 Palumbo 1990, 109; Philip 1995, 140, 151; Nigro 1999, 16. Despite the fact that bronze objects in general and weapons in particular were precious items, they were nevertheless buried with their owners. This suggests that during this period weapons were the personal possessions of a warrior and were not controlled by a central authority or stored together in a community arsenal. Weapons were considered personal belonging; at the warrior’s death, they were buried with him, letting go out of circulation costly weapons (Garfinkel 2001, 156- 157). 38 Simple javelins, as it is shown by Tomb A41 at Dhahr Mirzbaneh (Lapp 1966, fig. 24:12-13), Tomb 50 and 52 at el-Jib/Gibeon (Pritchard 1963, 54-56, figs. 56:8-9, 58:6-7), Tomb A1 at el-Musheirfeh (Ibrahim - Qadi 1995, 88, fig. 8:1-3), Tomb M16 at Tell es-Sultan/Jericho (Kenyon 1965, 153-155, fig. 41:14-15), and Tomb 1 at Amman (Zayadine 1978, 66, fig. 4:6-7), and leaf-shaped javelins, such as in the case of Tomb 2111 at Tell ed-Duweir/Lachish (Tufnell 1958, 75-78, pl. 22:1, 4), Tombs G 83 and M13 at Tell es-Sultan/Jericho (Kenyon 1965, 150, 153, figs. 41:10-11, 41:12-13), and Tomb SE1 at Tiwal esh-Sharqi (Tubb 1990, 53-58, fig. 40b) can be associated to daggers in funerary equipments. 39 Fenestrated axes recovered in tombs are those from Tell el-Mutesellim/Megiddo (Guy 1938, 115, pl. 163:8), Ma’abarot (Gophna 1969, 174-177, fig. 2), ‘Enot Shuni (Caspia et al. 2008, fig. 1:a-b), and Tell Mastaba (Beth Shan; Tzori 1962, 153). To these already mentioned as belonging a new type the anchor axes from Beit Ulla and Kfar Malek should be added (Nigro 2003b, 15, fig. 8; www.antiques.com/classified/1040823/Antique-Bronze-Fenestrated-Axe-Head---FZ-075; www.antiques.com/classified/1040829/Antique-Bronze-Fenestrated-Axe-Head---FZ-079). 40 Hooked spearheads were recovered in tombs at Tell el-Hosn/Beth Shan (Oren 1973, X, 77, figs. 20:3; 21:14, 20), Tiberias (Tzaferis 1968, 19, pl. 1A); Geva-Carmel (Amiran 1974, fig. 1:5), Kinnutz Hazorea (Meyerhof 1989, 128, pl. 35:3:103), Fureidis (Hess 1980, fig. 1:7), Ma’abarot (Dar 1977, 62:7, 13, 14, 16), Ginosar (Epstein 1974, 3*, fig. 4:11), Khirbet Beth Mizza/Motza (Bahat 1975, fig. 5:1), Horbat Gilan South (Mahajna 2006, fig. 3), and in the Wadi Hamra (Stepansky 2005, fig. 1). Socketed spearheads were registered in tombs at Tell el-Mutesellim/Megiddo, in Tombs 1101B Lower and 84C (Guy 1938, 26-27, 115, 163, fig. 174:1, pls. 86:3; 163:9), el-Jib/Gibeon (Pritchard 1963, 61, fig. 64:12-13), and in two dolmen in the Golan (Epstein 1985, 43, figs. 2:9; 3:18). 41 Usually spearheads are not associated to javelins in burials, but sometimes spearheads are in the same funerary equipment together with fenestrated axes, as it is in the case of Tombs 1101B Lower and 84C (Guy 1938, 26-27, 115, 163, fig. 174:1, pls. 86:3; 163:9).

109 Daria Montanari VO

The occurrence and association of different weapons within funerary equipment42 (javelin + dagger or dagger + spearhead) first of all show that only a single ranged weapon was usually added to warrior burial. Secondly, it suggests that warriors existed with a specific weaponry, possibly depending on their specialization.43 Warriors burials are a distinguishing feature of the final phase of the Early Bronze IV in the Southern Levant, which is indeed the Early Bronze Age sub-period with the highest attestation of weapons. Warriors burials have be seen as strongly connected with similar tombs of following Middle Bronze Age period, thus pointing to the emerging of a warriors class in Southern Levant in this period.44 New types of weapons, as the UCL leaf-shaped javelin, and new burial patterns, as the warrior tombs, reflect social changes and the formation of new social balances during the non-urban interval at the turn of the 3rd millennium BC.45

REFERENCES

AMIRAN, R. 1974 A Tomb-Group from Gevaʽ-Carmel: ‘Atiqot Hebrew Series 7 (1974), pp. 1*-12*. BAHAT, D. 1975 A Middle Bronze I Tombe Cave at Motza: Eretz Israel 12 (1975), pp. 18*-23*. CASPIA, E.N. - RIVIN, O. - ETTEDGUI, H. - PEILSTÖCKER, M. - SHILSTEIN, S. - SHALEV, S. 2008 Non-destructive Neutron Diffraction Study of Internal Structure of Archaeological Metal Artifacts from Israel: 9th International Conference on NDT of Art, Jerusalem Israel, 25- 30 May 2008, www.sciencedirect.com/science. COHEN, S.L. 2012 Weaponry and Warrior Burials: patterns of disposal and social change in the southern Levant: R. MATTHEWS - J. CURTIS (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 12 April - 16 April 2010, the British Museum and UCL, London, Wiesbaden 2012, pp. 307-319. D’ANDREA, M. 2012 The Early Bronze IV Period in South-Central Transjordan: Reconsidering Chronology through Ceramic Technology: Levant 44 (2012), pp. 17-50. DAR, S. 1977 Ancient Settlement of ‘Emeq Hefer. The Sites of Tell Nurit, Nahal Alexander and the Rockcut Tombs of Ma’abarot, Kibbutz Ma’abarot 1977. DE MAIGRET, A. 1976 Le lance nell’Asia Anteriore nell’Età del Bronzo (Studi Semitici 47), Roma 1976.

42 Doumet-Serhal - Griffiths 2007-2008, 202. 43 Palumbo 1990, 131. 44 Oren 1971, 109; Philip 1995, 145, 153; Thalmann 2000, 50-53; Doumet-Serhal 2004, 175; Doumet-Serhal - Kopetzky 2011-2012, 9-10; Cohen 2012, 309. 45 Nigro 2003a, 121.

110 XVII (2013) A copper javelin head in the UCL Palestinian Collection

DEVER, W.G. 1970 The “Middle Bronze I” Period in Syria and Palestine: J.A. SANDERS (ed.), Essays in Honor of Nelson Glueck. Near Eastern Archaeology in the Twentieth Century, New York 1970, pp. 132-163. 1972a Middle Bronze Age I Cemetery at Mirzbaneh and ʽAin Samiya: Israel Exploration Journal 22 (1972), pp. 95-112. 1972b A Middle Bronze I Site on the West Bank of the Jordan: Archaeology XXV (1972), pp. 231-233. 1975 A Middle Bronze I Cemetery at Khirbet el-Kirmil: Eretz Israel 12 (1975), pp. 18-33. 1997 Jebel Qa‘aqīr: E.M. MEYERS (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in Near East, vol. 3, Oxford 1997, pp. 201-211. DOUMET-SERHAL, C. 2004 Weapons from the Middle Bronze Age Burials in Sidon: C. DOUMET-SERHAL (ed.), Decade. A Decade of Archaeology and History in the Lebanon (Archaeology and History in the Lebanon Special Edition), Beirut 2004, pp. 154-177. DOUMET-SERHAL, C. - GRIFFITHS, D. 2007-2008 Bronze Artifacts from Burial 42 at Sidon: H. CHARAF (ed.), Inside the Levantine Maze. Archaeological and Historical Studies Presented to Jean-Paul Thalmann on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (Archaeology and History in the Lebanon 26-27), Beirut 2007- 2008, pp. 194-203. DOUMET-SERHAL, C. - KOPETZKY, K. 2011-2012 Sidon and Tell el-Dab’a: Two Cities - One Story. A Highlight on Metal Artefacts from the Middle Bronze Age Graves: C. DOUMET-SERHAL - A. RABATE - A. RESEK (eds.), And Canaan Begat Sidon his Firstborn. A tribut to Dr. John Curtis on his 65th birthday (Archaeology & History in the Lebanon 34-35), Beirut 2011-2012, pp. 9-52. DUNAND, M. 1937-1939 Fouilles de Byblos, 1926-1932, Paris 1937-1939. EPSTEIN, C. 1974 Middle Bronze Age Tombs at Kefar Solzd and Ginosar: ʽAtiqot Hebrew Series 7 (1974), pp. 13*-39*. 1985 Dolmens Excavated in Golan: ‘Atiqot 17 (1985), pp. 20-58. GARFINKEL, Y. 2001 Warrior Burial Customs in the Levant in the Early Second Millennium B.C.: S. WOLFF (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas L. Esse (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 59), Chicago 2001, pp. 143-161. GARFINKEL, Y. - COHEN, S. (eds.) 2007 The Middle Bronze Age IIA Cemetery at Gesher. Final Report (The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 62), Boston 2007. GOPHNA, R. 1969 A Middle Bronze Age I Tomb with Fenestrated Axe at Maʽabarot: Israel Exploration Journal 19 (1969), pp. 174-177. GREENHUT, Z. 1995 EB IV Tombs and Burials in Palestine: Tel Aviv 22 (1995), pp. 3-46. GUY, P.L.O. 1938 Megiddo Tombs (Oriental Institute Publications 33), Chicago 1938. HESS, O. 1980 A Middle Bronze age I Burial Cave at Fureidis: ‘Atiqot 14 (1980), pp. 34-36.

111 Daria Montanari VO

IBRAHIM, M. - QADI, N. 1995 El-Musheirfeh ‘Shnellaar’ Tombs. An Intermediate Bronze Age Cemetery: S. BOURKE - J.P. DESCŒUDRES (eds.), Trade, Contact, and the Movement of Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean (Mediterranean Archaeology Supplement 3), Sidney 1995, pp. 81-102. KENYON, K.M. 1956 Tombs of the Intermediate Early Bronze-Middle Bronze Age at Tell el-Ajjul: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 3 (1956), pp. 41-55. 1965 Excavations at Jericho, Volume Two. The Tombs Excavated in 1955-58, London 1965 LAPP, P. 1966 The Dhahr Mirzbaneh Tombs. Three Intermediate Bronze Age Cemeteries in Jordan (American School of Oriental Research 4), New Haven 1966. LONDON, G.A. 1985 Decoding Designs: The Late Third Millennium B.C. Pottery From Jebel Qa‘aqir (PhD Dissertation), University of Arizona 1985. MAHAJNA, S. 2006 Horbat Gilan (South): Hadashot Arkheologiyot. Excavation and Survey in Israel (2006) 118, www.hadashot-esi.org.il (electronic journal). MEYERHOF, E.L. 1989 The Bronze Age necropolis at Kibbutz Hazorea (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 534), Oxford 1989. NIGRO, L. 1999 Sei corredi tombali del Bronzo Antico IV dalla necropoli di Gerico ai Musei Vaticani: Bollettino dei Monumenti Musei e Gallerie Pontificie XIX (1999), pp. 5-22. 2003a Tell es-Sultan in the Early Bronze Age IV (2300-2000 BC) Settlement VS Necropolis - A Stratigraphic Periodization: Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale IX (2003), pp. 121-158. 2003b L’ascia fenestrata e il pugnale venato: due tipologie di armi d’apparato e l’inizio dell’età del Bronzo Medio in Palestina: Bollettino dei Monumenti e Musei e Gallerie Pontificie XXIII (2003), pp. 7-42. OREN, E.D. 1971 A Middle Bronze Age I Warrior Tomb at Beth-Shan: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina- Vereins 87/2 (1971), pp. 109-139. 1973 The Northern Cemetery of Beth Shan (Museum Monograph of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania), Leiden 1973. PALUMBO, G. 1990 The Early Bronze Age IV in the Southern Levant. Settlement patterns, economy, and material culture of a ‘Dark Age’ (Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale 3), Roma 1990. PETRIE, W.M.F. 1931 Ancient Gaza I. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 53), London 1931. 1932 Ancient Gaza II. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 54), London 1932. PHILIP, G. 1989 Metal Weapons of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in Syria-Palestine (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 526) Oxford 1989. 1995 Warrior burials in the ancient Near-Eastern Bronze age: the evidence from Mesopotamia, Western Iran and Syria-Palestine: S. CAMPBELL - A. GREEN (eds.), The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East (Oxbow Monograph 51), Oxford 1995, pp. 140-154.

112 XVII (2013) A copper javelin head in the UCL Palestinian Collection

PRAG, K. 1974 The Intermediate Early Bronze-Middle Bronze Age: an Interpretation of the Evidence from Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon: Levant 6 (1974), pp. 69-116. PRITCHARD, J. B. 1963 The Bronze Age Cemetery at Gibeon, Philadelphia 1963. SPARKS, R.T. 2005 The Lost Loci of Tell el-‘Ajjul: Petrie’s Area C: Palestine Exploration Quarterly 137 (2005), pp. 23-29. 2013a Publicising Petrie: Financing Fieldwork in British Mandate Palestine (1926–1938): Present Past 5/1 (2013), pp. 1-15. 2013b Flinders Petrie Through Word and Deed: Re-evaluating Petrie’s Field Techniques and their Impact on Object Recovery in British Mandate Palestine: Palestine Exploration Quarterly 145 (2013), pp. 143-159. STEPANSKY, Y. 2005 Zefat: Hadashot Arkheologiyot. Excavation and Survey in Israel 117 (2005), www.hadashot-esi.org.il (electronic journal). THALMANN, J.P. 2000 Tell Arqa: Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 4 (2000), pp. 5-74. TUBB, J.N. 1990 Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Cemetery of Tiwal esh-Sharqi, London 1990. TUFNELL, O. 1958 Lachish IV (Tell ed-Duweir) The Bronze Age, Oxford 1958. TZAFERIS, V. 1968 A Middle Bronze Age I Cemetery in Tiberias: Israel Exploration Journal 18 (1968), pp. 15-19. TZORI, N. 1962 Survey of the Beth Shan Valley: The Beth Shan Valley. 17th Archaeological Convention, Jerusalem 1962, pp. 135*-198*. UCKO, P.J. 1998 The biography of a collection: The Sir Flinders Petrie Palestinian Collection and the role of University Museums: Museum Management and Curatorship 17 (1998), pp. 351-399. UCKO, P.J. - SPARKS, R.T. - LAIDLAW, S. 2007 A Future for the Past: Petrie’s Palestinian Collection. An Exhibition Held in the Brunei Gallery, London 2007. WOOLLEY, C.L. 1934 Ur Excavations II. The Royal Cemetery. A Report on the Predynastic and Sargonic Graves Excavated between 1926 and 1931, London 1934. YADIN, Y. 1963 The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands: In the Light of Archaeological Study, Jerusalem 1963. ZAYADINE, F. 1978 An EB-MB Bilobate Tomb at Amman: P.R.S. MOOREY - P.J. PARR (eds.), Archaeology in the Levant: Essays in Honor of Kathleen M. Kenyon, Warminster 1978, pp. 59-66.

113 Daria Montanari VO

Fig. 1 - Photo and drawing of Early Bronze IVB UCL javelin 2006/19, courtesy of Institute of Archaeology of University College London (photo and drawing by the author).

114 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 115-133]

A GROUP OF METAL WEAPONS FROM TELL EL-‘AJJUL IN THE HUNTERIAN MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW

Angela Massafra - Sapienza University of Rome

Il contributo prende spunto dall’identificazione di un piccolo lotto di armi in metallo conservate nei magazzini dell’Hunterian Museum presso l’Università di Glasgow. I materiali, studiati a partire dai documenti originari conservati presso lo stesso istituto, sono stati in seguito analizzati tipologicamente, identificandone al contempo i contesti di rinvenimento per una più puntuale categorizzazione tipologica e funzionale. Lo studio delle armi vuole essere punto di partenza per più ampie considerazioni sulla Palestina meridionale tra la fine del III e la metà del II millennio a.C.

Keywords: Hunterian Museum; Tell el-‘Ajjul; weapons; metals; 3rd-2nd millennium BC

1. INTRODUCTION: THE HUNTERIAN MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW1 Among the rich collection of antiquities in the “Egypt and Near East Collection” at the Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow, a group of bronze weapons from the site of Tell el-‘Ajjul shows a particular interest, for being only partially published in the preliminary report and for having been often omitted, for the mentioned reason, from the following literature on the topic. The Hunterian, Scotland’s oldest museum, opened in 1807, was named after William Hunter, former student at the University of Glasgow, then obstetrician and teacher, but above all collector, in the era of most extensive European tradition of collecting and acquisitiveness.2 Before his death, Hunter arranged a trustee to place within the University of Glasgow his vast collection,3 that is now divided into a “Museum” and an “Art Gallery”, both hosting, beside the permanent displays, several events and exhibitions.4 Though the major part of the archaeological material from the Levant held in the museum comes from Jericho, as gifts from J. Garstang and K.M. Kenyon, a smaller section of it has been received by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt from its excavations at Tell el- ‘Ajjul. Dealing with the material from the site of Tell el-‘Ajjul can be quite puzzling, mainly because of the lack of a comprehensive publication. To pursue this aim, a long lasting project is currently carried on by R.T. Sparks (and previously also by P.J. Ucko) of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where the major part of the material from Tell el-‘Ajjul is kept. The Institute is accomplishing a complete publication through

1 I wish to thank the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, for its permission to access and study the material presented in this contribution. In particular, my gratitude goes to Prof. David Gaimster, Director of the Museum, Malcolm Chapman, Head of Collections Management, Dr. Sally-Anne Coupar, Curator of Archaeology and to Jayne Stewart of the Collections Management Department. 2 Keppie 2007, 18. 3 Arda - Knapp - Webb 2005, 7; Keppie 2007, 32, 115, 122-129. 4 http://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/.

Angela Massafra VO the Internet of only item in the vast collection.5 Minor amounts of material from the site are kept in several different collections of the UK,6 among which a small but interesting lot (about 60 items) is kept at the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.

2. THE MATERIAL The material held at the Hunterian Museum here studied comprises 8 metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul: an adze, four daggers and three arrowheads. Among them, only the four daggers are showed in the original reports, with an outline drawing, while neither the adze nor the arrowheads have ever been published. Two of the daggers (cat. nos. 2-3) have been acquired by the Hunterian Museum in 1932,7 while the remaining part has been delivered in 1938 by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt.8 The adze cat. no. 1 (fig. 1) belongs to a simple type: it has a plain blade with a widening cutting edge and a rectangular cross-section. The cutting edge is of a plano-convex kind, determining its interpretation as an adze rather than an axe.9 It is preserved for a length of 6.2 cm, though the blade is broken before the butt, so there is no information regarding its connection to the handle. It is 0.6 cm thick, making it possible to classify it as belonging to the “thin adze” group,10 while the width is 3.7 cm. The blade sides are straight but gradually widening towards the cut, where extensive hammering created an expanded edge, making it 11 likely to be ascribed to Miron’s type II-I d. A good comparison can be found within the same site of Tell el-‘Ajjul.12 The typology of the simple blade, especially of some kinds, as it is the case of Miron’s Type II-I, has a long lasting life, starting from the Chalcolithic and continuing through the 2nd millennium BC:13 anyway, a date within the EB IV14 can be supposed for our specimen from its context (§ 3.).

5 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/directory/petrie_sparks; Ucko 1998, 351-399; Sparks 2002, 48; 2005, 23. The collection is accessible at: http://archcat.museums.ucl.ac.uk/. 6 The British Museum, London; Ancient Egyptian, Sudanese and Near Eastern Collection, Museum of Manchester; Ancient Egyptian Collection, Cyfarthfa Castle Museum And Art Gallery; Ancient Egyptian Collection, New Walk Leicester; Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, Wilton Park; Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, Barras Bridge Newcastle upon Tyne; Ancient Egyptian, Sudanese and Near Eastern Collection, Le Mans Crescent; Ancient Egyptian, Sudanese and Near Eastern Collection, Chambers Street Edinburgh; Ancient Egyptian, Sudanese and Near Eastern Collection, Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow. 7 Records preserved at the University of Glasgow Library, Special Collections, MR 54/55. The two daggers are listed as part of the material sent by J. Garstang together with finds from Tell es-Sultan/Jericho on July 1st, 1932, although the covering letter doesn’t cite any antiquity from “ancient Gaza”. 8 Records preserved at the University of Glasgow Library, Special Collections, MR 54/20-20a, signed by May L.M. Bonar, secretary of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, on January 22nd, 1938. 9 Petrie 1907, 5; Miron 1992, 22. 10 Miron 1992, 5. 11 Miron 1992, 7. 12 Petrie 1934, 10, pl. XXV:256. 13 Miron 1992, 25. 14 Probably attributable to EB IVB since much of the EB IV material from Tell el-‘Ajjul is to be ascribed to the later part of the period (Dever 1980, 48).

116 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

Dagger cat. no. 215 (fig. 2) is made in arsenical copper, with a blade 26.7 cm long and 3.4 cm wide (at its widest point). It has a tapering shape with a marked midrib, determining a concave lozenge section. The blade is highly corroded, especially on the one side and near the tang. It has a concave-sided butt, with still discernible holes for securing a handle: parts of a row of three of them are more clearly visible on the one side of the tang.16 It can be ascribed to Type 4 of Philip’s classification,17 distinguished by its considerable length, a trapezoidal side butt with three pair of rivets and the pronounced midrib.18 It is a type peculiar of the late EB IV southern Palestine, enlightening the high degree of regionalism of this period in the metallurgical industry, as confirmed by the chemical composition (§ 4.). Comparisons from the same site can be found within the cemetery 1500, especially from tomb 1565,19 while from other sites parallels have been documented from Tell ed- Duweir, ancient Lachish,20 all to be ascribed to the EB IV period. Dagger cat. no. 321 (fig. 3), also made in copper, belongs to a different typology. It has a straight tapering blade, 28 cm long, sharpened on both sides with a flat lozenge-shaped cross section. The point is smoothed but, beside this, the blade shows an excellent preservation. The butt is formed by a tapered rib of a trapezoidal shape with six holes in two rows. One of the rivets which secured the blade with the handle is still preserved and inserted in one of the holes: its height, 3 cm, can give us a hint about the width of the handle. The dagger belongs to Maxwell-Hyslop’s Type 18,22 to Kenyon’s Type II23 and to Philip’s Type 7;24 it is also dated to the EB IV. Several comparisons for it have been found in the necropolis of Tell es-Sultan/Jericho25 and in Beth Shean,26 while within the same site of Tell el-‘Ajjul, it can be compared to some daggers from cemetery 1500, e.g. from tomb 1516.27 The date, within the EB IV, is probably around 2300-2150 BC, especially in the light of the comparison from Jericho.28 This shape is also confined, like the previous one, to the southern part of Palestine, with the major part of specimens found in Tell el-‘Ajjul itself.29

15 Originally published in Petrie 1932, pl. XII:62. 16 Part of type C in Shalev’s typology of riveted EB IV swords from Palestine (Shalev 1988, tab. 1, fig. 2:20). 17 Philip 1989, 106-107, cat. no. 704. 18 Philip 1989, 403. 19 Petrie 1932, pl. XIII:64; Kenyon 1956, fig. 10:5. In the list on Kenyon 1956, 53, the dagger from tomb 1530 is attributed to Type III, though it could probably better fit Kenyon’s Type IV. 20 Tufnell 1958, 75, pls. 12:10, 22:5. 21 Originally published in Petrie 1932, pl. XI:53. 22 Maxwell-Hyslop 1946, 21, pl. II:18. 23 Kenyon 1956, 51, fig. 10. 24 Philip 1989, 108-109, cat. no. 694. 25 Nigro 1999, 16-17, fig. 1, pl. I; 2003a, cat. IV.5; Kenyon 1965, 53, fig. 24:4. 26 Oren 1973, 175, fig. 20:17. 27 Petrie 1932, pl. XI:55; Kenyon 1956, fig. 10:4. 28 Nigro 1999, 17. 29 Philip 1989, 108.

117 Angela Massafra VO

Dagger cat. no. 430 (fig. 4) is bronze made. Its good state of preservation permits to appreciate its roughly triangular shape with a long and narrow tang, for a total length of 21.2 cm and a width of 4.1 cm. The blade is flat, with a double convex cross section. The peculiarity of this type is the rounded point, too widespread in the typology to be explained as a result of wear, but to be interpreted as a deliberate feature, meaning that these weapons were not intended for stabbing: the attention paid to the sharpness of the blade edges suggests their use as a cutting tool. This peculiarity allows the weapon to be ascribed to Philip’s Type 10.31 This kind of dagger is part of a typologically long lasting tradition, originated in the 18th century Southern Levant and living until the early Iron Age:32 other specimens have been found in Tell el-Jazari, ancient Gezer,33 Tell es-Sultan/Jericho,34 Tell el-Mutesellim/Megiddo,35 Tell el-Far’ah (South),36 Tell ed-Duweir.37 Nevertheless, the broader and shorter blade and shorter tang in comparison to the similar specimens of the LB and the absence of rivets to secure the tang allows to assign it stylistically to the MB II- III, the age of the major flourishing of the type.38 Their major area of distribution of the type is central and southern Palestine.39 The fourth dagger of the collection, cat. no. 540 (fig. 5) is bronze made, 21 cm long, 3.9 cm wide. It has a long and broad blade, with a flat midrib ending in a sharpened point, meaning its use as a stabbing weapon.41 It is characterized by a short tang without rivet holes. The shorter tang and the shallow midrib make it likely to be compared to Maxwell- Hyslop’s Type 2642 and to Philip’s Type 17.43 It finds good parallels with specimens from Jericho,44 Gezer,45 Tell Beit Mirsim stratum D46 and Tell el-Dab‘a.47 The type is confined to central-southern Palestine and to the Delta region, and it’s dated to the MB II-III (1800- 1600 BC). The last items are three arrowheads: they are all made of bronze but belong to slightly different types. Cat no. 6 (fig. 6) was bent at the middle of the blade. Nevertheless, it is

30 Originally published in Petrie 1933, pl. XVIII:3; Stewart 1974, 54. 31 Philip 1989, 113. 32 Philip 1989, 114. 33 Macalister 1912, 124, pl. XXIV:33; 301, pl. LX:3; 303, fig. 60:3. 34 Garstang 1932, 46, pl. XXXVII:1; Kenyon 1965, 238, fig. 111:2; 428, fig. 111:18. 35 Loud 1948, pls. 178:10, 179:16. 36 Price Williams 1977, 24, fig. 11.3, 90, fig. 60:1. 37 Tufnell 1958, pl. 22.11-16, 18-20. 38 Stewart 1974, 54; Shalev 2004, 8. For a better chronological determination, see the context analysis (§ 3.). 39 Philip 1989, 114. 40 The dagger is probably published by Petrie as E.913 (Petrie 1934, pl.XXVII:285), even if according to the records, the field number of this dagger is E.915. 41 Philip 1989, 120. 42 Maxwell-Hyslop 1946, 27, pl. III:26. 43 Philip 1989, 120-121. 44 Garstang 1932, 3-4, pl. XXXVII:5-6. 45 Macalister 1912, fig. 160:1, pl. 60:4. 46 Albright 1938, pl. 41:11. 47 Bietak 1968, fig. 9; 1970, pl. XVIIc.

118 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum possible to suppose its original elliptic shape, with a flat blade, undistinguished stem and long tang with quadrangular cross section. It’s the shortest one among our specimen, being only 6.5 cm long. Cat. no. 7 (fig. 7) has an oblong shape, 8 cm long, with a flat blade. It shows an undistinguished stem and a short tang with a quadrangular cross section. Slightly different form the previous ones, arrowhead cat. no. 8 has an oblanceolate shape with a central rib and flattened edges, an undistinguished stem and an elongated tang with a rhomboidal cross section. It’s 11.5 cm long. The formal characteristics of the three specimens allow to assign them to different periods: particularly significant is the absence of a definite stem, that does not exist before the late LB, giving us a terminus ante quem for all the three specimens. A diagnostic element is also the tang section, squared in the late MB or early LB I,48 making nos. 6 and 7 likely to be dated within this period. On the other hand, a later date, within the LB I-II, is to be assumed for no. 8 (fig. 8), since it shows a rhomboidal section, that develops from the LB I, and a high midrib, also characteristic of the LB.49

3. THE CONTEXTS Dealing with Tell el-‘Ajjul findings is not always an easy matter: some of them have not been published in the preliminary reports50 and a complete recording of all the material has been done only with regards to the Middle Bronze age by J.R. Stewart, who anyway didn’t give too much importance to the contexts.51 Reports of the excavations by Petrie are characterized by the use of letters to define the region and the locus of the finding, while the single item is characterized by a number. When the item is named only with a number up to 550 or over 1200, it means it has been recovered from a tomb.52 Bearing these aspects of Petrie’s methodology in mind, it’s easier to find out the original context of each finding. Adze cat. no. 1, daggers nos. 2-3 and arrowheads cat. nos. 7-8 are all designed by a number (inferior to 550 in case of the adze, superior to 1200 for the remaining items). The adze was originally named 178/81, determining its belonging to Cemetery 100-200. This necropolis is characterized by a different treatment of the bodies and different findings in respect to cemetery 1500. Unfortunately, the former has been less documented by Petrie, maybe because of the presence in several tombs of scattered bones. In cemetery 100-200 the tombs were mainly formed by rounded shafts, dispersed or disarticulated bones and a major variety of pottery than cemetery 1500. As for the weapons, daggers seem to be confined to cemetery 1500, while cemetery 100-200 bears a major amount of javelins, though no adze or axe seems to have been found.53 The first number of the mark has to be related to the tomb in which the item was found. No tomb with this name, though, appears

48 Cross - Milik 1956, 18; Tubb 1977, 193. 49 Cross - Milik 1956, 18; Tubb 1977, 191. 50 E.g. the correspondence between plans and lists of burials have been checked by Gonen, who found out they correspond only in about 75% of the cases (Gonen 1992, 70). 51 Stewart 1974. 52 Petrie 1934, 2. 53 Kenyon 1956, 46-47.

119 Angela Massafra VO in the excavation reports: group numbers 1-550 are published in Ancient Gaza I, but some numbers are missing. As it is possible to observe from the plan, the closer cluster (numbers 172-177) is located south the Upper Tunnel,54 making it likely a similar location for number 178. Dagger no. 2 is designed by the number 1530: the related tomb is an EB IV burial within cemetery 1500. The tomb belongs to Kenyon’s type L2, being a rectangular pit, lined in rubble and originally roofed in stone.55 It is not clear whether there was a separated shaft to enter the tomb or not. The burial was only characterized by the weapon and a single jar with ledge handles.56 Dagger no. 3 belongs to tomb 1551, a simple rectangular pit (Kenyon’s type H2).57 The burial was accompanied by a teapot with ledge handles, together with the weapon.58 In both cases we are dealing with single burials, crouched, with a funerary set only composed by a weapon and a pot,59 defining a male burial but, probably more specifically, a warrior burial, outlining the presence of an elite already in the EB IV Tell el-‘Ajjul.60 Arrowheads nos. 7 and 8 were respectively marked by numbers 192961 and 1816.62 Both these tombs belong to the Lower Cemetery and have been published in Ancient Gaza IV, but no metal artifact is recorded.63 No other data are given about Tomb 1929, that is only recorded on the plan of the cemetery and on the general list of tombs, but nothing else is specified.64 Tomb 1816 was not marked in the plant, but it was probably the central burial of Group 1800.65 It is a cist tomb with a dromos66 (= Petrie’s “structural tomb”): rectangular in shape, single lined with stone slabs of kurkar sandstone, place horizontally, three courses in elevation. The burial chamber was accessible by a stepped dromos. It was found in a very bad state of preservation and no signs of roof were detected,67 but it was probably gabled as the Governor’s Tomb 419 from the same cemetery.68 As this last tomb, also burial

54 Petrie 1931, pl. LV. 55 Kenyon 1956, 43. 56 Petrie 1932, pl. XXIX:30F; Kenyon 1956, 53. 57 Kenyon 1956, 43. 58 Petrie 1932, pl. XXIX:30J; Kenyon 1956, 53. 59 The same pattern has been recognized in burials from EB IV Jericho (Nigro 1999, 16). 60 For further discussion on the theme, see e.g. Philip 1995, 152-153; Baxevani 1995, 86; Nigro 1999, 16. In their opinion, EB IV is a period of social differentiation, emerging from the existence of the first examples of warrior burials, more widespread in the following MB. On the contrary, Dever (1995, 287), citing Palumbo (1987, 47) argues the absence of a real social differentiation in EB IV Palestine. 61 Petrie 1934, pl. LXIV. 62 Petrie 1934, pl. LVIII. 63 Petrie 1934, pl, LXVIII. The presence of metals, though, is typical of “structural tombs” at Tell el-‘Ajjul, designing an elite class. 64 Petrie 1934, pls. LXIV, LXVIII. Not even the pottery listed is recorded with a picture or a drawing in the report, giving no more indications about the chronology and the typology of the tomb. 65 Gonen 1992, 82. 66 Gonen 1992, 80. 67 Petrie 1934, 18; Gonen 1992, 80-82, fig. 10. 68 Petrie 1934, 18, pl. LXVIII.

120 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

1816 was probably part of an elite group of the population, whose interments were distinguished by the presence of weapons. The tombs have been dated to the LB II.69 The other two daggers, nos. 4-5, and the remaining arrowhead, no. 6, are all characterized by one to three letters, the first designing the area/region and the others the locus, plus a number. They have all been found within the residential area at the southern edge of the city. Dagger no. 4 was marked by the acronym AN 720 (= 1020), meaning it was located in block A, locus N. This is the major road EW of the southern residential area, dividing block A in two parts, connected on its western part to block B.70 The area has been dated to the final part of MB, between 1600 and 1550 BC, i.e. shortly before the destruction of the city by the army of Ahmose, though no destruction debris has been documented in this area.71 The road serves in particular a complex (“the civic complex”), that was probably a residence of officials, composed by some rooms, a bathroom, a shrine and several silos.72 Dagger no. 5 was originally named E 915. Region E has been excavated by Petrie in the years 1933-1934.73 It is located south-east of block A and it is part of the residential quarter too.74 The date is slightly earlier than block A, being attributed by finds to the transition between MB II and MB III (about 1650 BC).75 Finally, arrowhead no. 6 is marked as TDX 950. The name indicates one of the rooms of block T, in the middle of the southern area of the mound.76 The complex is composed by a series of rooms of big dimensions, with a possible residential function77 and is dated to the same period as block E (1650 BC).78

4. CHEMICAL NOTES Chemical analyses have been executed only on the EB IV daggers, cat. nos. 2-3, showing a high percentage of arsenic in both of them (cat. no. 2: As 4.93; cat. no. 3: As 3.47; see catalogue for the full composition).79 This result, together with the other analyses of EB IV daggers from Tell el-‘Ajjul, can give a precious hint for the understanding of the metallurgical techniques and their symbolic role in the period. A total of 13 EB IV daggers from Tell el-‘Ajjul have been analyzed through AAS methodology by P.R.S. Moorey - F. Schweirzer,80 L. Khalil,81 S. Shalev82 and G. Philip.83

69 Gonen 1992, 82. 70 Petrie 1931, pl. LIV. 71 Tufnell 1993, 52. 72 Petrie 1931, 5-6. 73 Petrie 1934, pl. LXII. 74 Petrie 1934, pl. LXII; Yassine 1974, fig. 1. 75 Tufnell 1993, 52. 76 Petrie 1934, pl. LXIII; Yassine 1974, fig. 1. 77 Yassine 1974, 132. 78 Tufnell 1993, 52. 79 Philip 1991, 93, tab. 1. 80 Moorey - Schweirzer 1972, 194. 81 Khalil 1984, 170. 82 Shalev 1988, tab. 2. 83 Philip 1991, tab.1.

121 Angela Massafra VO

This corpus forms more than half of the total repertoire of 24 EB IV weapons from the site, including specimens representative of the different types. They are all made in arsenical copper, making it possible to exclude that the tin-bronze technology was in use at Tell el- ‘Ajjul in this period.84 As it has been pointed out by Shalev, the “inverse segregation” property of copper arsenic alloys was exploited in such items, making it likely that this process was deliberately used by smiths in order to obtain a visual effect: for this property, when the core has a percentage of about 4.5-6% arsenic, the related percentage on the surface rises to approximately 28%, creating a silvery surface, probably meant to imitate precious metals.85 If assuming the process was intentional, we must also admit it required specialized skills and a major effort, that was probably only reserved to a small amount of weapons, designed for an elite class of the population. As for the metal supply, EB IV Tell el-‘Ajjul probably exploited the ores from the Wadi Faynan.86 The high arsenic content was probably produced by co-smelting copper with an arsenic ore, or by the direct addition of an arsenic mineral to molten copper or by the mixing of another high-arsenic copper from other ores.87

5. CONCLUSIONS From the previous considerations, it has been possible, beside widening the corpus of known material from the site, both to examine the function of metal weapons in the south Palestinian society of the end of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC and to highlight the degree of regionalization of the area in the same period. As for the first point, the social importance of metal weapons has been widely argued.88 It is worth noticing, though, how in Tell el-‘Ajjul this character is visible already from the EB IV, when a real settlement is not yet known. Nevertheless, the presence of weapons in single crouched burials with a standardized funerary assemblage composed by a dagger and a pot (usually a jar or a teapot) highlights the presence of an elite, probably to be connected to the warrior burials phenomenon.89 Both the adze (cat. no. 1) and the daggers (cat. nos. 2- 3) from the 3rd millennium were probably produced as status symbols, as well shown by the intentional silvery surface made exploiting the “inverse segregation” property of arsenical copper alloy. A different aim has to be theorized for the MB daggers (cat. nos. 4-5) and for the arrowhead cat. no. 6, which have been found in the residential area: their date within the very end of the MB could be tentatively linked to the destructive events documented at the

84 Philip 1991, 93. This is true also of the typologically later examples, as the dagger with concave-sided butts and high midribs; the same typology in arsenical copper is also attested at Lachish (Tufnell 1958, 328), making it possible that it’s typical of southern sites (probably because further from Syria, the bronze supplier or more probably because of a social factor, since the north was more linked to Syria). In the same era, tin- bronze metallurgy was in use in northern sites, as Jericho (Philip 1991, 93). 85 Shalev 1988, tab. 2; Philip 1991, 97. 86 Large scale mining activities were carried on already in the EB II-III and continues in the EB IV (Adams 2000, 398; 2003, 18; Levy et al. 2002, 427). 87 Philip 1991, 100. 88 e.g. Philip 1989, 151; Nigro 2003a, 62-63; 2003b, 70-71. 89 Philip 1995, 152-153.

122 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum middle of the 2nd millennium in Tell el-‘Ajjul, connected to the expulsion of the “Hyksos” from Egypt and the following Palestinian campaigns led by Ahmose. These weapons were probably intended for their use in battle rather than for a purely ostentatious role. The remaining two arrowheads (cat. nos. 7-8) are emblems of the new tradition in funerary assemblages of the LB, when arrowheads became part of the mortuary kit, in contrast to the MB habit. The assemblage is also a good proof of the strong regionalization of the end of the 3rd and first half of the 2nd millennium Southern Levant. This is particularly reflected by the daggers, the only item that can give us this kind of hint: all the four specimens fall within types peculiar to the central and southern part of Palestine. This phenomenon is also reflected by the chemical composition of the two EB IV daggers: the technology of arsenical copper is deliberately exploited in this period only in the southern part of the country, while the northern had already started using, probably borrowing the technology from Syria, the tin-bronze alloy practices.90 Concluding, the analysis of this assemblage of weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul permitted to shed some new lights on the site, wishing on a future complete comprehension of it, together with an inclusive publication of its material in its original context.

90 Philip 1991, 100.

123 Angela Massafra VO

6. CATALOGUE

No. 1 - Adze (fig. 1) Thickness: 0.4 cm Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Context: Tomb Excavation: W.F.M. Petrie, British School of Chronology: EB IV (2300-2150 BC) Archaeology, Jerusalem Original publication: Ancient Gaza II, pl. XI:53 Field Number: 178/81 Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, No. 4 - Dagger (fig. 4) Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Glasgow Excavation: British School of Archaeology, Museum ID: D.1938.5 Jerusalem Material: copper Field Number: AN 720 = 1020 External colour: 5YR5/8 (red) Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Width: 3.7 cm (at widest point) Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Length: 6.2 cm Glasgow Thickness: 0.6 cm Museum ID: D.1938.8/a Context: Tomb Material: bronze Chronology: EB IVB (2200-2000 BC) External colour: 10Y-5GY4/2 (dark grayish green) Publication: unpublished Width: 4.1 cm (at widest point) Length: 21.2 cm No. 2 - Dagger (fig. 2) Thickness: 0.5 cm Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Context: road, residential quarter Excavation: British School of Archaeology, Chronology: MB III (1600-1550 BC) Jerusalem Original publication: Ancient Gaza III, pl. XVIII:3. Field number: 1530 Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, No. 5 - Dagger (fig. 5) Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Glasgow Excavation: British School of Archaeology, Museum ID: D.1932.73 Jerusalem Material: arsenical copper Field Number: E 915 Chemical composition: Cu 95.2; Sn <.10; Pb 0.015; Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Zn <.01; As 4.93; Sb 0.23. Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, External colour: 2.5YR3/4 dark reddish brown Glasgow Width: 3.4 cm (at widest point) Museum ID: D.1938.8/b Length: 26.7 cm Material: bronze Thickness: 0.4 cm External colour: 7.5YR5/4 (brown) Context: Tomb Width: 3.9 cm Chronology: EB IVB (2200-2000 BC) Length: 21 cm Publication: Ancient Gaza II, pl. XII:62 Thickness: 0.3 cm Context: residential quarter No. 3 - Dagger (fig. 3) Chronology: MB III (1650 BC) Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Original publication: Ancient Gaza IV, Excavation: British School of Archaeology, pl.XXVII:285 Jerusalem Field number: 1551 No. 6 - Arrowhead (fig. 6) Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Excavation: British School of Archaeology, Glasgow Jerusalem Museum ID: D.1932.74 Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Material: arsenical copper Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Chemical composition: Cu 94.8; Sn <.12; Pb 0.027; Glasgow Zn 0.05; As 3.47; Sb 1.21. Museum ID: D.1938.6/1 External colour: 10YR5/8 (yellowish brown) Field number: TDX.950 Width: 3.2 cm (at widest point) Material: bronze Length: 28 cm Width: 1.5cm (at widest point)

124 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

Length: 6.5cm Chronology: MB III -LB II (1500-1300 BC) Thickness: Original publication: unpublished Context: room, residential complex Chronology: MB III (1650 BC) No. 8 - Arrowhead (fig. 8) Original publication: unpublished Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Excavation: British School of Archaeology, No. 7 - Arrowhead (fig. 7) Jerusalem Provenience: Tell el-‘Ajjul Field number: 1816 Excavation: British School of Archaeology, Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Jerusalem Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Field number: 1929 Glasgow Collection: Egypt and Near East Collection, Museum ID: D.1938.6/2 Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Material: bronze Glasgow Colour: 10Y-5GY5/2 (grayish green) Museum ID: D.1938.6/3 Width: 1.5 cm (at widest point) Material: bronze Length: 11.5 cm External colour: 10Y-5GY5/2 (grayish green) Thickness: 0.3 cm (head); 0.4 cm (tang) Width: 1.4 cm (at widest point) Context: Tomb Length: 8 cm Chronology: LB II (1400-1200 BC) Thickness: 0.2 cm (head); 0.3 cm (tang) Original publication: unpublished Context: Tomb

REFERENCES

ADAMS, R. 2000 The Early Bronze age III-IV transition in southern Jordan: evidence from Khirbat Hamra Ifdan: G. PHILIP - D. BAIRD (eds.), Ceramics and Change in the Early Bronze Age of the Southern Levant (Levantine Archaeology 2), Sheffield 2000, pp. 379-401. 2003 External influences at Faynan during the Early Bronze age: a re-analysis of building I at Barqa el-Hetiye, Jordan: Palestine Exploration Quarterly 135 (2003), pp. 6-21. ALBRIGHT, W.F. 1938 The Chronology of a South Palestinian City, Tell el-‘Ajjul: American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 55 (1938), pp. 337-359. ARDA, B. - KNAPP, A.B. - WEBB, J.M. 2005 The collection of Cypriote antiquities in the Hunterian Museum University of Glasgow (Corpus of Cypriote antiquities 26), Sӓvedalen 2005. BAXEVANI, E. 1995 The complex nomads: Death and Social stratification in EB IV Southern Levant: S. CAMPBELL - A. GREEN (eds.), The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East (Oxbow Monograph 51), Oxford 1995, pp. 85-95. BIETAK, M. 1968 Vorläufiger Bericht über die erste und zweite Kampagne der österreichischen Ausgrabungen auf Tell ed-Dab‘a im Ostdelta Ägyptens (1966/1967): Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 23 (1968), pp. 79-114. 1970 Vorläufiger Bericht über die dritte Kampagne der österreichischen Ausgrabungen auf Tell ed-Dab‘a: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 26, pp. 15-41. CROSS, F.M. - MILIK, J.T. 1956 A typological study of the el-Khadr javelin and arrow-heads: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 3 (1956), pp. 15-23.

125 Angela Massafra VO

DEVER, W.G. 1980 New vistas on the EB IV (‘MB I’) horizon in Syria-Palestine: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 237 (1980), pp. 35-64. 1995 Social Structure in the Early Bronze IV period in Palestine: T.E. LEVY (ed.) The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, London 1995, pp. 282-296. GARSTANG, J. 1932 Jericho: City and Necropolis: Liverpool Annals of Anthropology and Archaeology XIX (1932), pp. 35-54. GONEN, R. 1992 Burial patterns & cultural diversity in Late Bronze age Canaan (ASOR Dissertation Series 7), Winona Lake 1992. KENYON, K.M. 1956 Tombs of the Intermediate Early Bronze - Middle Bronze age at Tell Ajjul: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 3 (1956), pp. 41-55. 1965 Excavations at Jericho, Vol. II. The Tombs excavated in 1955-8, London 1965. KEPPIE, L. 2007 William Hunter and the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, 1807-2007, Edinburgh 2007. KHALIL, L. 1984 Metallurgical analyses of some weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul: Levant 16 (1984), pp. 167- 170. LEVY, T.E. - ADAMS, R.B. - HAUPTMANN, A. - PRANGE, M. - SCHMITT-STRECKER, S. - NAJJAR, M. 2002 Early Bronze Age metallurgy: a newly discovered copper manufactory in southern Jordan: Antiquity 76 (2002), pp. 425-437. LOUD, G. 1948 Megiddo II. Seasons 1935-39 (Oriental Institute Publication LXII), Chicago 1948. MACALISTER, R.A.S. 1912 The excavation of Gezer: 1902-1905 and 1907-1909, London 1912. MAXWELL-HYSLOP, R. 1946 Daggers and swords in Western Asia: Iraq 8 (1946), pp. 1-65. MIRON, E. 1992 Axes and adzes from Canaan (Prähistorische Bronzefunde IX 19), Stuttgart 1992. MOOREY, P.R.S. - SCHWEIZER, F. 1972 Copper and copper alloys in ancient Iraq, Syria and Palestine: some new analyses: Archaeometry 14 (1972), pp. 177-198. NIGRO, L. 1996 Le residenze palestinesi del Bronzo Tardo. I modelli planimetrici e strutturali: Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale 6 (1996), pp. 1-69. 1999 Sei corredi tombali del Bronzo Antico IV dalla necropoli di Gerico ai Musei Vaticani: Monumenti Musei e Gallerie Pontificie XIX (1999), pp. 5-22. 2003a Dal rame al bronzo (senza trascurare l’oro e l’argento). La metallurgia e la nascita delle città-stato in Siria e Palestina nel III millennio a.C.: G. CAPRIOTTI VITTOZZI (ed.), L’uomo, la pietra, i metalli. Tesori della terra dal Piceno al Mediterraneo, San Benedetto del Tronto 2003, pp. 62-69. 2003b Gioielli, armi, oggetti d’apparato, strumenti musicali: i metalli come status symbol nei contesti funerari e cultuali della Siria-Palestina nel II millennio a.C.: G. CAPRIOTTI VITTOZZI (ed.) 2003, L’uomo, la pietra, i metalli. Tesori della terra dal Piceno al Mediterraneo, San Benedetto del Tronto 2003, pp. 70-75. OREN, E.D. 1973 The northern cemetery of Beth Shan, Leiden 1973.

126 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

PALUMBO, G. 1987 The Early Bronze Age IV in the Southern Levant. Settlements Patterns, Economy, and Material Culture of a ‘Dark Age’: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 267 (1987), pp. 43-59. PETRIE, W.M.F. 1907 Tools and weapons, Warminster 1917. 1931 Ancient Gaza I. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 53), London 1931. 1932 Ancient Gaza II. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 54), London 1932. 1933 Ancient Gaza III. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 55), London 1933. 1934 Ancient Gaza IV. Tell el Ajjul (Publications of British School of Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian Research Account 56), London 1934. PHILIP, G. 1989 Metal weapons of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in Syria-Palestine (British Archaeological Reports International Series 526), Oxford 1989. 1991 Tin, Arsenic, Lead: alloying practices in Syria-Palestine around 2000 BC: Levant 23, pp. 93-104. 1995 Warrior burials in the ancient Near-Eastern Bronze age: the evidence from Mesopotamia, Western Iran and Syria-Palestine: S. CAMPBELL - A. GREEN (eds.), The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East (Oxbow Monograph 51), Oxford 1995, pp. 140-154. PRICE-WILLIAMS, D. 1977 The Tombs of the Middle Bronze II Period from the “500” Cemetery at Tell el- Fara South, London 1977. PRITCHARD, J.B. 1955 Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament, Princeton 1955. SETHE, K. 1930 Urkunden der Ägyptischen Altertums IV. Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig 1930. SHALEV, S. 1988 Redating the ‘Philistine Sword’ at the British Museum: a case study in typology and technology: Oxford Journal of Archaeology 7 (1988), pp. 303-311. 2004 Swords and Daggers in Late Bronze Age Canaan (Prähistorische Bronzefunde IV, 13), Stuttgart 2004. SPARKS, R. 2002 Strangers in a strange land: Egyptians in southern Palestine during the Bronze Age: Archaeology International 6 (2002), pp. 48-51, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ai.0614. 2005 The Lost Loci of Tell el-‘Ajjul: Petrie’s Area C: Palestine Exploration Quarterly 137 (2005), pp. 23-29. STEWART, J.R. 1974 Tell el-‘Ajjul: the Middle Bronze age remains (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 38), Goteborg 1974. TUBB, J.N. 1977 Three inscribed arrowheads from Tell el-‘Ajjul: Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, University of London 14 (1977), pp. 191-195.

127 Angela Massafra VO

TUFNELL, O. 1958 Lachish (Tell el Duweir) IV: The Bronze Age, Oxford 1958. 1993 ‘Ajjul, tell el-: E. STERN (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. I, Jerusalem 1993, pp. 49-52. UCKO, P.J. 1998 The biography of a collection: The Sir Flinders Petrie Palestinian Collection and the role of University Museums: Museum Management and Curatorship 17 (1998), pp. 351-399. VANDERSLEYEN, C. 1971 Les guerres d’Ahmosis, fondateur de la XVIIIe dynastie (Monographies Reine Elisabeth 1), Paris 1971. YASSINE, K.N. 1974 City planning of Tell el-‘Ajjul. Reconstructed Plan (Fig. 1): Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 19 (1974), pp. 129-133.

128 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

Fig. 1 - Drawing and photograph of axe cat. no. 1 (unpublished).

129 Angela Massafra VO

Fig. 2 - Drawing and photograph of dagger cat. no. 2 (Petrie 1932, pl. XII:62).

130 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

Fig. 3 - Drawing and photograph of dagger cat. no. 3 (Petrie 1932, pl. XI:53).

131 Angela Massafra VO

Fig. 4 - Drawing and photograph of dagger cat. no. 4 (Petrie 1933, pl. XVIII:3).

Fig. 5 - Drawing and photograph of dagger cat. no. 5 (Petrie 1934, pl. XXVII:285).

132 XVII (2013) A group of metal weapons from Tell el-‘Ajjul in the Hunterian Museum

Fig. 6 - Drawing and Fig. 7 - Drawing and photograph of arrowhead cat. photograph of arrowhead cat. no. 6 (unpublished). no. 7 (unpublished).

Fig. 8 - Drawing and photograph of arrowhead cat. no. 8 (unpublished).

133

[Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 135-152]

COSTRUIRE MEMORIA E TRADIZIONE: IL TOFET

Alessandro Campus - Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”

The interpretation of the Phoenician-Punic tophet is changed in the years, from the affirmation to the negation of human sacrifice. Beyond the human sacrifice, the tophet can be interpreted as place of the negotiation of the different identities, the Phoenician and the West Phoenician.

Keywords: Fenici; Punici; tofet; identità; diaspora

- A morte la romana! - Che le sue viscere brucino sul petto di Molok! - Egli ci sarà riconoscente e ci darà novella forza! - A morte! A morte! Molok vuole vittime nemiche! Con queste parole inizia il romanzo di Emilio Salgari Cartagine in fiamme, pubblicato a puntate nel settimanale Per terra e per mare nel 1906 e poi in volume nel 1908. Poco importa se poi sarà dimostrata l’inconsistenza del dio Molok1, nell’immaginario rimane il collegamento tra i sacrifici umani e Cartagine. Ma l’uso di Molok come divinità avrà vita ancora molto lunga: ad esempio, la II parte della poesia di Allen Ginsberg Howl (1956) è dedicata proprio al “Moloch”; questa è, come esempio, la seconda strofa2: Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unob- tainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks! Ancora una volta, il “Moloch” - «They broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven!», scrive il poeta nel primo verso dell’undicesima strofa - come essere distruttore3, che nella immagine del poeta rappresenta la parte peggiore della civiltà umana4. In tal senso, nella prospettiva di (una) definizione della civiltà fenicio-punica, senza dubbio il fenomeno che la storiografia moderna, sulla scorta dei testi biblici, ha definito

1 Eissfeldt 1935. Una storia degli studi è ora in Ribichini 2013. Ma v., ad esempio, la voce moloc nel Vocabolario Treccani, dove, nella versione on line, si può leggere: «propr., nome (ebr. Mōlek, gr. Molovc, lat. Moloch) di un’antica divinità cananea a cui venivano offerte vittime umane; talvolta, in similitudini o in usi fig., indica persona, istituzione, potere e sim. caratterizzati da un’insaziabile sete di distruzione: la gran porta ... inghiottì, quasi moloch inesorabile, i sopraggiunti (Bonsanti)» (http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/moloc_res-595a708f-0026-11de-9d89-0016357eee51, 1 settembre 2013). Simile è il testo delle Enciclopedie on line (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/moloc/, 1 settembre 2013). Di fatto, entrambe le voci riprendono il lemma moloc nel volume XXIII della Enciclopedia italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti del 1934, voce redatta da G. Ricciotti (p. 587; questo l’inizio: «Nome di un idolo a cui gli Ebrei del tempo dei re sacrificavano vittime umane nella Valle di Hinnom (Geenna) presso Gerusalemme (II [IV] Re, XXIII, 10; Geremia, XXXII, 35)»); la bibliografia, poi, rimanda al lemma Baal. Negli aggiornamenti successivi della Enciclopedia italiana non c’è traccia di Moloc. 2 Cito da Ginsberg 1986. 3 Scrive J. Raskin (2004, 30): «Moloch murdered Naomi with madness, and Moloch would murder him with madness, too, unless he could slay the monster with the sword of poetry». Naomi era la madre di A. Ginsberg. 4 Secondo il poeta, il verso più importante di Howl è «Moloch whose nameis the/mind!» (cit. da Raskin 2004, 141-142). Sul Moloch di Allen Ginsberg v. Raskin 2004, 130-133, 138-139.

Alessandro Campus VO

“tofet” riveste un particolare ruolo5. Dal punto di vista della modernità - della contemporaneità -, in quella fluidità che pare caratterizzare letture e riletture di fenomeni antichi6, poche culture sono state segnate più nettamente di quella fenicio-punica; così, il tofet è stato visto dagli specialisti di volta in volta come luogo dove venivano compiuti sacrifici di bambini, oppure dove dare pietosa sepoltura ai morti prematuri, o ancora come luogo destinato prioritariamente alle deposizioni di bambini morti di morte naturale e solo marginalmente a riti cruenti7. A livello popolare, invece, la condanna della cultura fenicio-punica è sempre stata netta e senza appello. È sufficiente ricordare la fortuna che ebbe Salammbô, di Gustave Flaubert, o il già citato romanzo di Salgari Cartagine in fiamme8. È da leggere proprio nell’ottica della risposta all’immagine popolare, ma anche della formazione di tale visione, il racconto di Isaac Asimov The Dead Past, comparso nel numero dell’aprile 1956 della rivista Astounding9. Ambientato in una realtà nella quale è

5 Per una definizione del tofet v. Xella 2010. 6 Si veda, ad esempio, il fascicolo 46, 1 (2011) della rivista World Archaeology, interamente dedicato agli studi post-coloniali e alle difficoltà di analisi di situazioni antiche e moderne; di particolare interesse il contributo di van Dommelen 2011. Un altro esempio è quello della cd. ‘romanizzazione’, per il quale mi permetto di rimandare al mio Campus 2012, in part. il capitolo Una questione di identità, pp. 279-398. 7 V. la storia degli studi - in particolare per quanto riguarda la visione del tofet- delineata da Garnand 2002 (ringrazio l’autore per avermi autorizzato a citare il suo lavoro). Un utile stato della questione è in D’Andrea - Giardino 2011. B.K. Garnand pone come discrimine il 1987, l’anno del «ridimensionamento» (in italiano nel testo): in questo anno sono stati pubblicati due saggi da parte di studiosi del mondo fenicio-punico (Ribichini 1987 e Moscati 1987), che appunto ‘ridimensionano’ il ruolo dei sacrifici cruenti nella religione fenicio- punica, ed uno da parte di uno studioso che si considera eccentrico rispetto agli studi classici, M. Bernal (Bernal 1987), che mette in luce la parte che i pregiudizi moderni hanno avuto nelle ricostruzioni del mondo antico. Trovo significativo, in questa direzione di generale rivalutazione della civiltà fenicio-punica anche tramite la rimozione dei sacrifici di bambini, il volume di E. Mazar, The Northern Cemetery of Achziv (10th-6th centuries BCE) : The Tophet Site, Barcelona 2009, nel quale si usa sin dal titolo la parola tofet; scrive l’autrice nella introduzione: «Since it is customary in Phoenician/Punic studies to identify sites that contained numerous cremation burials as Tophet sites - in this way utilizing the biblical term for the burial ground in Jerusalem where cremations were practiced (…) - this term has also been applied to the case of the Northern Cemetery of Achziv» (p. 21). Il fatto che siano stati ritrovati solo i resti di adulti incinerati non sembra creare un problema per la definizione come “tofet” di questa necropoli. Poi, vengono fatti confronti con la necropoli a incinerazione di al-Bass a Tiro (p. 228) e con i tofet del Mediterraneo occidentale (pp. 229-230). Comunque sia, la fase successiva della necropoli, a partire dal VII sec. a.C. mostra la presenza quasi esclusiva di inumazioni di bambini, con una scarsa presenza di adulti. Si veda inoltre il caso della necropoli sarda di Su Fraigu, presso Serramanna (CA), in Sardegna, dove un settore dedicato a deposizioni infantili è stato definito dalle studiose‘tofet’ (Cossu - Garau 2003, 27-28). Tra l’altro, si tratta di inumazioni e non di incinerazioni. 8 Rimando ancora a Garnand 2002 e a Ribichini 2013. 9 Scrive l’autore, nell’introduzione della raccolta The Best of Asimov (New York 1973): «I had my protagonist interested in Carthage because I myself am a great admirer of Hannibal and have never quite gotten over the Battle of Zama. I introduced Carthage, idly, without any intention of weaving it into the plot. But it got woven in just the same». Una posizione simile, seppur più articolata, è in S. Freud (2011, pp. 196-197): «Nel mio ultimo viaggio in Italia, che tra l’altro mi portò anche sul lago Trasimeno, potei finalmente scoprire, dopo aver preso dolorosamente la via del ritorno, ottanta chilometri prima di Roma, il modo in cui la mia nostalgia per la Città eterna era rafforzata da impressioni infantili. Stavo appunto progettando di fare l’anno dopo un viaggio a Napoli passando per Roma, quando mi colpì una frase, letta forse in uno dei nostri classici: (...) ‘Vien da

136 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet necessario chiedere una particolare autorizzazione governativa per poter svolgere le proprie ricerche, questo racconto narra di Arnold Potterley, un professore di storia che chiede di realizzare un chronoscopy, una macchina per vedere il passato10, allo scopo di conoscere la verità sui sacrifici umani cartaginesi11. Significativamente, è spinto dal rimorso che egli ha per la perdita della figlia, morta nell’incendio della casa dove abitavano. Nella discussione sul significato del tofet sono recentemente intervenuti alcuni contributi di Corinne Bonnet12 e di Josephine Crawley Quinn13, le quali cercano di superare il dilemma sacrifici umani/sepolture infantili, per arrivare ad una nuova definizione del tofet, interpretando tale luogo come mezzo per la affermazione dell’identità fenicia d’Occidente. Per quanto attiene a C. Bonnet, la studiosa mostra come la definizione dell’identità fenicia d’Occidente, nella specifica declinazione storica di “cultura della diaspora”, passa anche attraverso la realizzazione di un impianto sacro specifico delle città occidentali14. J.C. Quinn, invece, vede nel tofet un luogo nel quale la definizione dell’identità passa attraverso il particolare panorama urbano che il tofet contribuisce a formare. Credo che, seguendo la strada tracciata dalle due studiose, sia possibile percorrere ancora qualche passo verso una definizione di questo spazio.

chiedersi chi abbia passeggiato più nervosamente in camera sua, dopo aver concepito il piano di recarsi a Roma, se il rettore aggiunto Winckelmann o il condottiero Annibale’. Avevo allora seguito le tracce di Annibale; come lui, non ero riuscito a vedere Roma; e anche Annibale era andato in Campania, quando il mondo intero lo aspettava a Roma. Annibale, al quale ero pervenuto a somigliare per questi aspetti, era stato però l’eroe favorito dei miei anni di ginnasio; al pari di molti coetanei, durante le guerre puniche avevo rivolto le mie simpatie non ai Romani ma al Cartaginese. Quando poi, nel ginnasio superiore, capii meglio che cosa vuol dire appartenere a una razza straniera, e l’atteggiamento antisemitico dei miei compagni mi costrinse a prendere una posizione definita, la figura del condottiero semita s’innalzò ancor più ai miei occhi. Annibale e Roma simboleggiavano, per me adolescente, il contrasto fra la tenacia dell’ebraismo e l’organizzazione della Chiesa cattolica, mentre la crescente importanza assunta dal movimento antisemitico sulla nostra vita affettiva contribuiva a fissare i pensieri e i sentimenti di quei lontani giorni. Così il desiderio di andare a Roma è diventato, per la vita del sogno, pretesto e simbolo di molti altri ardenti desideri, la cui realizzazione potrebbe essere perseguita con la costanza e la dedizione del cartaginese, benché il loro appagamento sembri per il momento tanto poco favorito dal destino, quanto la suprema aspirazione di Annibale di entrare in Roma». 10 Dice il protagonista, per giustificare la propria richiesta: «To know Carthage would be very rewarding, yet the only knowledge we have of it is derived from the writings of its bitter enemies, the Greeks and Romans. Carthage itself never wrote in its own defense or, if it did, the books did not survive. As a result, the Carthaginians have been one of the favorite sets of villains of history and perhaps unjustly so. Time viewing may set the record straight». 11 Secondo il prof. Potterley, «the Carthaginians, it seemed, worshiped Moloch, in the form of a hollow, brazen idol with a furnace in its belly. At times of national crisis, the priests and the people gathered, and infants, after the proper ceremonies and invocations, were dexterously hurled, alive, into the flames. They were given sweetmeats just before the crucial moment, in order that the efficacy of the sacrifice not be ruined by displeasing cries of panic. The drums rolled just after the moment, to drown out the few seconds of infant shrieking. The parents were present, presumably gratified, for the sacrifice was pleasing to the gods...». 12 Bonnet 2011a; Bonnet 2011b. 13 Quinn 2011. 14 Per le differenti presenze dei tofet nelle varie aree toccate dalla colonizzazione fenicio-punica, rimando a D’Andrea - Giardino 2011, con bibl. prec., in particolare sui concetti di “Circolo dello Stretto” e “Circolo di Cartagine” (così come portati avanti da M.E. Aubet, S. Moscati e P. Bernardini) da una parte e di “Circolo del Tofet”, ipotizzato dagli autori, dall’altra.

137 Alessandro Campus VO

Occorre innanzi tutto osservare che, proprio nella definizione dell’identità, il tofet compie - fa compiere - tre passaggi: negoziazione ↔ affermazione ↔ conferma A livello grafico sarebbe forse meglio rappresentare questi rapporti come un triangolo, nel quale i tre vertici sono i tre passaggi negoziazione, affermazione e conferma, ma con al centro l’identità di Fenici tout court.

1. NEGOZIAZIONE Dal momento che l’identità si forma per contrasto, per differenza, per confronto, è la distanza tra gli abitanti di Madrepatria e i coloni occidentali che marca la diversità tra una definizione orientale ed una occidentale. Identità culturale che non può esser la stessa in Occidente ed in Oriente la cui differenza è possibile per noi cogliere nella ortografia e nella forma delle lettere. M.G. Amadasi Guzzo15 ha individuato le prime attestazioni delle caratteristiche ortografiche puniche, riflesso della pronuncia occidentale, in Sicilia a partire dalla metà del VI sec. a.C.; alla metà - fine del VI sec. a.C. la studiosa fa risalire gli inizi delle forme delle lettere caratteristiche delle iscrizioni occidentali, con una possibile origine a Cartagine di tali forme. È probabile che, al di là del luogo di origine di queste varianti ortografiche e grafiche, si siano diffuse in Occidente da Cartagine, da dove spesso arrivavano magistrati nelle altre città16. Inoltre, la ricerca di una uniformità di paesaggio tra Oriente ed Occidente - ricerca che mi pare più moderna che antica, in verità - porta a definizioni di facies topografiche che allo stato attuale sembrano più linee di tendenza che situazioni costanti nelle scelte insediative fenicie17. Mi riferisco alla cd. facies Cintas18, dal nome dello studioso che l’ha definita, che prevede le installazioni fenicie su isole, o in baie con spiagge riparate, in prossimità di punti d’acqua, di laghi costieri o estuari di fiumi, con alle spalle colline che facciano barriera con l’entroterra. Ma nel Vorwort/Prefazione agli atti del convegno Phönizisches und puniche Städtewesen, S. Helas e D. Marzoli scrivono che, dai dati presentati, si riconoscono solo in parte le vere e proprie concezioni urbanistiche19.

2. AFFERMAZIONE Come ha giustamente messo in rilievo Avtar Brah, le domande da porsi per l’analisi del fenomeno della diaspora sono molte20: «The question is not simply about who travels but when, how, and under what circumstances? What socio-economic, political, and cultural conditions mark the trajectories of these journeys? What regimes of power inscribe the formation of a specific diaspora?».

15 Amadasi Guzzo 2011. 16 Ho sviluppato questo tema in Campus 2012, 37-40, 61. 17 Bondì (a cura di) 2009, 94-96. 18 Cintas 1976, 56-71. 19 Helas - Marzoli 2009, 12 (testo tedesco), 16 (testo italiano). 20 Brah 1996, 179 (corsivi dell’autore).

138 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet

Per lo studioso i temi dell’“arrivo” sono importanti tanto quanto quelli della “partenza”: come si conclude il viaggio, ci si insedia in un territorio, si entra in relazione con le culture che si incontrano, in sostanza quanto e come i valori della cultura di provenienza si inseriscono nella prospettiva della nuova sede. Le domande da porsi, quindi, sono anche21: «How and in what ways do these journeys conclude, and intersect in specific places, specific spaces, and specific historical conjunctures?». Ciò che importa per A. Brah è la costruzione di un “noi” comune, che si estrinseca storicamente (anche) nella dialettica con le popolazioni che si incontrano. Ma il movimento da un luogo all’altro mette in evidenza anche la dialettica tra due diverse “case”, concetto perfettamente delineato nelle parole che il console Lucio Marcio Censorino rivolge agli ambasciatori cartaginesi prima della terza guerra punica22: e[ksthteth`~ Karchdovno~ hJmi`n, kai; ajnoikivsasqe o{ph/ qevleteth`~ uJmetevra~, ojgdohvkontastadivou~ ajpo; qalavssh~ thvndega;rhJmi`n e[gnwstaikataskavyai. «Fateci il piacere di abbandonare Cartagine e di emigrare verso l’interno del vostro territorio, nel luogo a vostra scelta, purché sia a 80 stadi dal mare: infatti abbiamo deciso di distruggere la città.». D’altronde, Livio ricorda che per gli ambasciatori numidi a Roma, in contenzioso nel 162 a.C. con Cartagine per una questione di confini, i Cartaginesi erano stranieri che si erano insediati vi atque iniuria nella zona di Bursa23. Così, proprio nell’ottica di una diaspora - quasi che i Fenici fossero “destinati” ad una esistenza nella diaspora, che la loro esistenza si esaurisse con la diaspora - il console del 149 a.C. ricorda che nel passato lasciarono la Fenicia alla volta dell’Africa per costruire una nuova patria; allo stesso modo avrebbero potuto considerare patria il luogo in cui sarebbero andati24. Come segno di continuità culturale con Cartagine, i futuri esuli sarebbero potuti tornare nella città, da radere interamente al suolo con l’eccezione dei templi e, significativamente, le tombe, per compiere i riti25. I Romani riconoscono come fondante per la cultura cartaginese l’aspetto rituale, ribaltando propri valori sul nemico, anzi proponendo che la cultura del nemico sia mantenuta tramite l’aspetto rituale, non ritenendo fondamentale l’orizzonte geografico, o, viceversa, ritenendolo talmente fondamentale da volerlo scardinare nel profondo proponendo una nuova sede lontana dal mare. Si propone quindi ai Cartaginesi una seconda diaspora, questa volta però con lo sradicamento globale e la fondazione di un’altra città. Ciò che colpisce è la risposta che gli ambasciatori danno a Censorino, quando questi finisce di esporre le condizioni romane: avendo la certezza di essere uccisi dai Cartaginesi, una volta riferito l’esito dell’incontro, chiedono che la flotta romana li anticipi e si rechi a Cartagine, o meglio, come scrive lo storico, ejpi; th;npatrivda, quasi una risposta alle “proposte” romane26. Si tratta di scegliere una nuova patria, una nuova Madrepatria, che possa rendere accettabile la nuova Cartagine, la nuova “città nuova”, alla politica romana.

21 Brah 1996, 179. 22 Appiano, Libukav, 81. 23 Livio, XXXIV, 63. 24 Appiano, Libukav, 89. 25 Appiano, Libukav, 89. 26 Appiano, Libukav, 90.

139 Alessandro Campus VO

Nell’analisi del movimento coloniale fenicio da Oriente ad Occidente va messa in evidenza la differenza tra la esperienza diasporica fenicia e quelle invece moderne, come ad esempio quella che ha portato milioni di schiavi dall’Africa alle Americhe27. Si tratta di una diversità fondamentale per poter comprendere il fenomeno: lo spostamento dei Fenici si configura come un movimento - solo commerciale prima, anche insediativo poi - che non è stato obbligato, ma volontario. Di contro, il trasferimento coatto degli Africani da un luogo all’altro non può non aver costretto ad una profonda riconfigurazione della propria identità, sia personale sia relazionale, nella formazione di una identità collettiva che si forma durante e dopo il viaggio attraverso l’Atlantico, il Middle Passage28, dato che gli schiavi portati in Nord America provenivano da aree e da culture africane diverse29: in sostanza, la formazione della nuova identità, che li avrebbe portati da African a African American, doveva passare anche attraverso una cultura altra, ad esempio con l’adozione dell’inglese quale lingua di comunicazione30. Nelle tante slave narratives pubblicate negli Stati Uniti le testimonianze della costruzione delle identità sono esplicite nel mostrare le difficoltà di questo percorso31. Una preziosa testimonianza in tal senso è quella relativa ad un rito funebre nella narrative di C. Ball, un ex schiavo; egli descrive il rito per la sepoltura di un bambino, figlio di una schiava nata in Nord America e di uno schiavo catturato in Africa32: «Her husband, a native of a country far in the interior of Africa, said he had been a priest in his own nation, and had never been taught to do any kind of labour, being supported by the contributions of the public. (…) A few days before Christmas, her child died, after an illness of only three days. I assisted her and her husband to inter the infant - which was a little boy - and its father buried with it, a small bow, and several arrows; a little bag of parched meal; a miniature canoe, about a foot long, and a little paddle, (with which he said it would cross the ocean to his own country) a small stick, with an iron nail,

27 Per l’uso del termine “diaspora”, v. Peretz 2004, ma anche con i dubbi sull’uso di “diaspora” per il forzato spostamento di Africani attraverso l’Atlantico (v. ad es. a p. 143: «l’utilisation du terme de diaspora, toute comme ultérieurement celle du qualificatif African-American, avait pour ambition de restituer son passé et ses attaches à une communauté qui en avait été dépossédée. Parler de diaspora devait permettre aux Noirs américains de retrouver une part de leur dignité»). V. anche Sideri 2008, per una interessante messa a fuoco della dialettica diaspora/migrazione. Un approccio archeologico alla presenza africana in Nord America è in Campus 2005. 28 Rediker - Pybus - Christopher 2007, 1: «The ‘middle passage’ is an old maritime phrase, dating to the heyday of the Atlantic slave trade. It designated the bottom line of a trading triangle, between the ‘outward passage’ from Europe to Africa and the ‘homeward passage’ from the Americas back to Europe». 29 V. Eltis - Richardson - Behrendt 1999; Yelvington 2005, in part. pp.27-28, tab. 2; Aderinto 2007. 30 Ma v. anche il ruolo della società schiavista nordamericana nel plasmare il concetto di “razza” - e quindi di identità - degli schiavi neri: Berlin 1998, 1-14, 358-365. 31 Per un’analisi di una forte costruzione identitaria, v. i casi di Frederick Douglass, analizzato da Stauffer 2007, e di Venture Smith, analizzato da Pierce 2007, 86-96; quest’ultimo è particolarmente interessante, perché si tratta di una persona catturata in Africa e deportata in Nord America; da notare che il suo nome africano era Broteer (Smith 1798, 5), ma, appunto nell’ottica di una nuova identità (imposta), gli fu cambiato: «I was bought on board by one Robertson Mumford, steward of said vessel, for four gallons of rum, and a piece of calico, and called VENTURE, on account of his having purchased me with his own private venture. Thus I came by my name» (Smith 1798, 13). 32 Ball 1837, 263-265.

140 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet sharpened, and fastened into one end of it; and a piece of white muslin, with several curious and strange figures painted on it in blue and red, by which, he said, his relations and countrymen would know the infant to be his son, and would receive it accordingly, on its arrival amongst them. (…) He cut a lock of hair from his head, threw it upon the dead infant, and closed the grave with his own hands. He then told us the God of his country was looking at him, and was pleased with what he had done. Thus ended the funeral service.». Continuando quindi lungo la strada tracciata da C. Bonnet, “comparando l’incomparabile”, come scrive la studiosa33 prendendo in prestito il titolo di un volume di M. Detienne34, le risposte alle due diaspore qui in esame date dalle rispettive culture si delineano ovviamente come diverse; ma prendendo la descrizione del corredo funerario riportata poco sopra si può notare che la definizione dell’identità è data proprio dagli oggetti che i genitori pongono nella sepoltura del bambino. Il modellino di canoa sarebbe servito al piccolo defunto a tornare alla terra di origine, il pezzo di stoffa sarebbe stato il modo per farsi riconoscere dai parenti e dai connazionali; tutto questo in una prospettiva escatologica. Proprio perché il ritorno all’Africa è in una prospettiva escatologica, quando si tratterà di tornare veramente nel continente il tentativo fallirà, con lo stato della Liberia (indipendente dal 1847) che non diventerà la nuova casa di tutti gli ex schiavi nordamericani e dei loro discendenti35. Rimanendo ancora nell’orizzonte delineato da C. Bonnet - comparando l’incomparabile - il complesso rito del tofet36 aveva anche la funzione di riportare le origini occidentali all’Oriente. Si tratta di un Oriente evidentemente non in quanto tale, non luogo geografico o luogo culturale, ma luogo della memoria, memoria che diventa tradizione, proprio nella negoziazione tra le diverse identità d’Oriente e d’Occidente, o, meglio, nella formazione di una nuova identità fenicia, nella possibilità di un ritorno all’Oriente, proprio come l’Africa dove sarebbe dovuto andare il bambino citato da C. Ball era sì il luogo di provenienza del padre, ma era anche un luogo originario. In tal senso, appare ancor più appropriato il confronto - la comparazione - portata avanti dalla studiosa tra il fenomeno tofet ed il candomblé brasiliano37. Angelo Brelich ha mostrato che nell’ambito degli studi storico-religiosi, e in particolare secondo il metodo della “scuola di Roma”, la comparazione non serve a mostrare le somiglianze, ma le differenze38. Si tratta cioè di mettere in evidenza la differenza delle risposte date alle stesse domande da culture diverse. Pertanto, nella cultura africana della diaspora pare che, almeno nel racconto di C. Ball, il rapporto con la terra di origine sia dato

33 Bonnet 2011a, 469, 473. 34 Detienne 2010. 35 Sulla storia dello stato della Liberia, v. le pagine web nel sito della Library of Congress di Washington (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam003.html; http://www.loc.gov/collection/maps-of-liberia-1830-to- 1870/about-this-collection; http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/libhtml/libhome.html;). 36 Ribichini 1999-2000; Ribichini 2000; Xella 2012. 37 Bonnet 2011b, 473: «Le candomblé servira de laboratoire pour observer ces éléments à l’oeuvre dans un espace cultuel singulier situé entre racines et migration». 38 Brelich 1972; Brelich 1977.

141 Alessandro Campus VO dal bambino defunto. Inoltre, il nonno dello scrittore è nato in Africa, come egli stesso scrive39: «My grandfather was brought from Africa, and sold as a slave in Calvert county, in Maryland, about the year 1730.». È interessante notare che il racconto di Olaudah Equiano, considerato il fondatore del genere delle slave narratives, inizia dall’infanzia dell’autore in Africa40; ebbene, recenti ricerche hanno dimostrato che in effetti egli non nacque in Africa, ma in South Carolina intorno al 1747, come sono inesatti molti altri particolari che egli racconta41. Indubbiamente vi erano motivi politici per attribuirsi origini africane, dato che nel XVIII secolo era prioritaria la campagna di abolizione della tratta degli schiavi (vietata dalla Gran Bretagna e dagli Stati Uniti dal 1808), più che l’abolizione della schiavitù tout court42, ma anche la ricerca di una propria identità più “vera” di quella che gli viene attribuita43 non può che portarlo verso l’Africa.

3.CONFERMA Se è vero che l’età non è una categoria naturale, ma un concetto culturalmente determinato44 e quindi con tante variabili quante sono le possibili culture, con ovvie variazioni diacroniche, allora la scelta di dedicare ai morti in tenera età - ripeto, indipendentemente dal modo in cui sono morti - uno spazio ed un rito separati diventa un fatto culturalmente significativo. Ancora una volta, la preparazione di uno spazio funerario non è in funzione dei morti, ma dei vivi, che costruiscono la propria cultura anche tramite l’attenzione riservata ai defunti. Sono così di grandissimo interesse le osservazioni di K.W. Baptist, la quale a partire dalla propria personale esperienza di lutto scrive45: «Death by landscape. Regardless of the means by which we die, all human remains are returned, in some form, to landscape. (…) Consolation for the living is sought in landscape. Landscape has long provided humans with a physical, sensorial, and ephemeral repository for both grief and for the dead.». L’elaborazione del lutto si configura in questo modo come la possibilità di ancorare il proprio dolore anche ad un landscape. Di qui il creare o - ri-creare - un orizzonte sia culturale sia fisico proprio nella prospettiva di dare fisicità all’evento. C’è un ulteriore aspetto, poi, da mettere in evidenza. Com’è noto, intorno alla fine del VI sec. a.C. i riti funerari nella cultura fenicio-punica cambiano, passando dall’incinerazione all’inumazione. Di contro, nel tofet - qualsiasi sia la funzione - i corpi

39 Ball 1837, 15-16. 40 Equiano 1789. L’opera di Olaudah Equiano ebbe un grandissimo successo, tanto che durante la vita dell’autore, morto nel 1797, furono stampate ben nove edizioni. La bibliografia su O. Equiano è vastissima, una sintesi della sua vita, con una bibliografia di riferimento è in Hunt 2007. Una analisi delle sue strategie narrative è in Eckstein 2006, 25-35. 41 Carretta 2007, con bibl. prec. 42 Carretta 2007, 47. 43 Il nome “occidentale” che gli viene attribuito, Gustavus Vassa, è quello dell’eroe svedese nella lotta per l’indipendenza dalla Danimarca. 44 Lucy 2005, in part. pp. 52-61, anche se è da prendere con riserva la parte dedicata al tofet cartaginese. 45 Baptist 2010, 294-295 (corsivi dell’autrice).

142 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet continuano ad essere incinerati. La ricerca della memoria porta alla conferma della tradizione, in uno spazio fisico cui corrisponde uno spazio culturale, con la peculiarità dell’esperienza occidentale della diaspora, che si configura come affermazione contemporaneamente sia della identità fenicia, sia della specificità occidentale. Il trattamento dei corpi deposti nel tofet prosegue la stessa strada “orientale” delle origini, in una continuità che conferma l’uso della Madrepatria, ma che innova rispetto alle origini riservando l’uso solo ad una categoria di persone in uno spazio sacro loro dedicato. Proprio nel tofet si ha la conferma della propria appartenenza culturale, nel senso di una partecipazione attiva (se si è attore del rito) o passiva (se al rito si assiste, ovvero se si accede all’area). È questo il significato dato alle installazioni di questo tipo da J.C. Quinn, la quale nota come è lo stesso paesaggio urbano della città, segnato dalla presenza del tofet, ad esser significativamente identitario; e questo46 «by creating and reinforcing identifications with cultural symbolism and practice elsewhere, within and beyond the Phoenician diaspora.». Così, il senso di appartenenza o, viceversa, di estraniazione dato all’individuo da questo specifico luogo marca la vicinanza alla - o la distanza dalla - cultura che ha prodotto quell’area. È già la stessa presenza di quest’area a marcare culturalmente la città. Ancora una volta, la differenza tra significante e significato si annulla, per far coincidere questi due versanti: è la presenza, l’esistenza stessa ad esser significativa, dando così ragione delle differenze tra Oriente ed Occidente. Nella continua dialettica tra presente e passato, nel passaggio da memoria a tradizione, o viceversa nella creazione di una specifica tradizione tramite il tofet, da intendersi come spazio fisico ove si compiono riti e come spazio culturale di negoziazione delle diverse identità, è da vedersi il tentativo di assolvere al doppio compito di far sentire contemporaneamente Fenici e Fenici della diaspora. La crisi dell’identità, provocata dal viaggio da Oriente a Occidente e del successivo stanziamento, trova una soluzione nel fenomeno tofet. Si è soliti mettere il discrimine tra “fenicio” e “punico” al VI sec. a.C., quando, per effetto delle culture di sostrato e di adstrato la cultura fenicia d’Occidente cambia, dando luogo a quella che storiograficamente viene definita “punica”47. Ma la cultura fenicia d’Occidente ha verosimilmente iniziato a cambiare subito, nel momento stesso in cui i Tirii hanno iniziato ad insediarsi sulle sponde del Mediterraneo occidentale. E infatti il tofet di Cartagine viene approntato pochi anni dopo la fondazione delle città48. Si realizza in tal modo un luogo sacro che diventa specifico delle città occidentali e che nel tempo ne marcherà il paesaggio in modo netto ed inequivocabile. Si cerca cioè di realizzare un dispositivo che possa in qualche modo mettere in azione il meccanismo di ridefinizione della identità, messa in crisi dallo spostamento verso il Mediterraneo occidentale. Questa chiave di lettura può esser utile nell’interpretare il grande sviluppo che alcuni tofet hanno avuto nel periodo postpunico, come ad esempio quello di Ras Almunfakh

46 Quinn 2011, 390. Per il mondo moderno, sulla creazione di un cultural landscape, v. Francis 2003, articolo- recensione a Warner 1959 e Sloane 1951. 47 Moscati 1988. Per una proposta di ridefinizione di sostrati ed adstrati, v. Campus 2012, 12-23. 48 Sulle cronologie della città v. Docter et al. 2004 e Docter et al. 2008. Sul tofet Bénichou-Safar 2004; Ruiz Cabrero 2007, 299-312.

143 Alessandro Campus VO presso Sabratha, in Libia49, o la fondazione di nuovi impianti, come quello di Henchirel- Hami, in Tunisia50. Nel “dramma culturale” del passaggio allo stato romano dopo il 146 a.C., mi pare che lo sviluppo dei tofet risponda alla maggior necessità di affermare la propria cultura, che non è più punica, ma non è neanche romana. Proprio in questo periodo pare esservi maggiormente “bisogno” di costruire e mostrare la propria identità, ricorrendo così a iconografie che indubbiamente hanno elementi di origine sia punica, sia libica, sia romana, ma con un nuovo aspetto che configura queste manifestazioni - percepibili ad esempio nelle stele - come appartenenti ad una nuova cultura, che altrove ho proposto di definire, nel suo divenire storico, “cultura pidgin” e “cultura creola”51. La tensione dialettica tra la cultura romana e la cultura punica (ma anche col fondamentale contributo delle culture libiche) ha come sintesi questa nuova cultura, che si affaccia alla storia come risposta alle nuove istanze che la situazione pone. Nel momento in cui nell’area cambia la prospettiva (culturale, economica, politica, sociale) a seguito della conquista romana, le culture presenti non possono più fornire un orizzonte di riferimento, di qui la necessità di formulare, seppur con tempi indubbiamente lunghi, nuove soluzioni; l’ampliamento del panorama sociale cui sono sottoposte le genti nordafricane obbliga a ripensare interamente il proprio ruolo. L’ipotesi che mi pare di poter avanzare è che il tofet- con le sue manifestazioni sia cultuali sia esteriori (le urne, le stele, i sacelli) - sia da considerarsi, per l’epoca postpunica, la risposta alle trasformazioni che la cultura punica stava subendo. Se è da accettare quanto detto sinora, cioè il ruolo fondamentalmente identitario del tofet, proprio nei momenti di crisi si ha la necessità di riaffermare se stessi tramite questo potente strumento. G. Woolf ha proposto di interpretare la grande esplosione epigrafica dell’inizio dell’età imperiale romana come reazione alla anxiety che, secondo lo studioso, pervade la società a fronte dei profondi cambiamenti che la investono52. Tra l’altro, nota sempre Woolf, le iscrizioni assolvono a tale funzione mostrando ogni aspetto della vita delle persone: parentele, cariche, carriera, nella ricerca di una stabilità che evidentemente la società non dà più. Inoltre, secondo lo studioso «ex-slaves too seem dramatically over-represented in the epigraphy of Rome and other Italian cities»53 e questo perché «more generally former slaves had, through their own manumission, experienced social mobility to an extent which must have heightened their sensitivity to the mutable nature of their social identities»54. Nelle iscrizioni del tofet, invece, i dati presentati dai testi sono apparentemente piuttosto scarsi: oltre al nome del dedicante, viene solitamente dato anche il patronimico, talvolta seguito dal nome del nonno, talvolta ancora il mestiere55. Ma i grandi assenti, gli invisibili, sono proprio i bambini deposti nell’area. Non c’è mai il loro nome, mai si accenna alla loro presenza, quello che conta è il rito che si svolge, all’interno del quale i bambini paiono

49 Taborelli 1992. 50 Ferjaoui 2007. Sulle stele, v. Campus 2012, 322-334. 51 Campus 2012, 355-356, 378-382. 52 Woolf 1996; Woolf 2009. 53 Woolf 1996, 35. 54 Woolf 1996, 36. 55 Ruiz Cabrero 2008.

144 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet essere più strumenti che protagonisti. È quindi l’intera “vicenda tofet” che è importante; nella ricerca archeologica ciò che rimane è ovviamente solo l’aspetto materiale - deposizione ed eventualmente stele - mancando tutta la parte immateriale del rito. Va in ogni caso notato che l’elemento fondamentale del rito del tofet pare esser proprio la deposizione, gli altri elementi sembrano secondari o comunque non fondamentali. Ad esempio, la stele non è sempre presente. Analizzando poi il contenuto delle iscrizioni, appare evidente che si tratta di vere e proprie narratives, che raccontano non la storia dei defunti, ma la storia dei vivi. Ricordare i morti per onorare i vivi: lo scopo delle iscrizioni, che, come detto, non nominano mai i defunti deposti nell’area, servono ad ancorare socialmente e culturalmente i dedicanti, in una rete di rapporti genealogici e sociali. Leggendo i testi, si delinea un grande mosaico nel quale prendono posto tutti gli elementi necessari ad identificare le singole persone; attraverso le epigrafi del tofet si propone un racconto autobiografico, il cui protagonista assoluto è chi ha compiuto il rito. Le divinità citate, Ba’al Ïammon da solo nelle iscrizioni più antiche poi con Tanit, nella sua particolare manifestazione di pnb’l, sono gli altri protagonisti del rito; talvolta si sente la necessità di specificare anche il rito svolto nell’area - mlk, mlk‘mr, mlk‘dm, mlkb’l - probabilmente sintomo del fatto che non sempre erano scontate le modalità di svolgimento; alla fine dell’iscrizione spesso è indicato il motivo della dedica, con formule come ad esempio k šm’ql’ybrk’ oppure brk’, “poiché ha ascoltato la sua voce lo benedica” o “lo ha benedetto”, o k šm’qldbry, “poiché ha ascoltato la voce delle sue parole”. Queste iscrizioni, quindi, si configurano come forme comunicative, estremamente complesse nonostante la loro apparente semplicità e standardizzazione, rivolte sì alla o alle divinità, ma anche - e soprattutto - alle altre persone della comunità. È significativo che tra le stele si trovino esempi di monumenti solo figurati, solo iscritti, figurati e iscritti, né figurati né iscritti. Un caso particolare è quello delle stele recanti solo l’iscrizione, senza alcun simbolo o decorazione; tale tipo di monumenti, analizzato qualche tempo fa da M.L. Uberti56, evidentemente privilegia un tipo di comunicazione particolarmente specialistico, quale è quello della scrittura. Nelle dinamiche comunicative, quindi, ciò che maggiormente conta è la presenza, al di là poi di quel che reca il supporto. Anzi, l’aspetto maggiormente significativo - l’unico aspetto che ha veramente valore - è l’urna con i resti del bambino o dell’animale. Infatti, quando ad esempio si è proceduto con la risistemazione del tofet di Mozia sono state le stele ad esser asportate e riutilizzate nella costruzione del terrapieno, mentre i vasi sono stati lasciati in situ57. Tra l’altro, proprio a Mozia è interessante vedere il rapporto numerico tra il totale delle stele e le stele iscritte: su un totale di 118558 stele solo 40 recano una

56 Uberti 2003. 57 Una sintesi delle vicende del tofet moziese, con bibliografia precedente, è in Nigro 2009, 252-254. 58 Moscati - Uberti 1981; a questi 1185 esemplari editi nel catalogo, che comprende sia quelli degli scavi 1964- 1973 che quelli della collezione Whitaker, sono da aggiungere altre tre stele, ritrovate al di fuori dell’area del tofet (Moscati 1986; Spanò Giammellaro 2000; De Simone 2012). Scrive M.L. Uberti (Moscati - Uberti 1981, 75): «rimangono esclusi pochi esemplari, ancora in situ nella trincea 36, ed ora protetti da una bassa tettoia, che ne rende estremamente difficile l’accesso e dei quali si davano alcuni appunti preliminari nel rapporto relativo alla campagna di scavo 1972» (Uberti 1973, 86, nota 5; Ciasca 1978, 126, nota 2). La studiosa (Uberti 1973, 85) scrive che nella trincea 36 sono state lasciate in situ 65 stele, mentre A. Ciasca (1978, 126, nota 2)

145 Alessandro Campus VO iscrizione, pari al 3,4%. I testi, poi, hanno la dedica al solo Ba’al Ïammon, non è presente Tanit59. Rimanendo al tofet dell’isola siciliana, i lavori di A. Ciasca hanno mostrato come solo dalla seconda fase dell’impianto si è incominciato ad usare le stele come segnacolo - sema - del luogo di deposizione dell’urna. Appare quindi evidente che la centralità del rito è da ricercarsi proprio nelle fasi che hanno preceduto le deposizioni, fasi delle quali a noi rimane solo l’ultima manifestazione materiale. Inoltre, le analisi hanno mostrato come la deposizione di ceneri di piccoli animali, quali volatili, non sia un uso più recente rispetto a quello di deporre le ceneri di bambini, ma anzi si trova sin dagli strati più antichi60. Ciò che conta, ciò che ha valore è il fatto di essersi recato nel tofet per svolgere il rito, sia esso relativo ad un bambino o ad un animale. Per quanto sin qui detto, credo di aver mostrato quindi che il rito del tofet, oltre che il tofet stesso, è un segno di appartenenza alla comunità; in tal senso, il segno esteriore - il tofet con i suoi annessi - come metafora della “fenicità” d’Occidente. Se questo è vero per quanto riguarda il momento successivo alla “invenzione” del tofet, bisogna porsi il problema delle fasi precedenti tale invenzione. Cioè, perché il tofet? È ancora C. Bonnet che propone una interessante risposta a questa domanda; secondo la studiosa, in una società coloniale così ristretta come doveva esser quella delle prime fondazioni fenicie, la morte di un bambino, tutt’altro che infrequente vista la grande mortalità infantile nel mondo antico61, poteva metter a rischio la sopravvivenza stessa della comunità62. Così63 «Si le tophet a bien été institué dans les tout premiers temps de la colonie punique, on peut formuler l’hypothèse qu’il constituait une réponse «religieuse» à une telle crainte. Baal Hammon et Tanit, les destinataires des offrandes, comme l’ont bien montré diverses études récentes (...), sont de fait des divinités originaires de Phénicie, bienveillantes et protectrices, et non des monstres assoiffés de sang. On les concevrait volontiers comme des parents attentifs à leur descendance.». Ecco che quindi il luogo di sepoltura infantile diventa luogo dell’identità e della memoria, nella risoluzione delle diverse tensioni che di volta in volta si alternano nella vita delle città fenicio-puniche. Ancora “comparando l’incomparabile”, l’interessante lavoro di Chiara Garattini sui cimiteri infantili dell’Irlanda moderna e contemporanea64 mostra come sino a pochi decenni fa si tendesse a seppellire i bambini morti prima del battesimo o i feti in aree riservate, in linea di massima al di fuori degli altri cimiteri: nei campi, o agli incroci della strade, o in

scrive che «sono state rimosse urne e stele che gli slittamenti del terreno non consentivano più di ritenere effettivamente in situ», ma senza specificare quante stele. 59 Amadasi Guzzo 1986, 45; osserva la studiosa che le stele iscritte e le stele in genere compaiono solo sino al livello III, non oltre quindi gli inizi del V sec. a.C. (Amadasi Guzzo 1986, 45, nota 2). 60 Bernardini 2002, in part. p. 20. Sulle analisi ai contenuti delle urne provenienti da vari siti, si veda la bibliografia in Docter et al. 2001-2002. 61 Woods 2007. 62 Bonnet 2011a, 479-480. 63 Bonnet 2011a, 480. 64 Garattini 2007.

146 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet aree vicine a cimiteri, e sempre in forma anonima. Questi killeens (o cillíní, in irlandese) sono caratterizzati da una non riconoscibilità nel paesaggio e dalla mancanza di elementi utili ad identificare le tombe. La esistenza di queste aree era associata alla credenza nel Limbo, il luogo in cui sarebbero andati, secondo gli insegnamenti della chiesa cattolica, i bambini morti senza aver ricevuto il battesimo. Quando, agli inizi dell’Ottocento, la chiesa cattolica iniziò una nuova politica di presenza attiva in Irlanda, fondando nuove chiese e cimiteri, di fatto riservati ai soli cattolici, all’interno dei quali furono accolti anche i corpi dei bambini morti non battezzati. In particolare, nel cimitero di Glasnevil una parte dell’area, ora nota come Old Holy Angels, fu dedicata alle sepolture infantili; negli anni Venti del XX secolo fu aperta una nuova area per i bambini, detta New Holy Angels. La situazione delle sepolture rimase simile a quella dei killeens, con sepolture comuni e non distinte, ma a partire dagli anni Settanta si iniziò individuare alcune sepolture e a mettere oggetti vicino alle tombe. Ora, nonostante l’amministrazione abbia cercato di regolarizzare la situazione, i genitori dei bambini lasciano sulle tombe una enorme quantità di fiori, giocattoli, come doni. Scrive la studiosa65: «In the past in Ireland (and not only there), the event of an infantile death was silenced in people’s lives never to be mentioned again even between spouses. This ability to forget, which was a strategy perceived as the best thing to do, is now in modern eyes seen as unhealthy.». La specificità fenicio-punica sta probabilmente qua: nella capacità e volontà di non dimenticare, di ricordare la morte dei propri bambini, mostrandola in modo netto e inequivocabile, contrariamente a quanto invece si fece a Roma66. Si tratta, come detto, di una morte che investe l’intera società e che l’intera società deve quindi risolvere. Proprio perché la morte viene “utilizzata” in chiave identitaria, ciò che conta è che i genitori portino il bambino all’interno dell’area del tofet e che compiano i giusti riti; nelle iscrizioni poi è ricordato il genitore che ha compiuto il rito, perché l’identità da riaffermare è di chi è sopravvissuto.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

ADERINTO, S. 2007 Ethnicity: T. FALOLA - A. WARNOCK (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Middle Passage, Westport - London 2007, pp. 165-166. AMADASI GUZZO, M.G. 1986 Scavi a Mozia - le iscrizioni, Roma 1986. 2011 On the Beginnings of the Punic Scripts: Vicino & Medio Oriente XV (2011), pp. 119-132. BALL, CH. 1837 Slavery in the United States. A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, a Black Man, Who Lived Forty Years in Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia, as a Slave under Various Masters, and Was One Year in the Navy with Commodore Barney, during the Late War, New York 1837.

65 Garattini 2007, 203. 66 Campus 2010.

147 Alessandro Campus VO

BAPTIST, K.W. 2010 Diaspora: Death without a Landscape: Mortality: Promoting the Interdisciplinary Study of Death and Dying 15/4 (2010), pp. 294-307. BENICHOU-SAFAR, H. 2004 Le tophet de Salammbô à Carthage. Essai de reconstruction, Rome 2004. BERLIN, I. 1998 Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America, Cambridge - London 1998. BERNAL, M. 1987 Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, I. The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785-1985, New Brunswick 1987. BERNARDINI, P. 2002 Leggere il tofet: sacrifici e sepolture. Una riflessione sulle fasi iniziali del tofet: P. DONATI GIACOMINI - M.L. UBERTI (a cura di), Fra Cartagine e Roma. Seminario di studi italo- tunisino (Bologna, 23 febbraio 2001), Faenza 2002, pp. 15-27. BONDÌ, S.F. (a cura di) 2009 Fenici e Cartaginesi. Una civiltà mediterranea, Roma 2009. BONNET, C. 2001a De Carthage à Salvador de Bahia. Approche comparative des rites du tophet et du candomblé, lieux de mémoire rituels: F. PRESCENDI - Y. VOLOKHINE (éds.), Dans le laboratoire de l’historien des religions. Mélanges offerts à Philippe Borgeaud, Genève 2011, pp. 469-483. 2011b On Gods and Earth: The Tophet and the Construction of a New Identity in Punic Carthage: E.S. GRUEN (ed.), Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean, Los Angeles 2011, pp. 373-387. BRAH, A. 1996 Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities, New York 1996. BRELICH, A. 1972 Perché storicismo e quale storicismo (nei nostri studi): Religioni e civiltà 1 (1972), pp. 7- 28. 1977 La metodologia della scuola di Roma: B. GENTILI - G. PAIONI (a cura di), Il mito greco. Atti del convegno internazionale (Urbino, 7-12 maggio 1973), Roma 1977, pp. 3-29. CAMPUS, A. 2005 La schiavitù in Nord America: Enciclopedia Archeologica, vol. Africa, Roma 2005, pp. 737-748. 2010 Per una archeologia del tofet: I. BAGLIONI (a cura di), Storia delle Religioni ed Archeologia. Discipline a confronto, Roma 2010, pp. 87-96. CARRETTA, V. 2007 Olaudah Equiano: African British Abolitionist and Founder of the African American Slave Narrative: A. FISH (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative, Cambridge 2007, pp. 44-60. CIASCA, A. 1978 LO SCAVO DEL 1972 E 1973: A. CIASCA - G. COACCI POLSELLI - N. CUOMO DI CAPRIO - M.G. AMADASI GUZZO - G. MATTHIAE SCANDONE - V. TUSA - A. TUSA CUTRONI - M.L. UBERTI, Mozia - IX. Rapporto preliminare della Missione congiunta con la Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Sicilia Occidentale (Pubblicazioni del Centro di Studio per la Civiltà Fenicia e Punica 18; Studi Semitici 50), Roma 1978, pp. 125-143. CINTAS, P. 1976 Manuel d’archéologie punique, II, Paris 1976.

148 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet

COSSU, C. - GARAU, E. 2003 Complessità rituale e ideologia funeraria punica nella necropoli di Su Fraigu (Serramanna - CA): Soprintendenza archeologica per le province di Cagliari e Oristano. Quaderni 20 (2003), pp. 17-45. D’ANDREA, B. - GIARDINO, S. 2011 “Il tofet dove e perché”: alle origini dell’identità fenicia: Vicino & Medio Oriente XV (2011), pp. 133-157. DE SIMONE, R. 2012 Una nuova stele da Mozia: C. DEL VAIS (a cura di), Epi oinopa ponton. Studi sul Mediterraneo antico in memoria di Giovanni Tore, Oristano 2012, pp. 315-319. DETIENNE, M. 2010 Comparer l’incomparable, Paris 20102. DOCTER, R.F. - SMITS, S. -HAKBIJL, T. - STUIJTS, I.L.M. - VAN DER PLICHT, J. 2001-2002 Interdisciplinary Research on Urns from the Carthaginian Tophet and Their Contents: Palaeohistoria 43-44 (2001-2002), pp. 417-433. VAN DOMMELEN, P. 2011 Postcolonial Archaeologies between Discourse and Practice: World Archaeology 46/1 (2011), pp. 1-6. ECKSTEIN, L. 2006 Re-Membering the Black Atlantic. On the Poetics and Politics of Literary Memory, Amsterdam - New York 2006. EISSFELDT, O. 1935 Molk als Opferbegriff im Punischen und Hebräischen und das Ende des Gottes Moloch (Beitrage zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums 3), Halle 1935. ELTIS, D. - RICHARDSON, D. - BEHRENDT, S.D. 1999 Patterns in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, 1662-1867: New Indications of African Origins of Slaves Arriving in the Americas: M. DIEDRICH - H.L. GATES - C. PEDERSEN (eds.), Black Imagination and the Middle Passage, New York - Oxford 1999, pp. 21-32. EQUIANO, O. 1789 The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself, London 1789. FERJAOUI, A. 2007 Le sanctuaire de Henchir el-Hami. De Ba‘al Hammon au Saturne Africain, Ier s. av. J.-C. - IVe ap. J.-C., Tunis 2007. FRANCES, D. 2003 Cemeteries as Cultural Landscapes: Mortality: Promoting the Interdisciplinary Study of Death and Dying 8/2 (2003), pp. 222-227. FREUD, S. 2011 L’interpretazione dei sogni, edizione integrale (traduzione E. Fachinelli - H. Trettl), Torino 2011. GARNAND, B. 2002 From Infant Sacrifice to the ABCs: Ancient Phoenicians and Modern Identities: Stanford Journal of Archaeology, 1 (2002), pp. 4-14 (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/archaeology/journal/newdraft/garnand/paper.html). GINSBERG, A. 1986 Howl: Original Draft Facsimile, Transcript & Variant Versions, Fully Annotated by Author, with Contemporary Correspondence, Account of First Public Reading, Legal Skirmishes, Precursor Texts & Bibliography, New York 1986.

149 Alessandro Campus VO

HELAS, S. - MARZOLI, D. 2009 Vorwort/Prefazione: S. HELAS - D. MARZOLI (Hrsg.), Phönizisches und punisches Städtewesen. Akten der internationalen Tagung in Rom vom 21. bis 23. Februar 2007, Mainz a Rhein 2009, pp. 11-18. HUNT, N. 2007 Equiano, Olaudah (c. 1745-1797): P. HINKS - J. MCKIVIGAN (eds.), Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition, Westport - London 2007, pp. 244-246. LUCY, S. 2005 The Archaeology of Age: M. DÍAZ-ANDREU (ed.), Archaeology of Identity: Approaches to Gender, Age, Status, Ethnicity and Religion, London - New York 2005, pp. 43-66. MOSCATI, S. 1986 Una nuova stele di Mozia: Rivista di Studi Fenici 14 (1986), pp. 91-93. 1987 Il sacrificio punico dei fanciulli: realtà o invenzione? (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Quaderno 261), Roma 1987. 1988 Fenicio o punico o cartaginese: Rivista di Studi Fenici 16 (1988), pp. 3-13. MOSCATI, S. - UBERTI, M.L. 1981 Scavi a Mozia - le stele, Roma 1981. NIGRO, L. 2009 Il Tempio del Kothon e il ruolo delle aree sacre nello sviluppo urbano di Mozia dal’’VIII al VI sec. a.C.: S. HELAS - D. MARZOLI (Hrsg.), Phönizisches und punisches Städtewesen. Akten der internationalen Tagung in Rom vom 21. bis 23. Februar 2007, Mainz a.Rh. 2009, pp. 241-270. PERETZ, P. 2004 « Diasporas », un concept et une réalité devant inspirer le soupçon ?: Hypothèse 1 (2004), pp. 137-146. PIERCE, Y. 2007 Redeeming Bondage: The Captivity Narrative and the Spiritual Autobiography in the African American Slave Narrative Tradition: A. FISH (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative, Cambridge 2007, pp. 83-98. QUINN, J.C. 2011 The Cultures of the Tophet: Identification and Identity in the Phoenician Diaspora: E.S. GRUEN (ed.), Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean, Los Angeles 2011, pp. 388- 413. RASKIN, J. 2004 American Scream: Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation, Berkeley - Los Angeles - London 2004. REDIKER, M. - PYBUS, C. - CHRISTOPHER, E. 2007 Introduction: M. REDIKER - C. PYBUS - E. CHRISTOPHER (eds.), Many Middle Passages: Forced Migration and the Making of the Modern World, Berkeley - Los Angeles - London 2007, pp. 1-19. RIBICHINI, S. 1987 Il tofet e il sacrificio dei fanciulli, Sassari 1987. 1999-2000 Sacrum magnum nocturnum. Note comparative sul molchomor nelle stele di N’Gaous: Aula Orientalis 17-18 (1999-2000) = M. MOLINA - I. MÁRQUEZ ROWE - J. SANMARTÍN (edd.), Arbor scientiae. Estudios del Próximo Oriente Antiguo dedicados a Gregorio del Olmo Lete con ocasión de su 65 aniversario, pp. 353-362. 2000 La questione del tofet punico: S. VERGER (ed.), Rites et espace en pays celte et méditerranéen. Étude comparée à partir du village d’Acy-Romance (Ardennes/France). Actes du Colloque international (Rome, 18-19 avril 1997), Rome 2000, pp. 293-304.

150 XVII (2013) Costruire memoria e tradizione: il tofet

2013 Histoires de Moloch, le roi effroyable: À.A. NAGY - F. PRESCENDI (éds.), Sacrifices humains. Dossiers, discours, comparaisons. Actes du colloque tenu à l’Université de Genève, 19-20 mai 2011, Turnhout 2013, pp. 209-230. RUIZ CABRERO, L.A. 2007 El sacrificio molk entre los Fenicios-púnicos: cuestiones demográficas y ecológicas, Madrid 2007. 2008 Dedicantes en los tofet: la sociedad fenicia en el Mediterráneo: Gerión, 26/1 (2008), pp. 89-148. SIDERI, E. 2008 The Diaspora of the Term Diaspora: A Working-Paper of a Definition: Transtext(e)s transcultures 4 (2008), pp. 32-47. SLOANE, D.C. 1991 The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History, Baltimore 1991. SMITH, V. 1798 A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America. Related by Himself, New London 1798. SPANÒ GIAMMELLARO, A. 2000 Scavi nella “zona K” di Mozia. L’ottava campagna di scavo (Maggio-Luglio 1994): i materiali: M.E. AUBET, M. BARTHÉLEMY (eds.), Actas del IV Congreso Internacional de Estudios fenicios y púnicos (Cádiz, 2 al 6 de Octubre de 1995), Cádiz 2000, III, pp. 1377- 1395. STAUFFER, J. 2007 Frederick Douglass’s Self-Fashioning and the Making of a Representative American Man: A. FISH (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative, Cambridge 2007, pp. 201-217. TABORELLI, L. 1992 L’area sacra di Ras Almunfakh presso Sabratha. Le stele, (Rivista di Studi Fenici XX supplementum 2), Roma 1992. UBERTI, M.L. 1973 Note sulle stele: A. CIASCA - V. TUSA - M.L. UBERTI, Mozia - VIII. Rapporto preliminare della Missione congiunta con la Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Sicilia Occidentale (Pubblicazioni del Centro di Studio per la Civiltà Fenicia e Punica 14; Studi Semitici 45), Roma 1973, pp. 85-91. 2003 Iconismo e scrittura: P. DONATI GIACOMINI - M.L. UBERTI (a cura di), Fra Cartagine e Roma, II. Secondo Seminario di studi italo-tunisini, Faenza 2003, pp. 5-27. WARNER, W.L. 1959 The Living and the Dead: A Study of the Symbolic Life of Americans, New Haven 1959. WOODS, R. 2007 Ancient and Early Modern Mortality: Experience and Understanding: The Economic History Review 60/2 (2007), pp. 373-399. WOOLF, G. 1996 Monumental Writing and the Expansion of Roman Society in the Early Empire: Journal of Roman Studies 86 (1996), pp. 22-39. 2009 Literacy or Literacies in Rome?: W.A. JOHNSON - H.N. PARKER (eds.), Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, Cambridge 2009, pp. 46-68. YELVINGTON, K.A. 2005 African Diasporas in the Americas: M. EMBER - C.R. EMBER - I. SKOGGARD (eds.), Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Immigrant and Refugee Cultures in the World, New York 2005, I, pp. 24-35.

151 Alessandro Campus VO

XELLA, P. 2010 Per un “modello interpretativo” del tofet: il tofet come necropoli infantile?: G. BARTOLONI - P. MATTHIAE - L. NIGRO - L. ROMANO (a cura di), Tiro, Cartagine, Lixus: nuove acquisizioni. Atti del Convegno Internazionale in onore di Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo (Roma, 24-25 novembre 2008), (Quaderni di Vicino Oriente IV), Roma 2010, pp. 259- 278. 2012 Il tophet. Un’interpretazione generale: S. ANGIOLILLO - M. GIUMAN - C. PILO (a cura di), Meixis. Dinamiche di stratificazione culturale nella periferia greca e romana. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi “Il sacro e il profano” (Cagliari, Cittadella dei Musei 3-7 maggio 2011), Roma 2012, pp. 1-17.

152 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 153-164]

DEMETRA A MOZIA: EVIDENZE DALL’AREA SACRA DEL KOTHON NEL V SECOLO A.C.

Federica Spagnoli - Sapienza Università di Roma

During the seasons of excavation 2010-2011 carried out by «La Sapienza» Expedition to Motya, several pits were identified near the southern corner of the Kothon. Two of them have been used for cult activities during the 5th century BC, as attested to by botanical and faunal samples, votive offerings and sacred tools found inside them. Such evidence suggests that a chthonic cult devoted to a divine couple connected to underground water, to the fertility and to the cycles of nature was performed in the sacred area of the Kothon (Nigro 2012a). The main god has been identified with Baal ‘Addir (Poseidon) and his companion can be now identified with Demetra, assimilated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte.

Keywords: Mozia; Astarte; Demetra; culto ctonio; sincretismo

1. INTRODUZIONE Gli scavi della Missione archeologica a Mozia dell’Università di Roma «La Sapienza», condotti nel settore sud-occidentale dell’area sacra del Kothon tra il 2010 e il 20111, hanno rivelato l’esistenza di sei pozzi posti a breve distanza gli uni dagli altri, scavati nel banco di marna argillosa regolarizzato al momento dell’insediamento della prima colonia fenicia2. Alcuni di questi pozzi3 furono in uso fino alla metà del VI secolo a.C.4, allorché l’area conobbe una risistemazione architettonica seguita alla distruzione che investì tutta l’antica città5, due, invece, denominati P.2927 e P.1660, continuarono ad essere utilizzati ed hanno restituito evidenze archeologiche relative a un loro utilizzo cultuale almeno tra il 470 e il 397/6 a.C.6. L’analisi dei rinvenimenti effettuati in queste due installazioni sacre, sia quelli direttamente riferibili al rito che le offerte votive, offre alcuni spunti di riflessione sulla natura del culto che vi veniva officiato e sulla sua attribuzione.

1 Desidero ringraziare sentitamente il Professor Lorenzo Nigro, Direttore della Missione archeologica a Mozia, per la fiducia accordatami nell’affidarmi lo studio dei materiali illustrati nel presente contributo, per le indicazioni e i suoi preziosi suggerimenti. Un ringraziamento va anche ai colleghi Pierfrancesco Vecchio e Adriano Orsingher, responsabili di scavo dell’area C Sud-Ovest negli anni cui fa riferimento il presente lavoro. Infine, ringrazio il Professor Francesco Guizzi per i consigli e le puntuali osservazioni. 2 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, passim; Nigro 2012b, 207-208; Nigro in questo volume 3 Si tratta dei pozzi denominati rispettivamente P.2351, P.2370, P.1673 e Well 3. Il pozzo P.2351 era stato già riconosciuto e denominato Well 1 dalla missione inglese diretta da B.S.J. Isserlin, insieme al Well 2, localizzato più a sud. Il pozzo P.2351 rimase in uso anche nella Fase 5 (550-470 a.C.). Il Well 3, individuato più a sud, verso la costa, fu obliterato dalla costruzione della mura alla metà del IV secolo a.C.; un altro pozzo, denominato Well 4, è attribuibile al periodo successivo. Si veda da ultimo Nigro - Lisella 2004, 80-82, figg. 5, 9-10. 4 Nigro 2010c, 8-10. 5 Nigro 2013a, tab. 1. 6 Tale range cronologico rappresenta la Fase 4 della periodizzazione generale dell’area del Kothon (Nigro [a cura di] 2005, 48-59).

Federica Spagnoli VO

2. I POZZI SACRI P.2927 E P.1660: STRATIGRAFIA E RINVENIMENTI I pozzi P.2927 e P.1660 sorgono a poche decine di metri a sud dell’angolo meridionale del Kothon e furono in uso già nelle prime fasi di occupazione fenicia dell’area nei periodi Mozia IV e V7. La stratigrafia del taglio, la quota dell’imboccatura dei pozzi, e il rinvenimento al loro interno di ceramiche ascrivibili ai Periodi IV e V8, testimoniano che furono scavati e utilizzati dalla fine dell’VIII secolo a.C.9. Il pozzo P.2927 presenta anche nella Fase 4 un’imboccatura circolare costituita da piccole pietre calcaree irregolari; esso fu in utilizzato fino alla fine del V secolo a.C., quando fu chiuso ritualmente. Quest’ultima azione rituale è testimoniata dalle offerte relative al rito di obliterazione, rinvenute immediatamente sotto al tappo, costituito da terra argillosa mista a pietrame. Nello strato superiore del riempimento del pozzo erano un blocchetto a gola egizia e un versatoio ricavato dal collo di una lekythos associato a un fondo di skyphos, anch’esso ritagliato, utilizzato come vassoio10. Al di sotto erano le altre offerte: un’arula in terracotta spezzata, un frammento di louterion11, e vasi, principalmente coppe e skyphoi, a vernice nera e acromi, alcuni dei quali ritagliati per essere utilizzati nel rito12. Le anfore rappresentano la classe ceramica più cospicua: sono state individuate numerose anfore greche e puniche; queste preservavano sulla superficie esterna il residuo del vino aromatizzato originariamente in esse contenuto, che venne poi versato ritualmente nel pozzo e utilizzato per la libagione rituale13. Tra le offerte erano anche una ventina di ciottoli sferici e oblunghi, a coppie uno bianco e uno nero14, un frammento di macina in basalto15, ossa animali, specialmente crani e stinchi16, una conchiglia, un astragalo, semi, mandorle e frammenti lignei17. Tutti gli oggetti deposti presentavano evidenti tracce di combustione ed erano frammisti a carboncini. Il pozzo P.1660, localizzato circa un metro a est del precedente, già in uso almeno dalla fine dell’VIII secolo a.C.18, venne utilizzato, dopo la metà del VI secolo a.C., per scopi rituali, fino a che non fu chiuso e obliterato alla fine del V secolo a.C. L’imboccatura quadrata, con gli angoli orientati secondo i punti cardinali, è stata realizzata nel corso della

7 Nigro 2010c, 8, fig. 5; Nigro in questo volume 8 I Periodi IV e V della scansione cronologica generale di Mozia corrispondono alle Fasi 9-7 della periodizzazione dell’Area del Kothon, che coprono un arco cronologico di circa due secoli, dal 770 al 550 a.C. (Nigro 2013b). 9 Si veda nota 18. 10 Rispettivamente MC.11.4514/2 e MC.11.4514/1 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 38, figg. 6-7, 16-17, tav. I). 11 Il blocchetto di calcarenite lavorato a gola egizia (MC.11.RA.XX), l’arula (MC.11.117) e il louterion (MC.11.4514/3) potrebbero essere appartenuti a un sacello nelle vicinanze connesso al culto (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 35, figg. 5, 12, 15, tav. III). 12 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 40-41, tav. I. 13 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 44-48, 50. 14 Ad esempio MC.11.108 e MC.11.109 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, fig. 8). 15 MC.11.118 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, fig. 9). 16 Alhaique 2012, 49, fig. 30. 17 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 35, figg. 10-11. 18 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 34-35, 51, figg. 3-4, 32-33. Nel pozzo P.1660 sono stati rinvenuti un frammento di kotyle corinzia (MC.11.4512/10: Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 55, fig. 36), di ceramica punica dipinta (MC.11.4512/12, MC.11.4512/13) e di diverse pignatte e teglie d’impasto (MC.11.4512/23, MC.11.4512/24).

154 XVII (2013) Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C.

Fase 5 (550-470 a.C.) utilizzando quattro blocchi in calcarenite19. Le offerte rituali rinvenute nel riempimento, a una profondità di circa 1 metro sotto al tappo di pietre e scheggioni calcarei, includevano una pietra pomice lavorata, un oscillum, un chiavistello di ferro, due astragali di bovino20, una falange di caprovino, tre frammenti di carapace e piastrone di testuggine21. La ceramica include due lucerne, una bolsal, il fondo ritagliato recante due lettere graffite (la dedica alla divinità) di una coppa a figure rosse22, e alcuni vasi da mensa, soprattutto skyphoi e fondi di coppe ritagliate23.

3. AZIONI RITUALI E OFFERTE VOTIVE: I MODI E GLI OGGETTI DEL RITO Le offerte e gli oggetti deposti al momento della obliterazione dei pozzi P.2927 e P.1660 mostrano nei due contesti significative analogie (tab. 1): in entrambi i pozzi furono svolti rituali di libagione e di aspersione di acqua e vino24, testimoniati dalla presenza di coppie di bicchieri o skyphoi; il liquido veniva libato attraverso colli di vasi ritagliati e utilizzati come versatoi. In particolare, tale funzione era svolta da due colli di lekythoi appositamente tagliati e posti a guisa di mundus. Il rituale prevedeva anche la cottura di carne e cereali, come testimoniano i materiali carboniosi del riempimento, misti a frammenti di ceramica da cucina e da preparazione25. Gli animali impiegati erano principalmente suini e ovicaprini, i primi molto giovani26, i secondi di età differenti. L’atto sacrificale aveva luogo a breve distanza dai pozzi, probabilmente su una piattaforma27, laddove avveniva la macellazione e l’eviscerazione dell’animale. Le parti grasse e quelle meno nobili venivano offerte bruciandole, come testimoniano le deposizioni di parti craniali e di stinchi. Il rituale prevedeva, inoltre, l’offerta di semi e frutta secca non combusti, tradizionalmente posti entro coppette o su fondi di vasi ritagliati utilizzati come vassoi28. Tra la ceramica greca e punica utilizzata per il culto29, è possibile distinguere coppie di forme gemelle (bicchieri e brocche), accomunate dal tipo o dalle dimensioni e, evidentemente, dalla funzione rituale (libagione in coppia)30. Gli oggetti offerti nel rituale di obliterazione sono vari: oggetti in pietra, in metallo e in ceramica, conchiglie, un carapace e piastrone di testuggine e ossa lavorate (astragali),

19 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 51, figg. 51-52. 20 Questi oggetti sono denominati rispettivamente MC.11.48, MC.11.82, MC.11.73, MC.11.87, MC.11.88 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 51, tav. IV). 21 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 57, fig. 39. 22 Come la coppa MC.11.4512/2 deposta nel pozzo P.1660 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 53, fig. 35). 23 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 53-56, tav. V. 24 Come mostrano le numerose anfore vinarie rinvenute (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 44-48, tav. II). 25 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 41, tavv. I, III; 53-55, fig. 37, tav. IV. 26 I maialini non superano l’anno di età (Alhaique 2012, 49). 27 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 8. 28 Come il fondo ritagliato dello skyphos a figure rosse (MC.11.4514/1) rinvenuto in associazione al collo della lekythos in vernice rossa (MC.11.4514/2) nel pozzo P.2927 (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 38-40). 29 Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 38-48, 53-56, tavv. I-III, V-VI. 30 Ad esempio una coppia di skyphoi dello stesso tipo nel pozzo P.2927 (MC.11.4514/18 e MC.11.4514/30) o la coppia di brocchette nel pozzo P.1660 (MC.11.4512/16 e MC.11.4512/20). Per casi analoghi in altri contesti cultuali dell’Italia meridionale si veda, a titolo esemplificativo, Fabbri - Osanna 2005, 220-221.

155 Federica Spagnoli VO bolsal e lucerne a vernice nera, e fondi di vasi figurati appositamente ritagliati per essere utilizzati come coppelle o vassoi (tab. 2). Le offerte sono riconducibili ad un ambito cultuale di tipo ctonio: oggetti in pietra, la cui natura vulcanica (pomice e basalto) costituisce in sé un richiamo al mondo infero; oggetti di ferro, metallo anch’esso riferito alla sfera ctonia; semi, frutti della terra, conchiglie, che costituiscono il collegamento con il mondo marino. Il rito si svolgeva a contatto diretto con la terra e con l’acqua che affiorava dal pozzo, e prevedeva contemporaneamente l’uso di liquidi e del fuoco. Se, infatti, da un lato è attestata la libagione verso il mondo infero, effettuata tramite un mundus direttamente nel pozzo, che raggiungeva la falda delle acque sotterranee, dall’altro lato le tracce di bruciato riscontrate su molti degli oggetti e delle ossa rinvenute attestano l’esecuzione di una thysia, un tipo di pratica in cui l’offerta, sia che si tratti di un animale o di un vegetale, sia di un oggetto inanimato, viene bruciato o consumato per combustione. Dall’analisi della ceramica non sembra che il pasto che seguiva il sacrificio animale31 venisse consumato nello stesso luogo dove questo si era svolto32. Non era presente, infatti, un numero di vasi da mensa e da fuoco tale da testimoniare un pasto collettivo e, tra la ceramica utilizzata per il rituale, non sono stati rinvenuti altri vasi se non quelli, a coppie, di cui si è detto in precedenza, collegabili più che altro alla libagione.

AZIONI RITUALI INDICATORI P.2927 P.1660 LIBAGIONE/ASPERSIONE Imbuto (collo di lekythos ritagliato) Imbuti e vasi potori DI VINO, ACQUA, ALTRO e vasi potori Mortai Mortai [Anfore vinarie e brocche] [Anfore vinarie e brocche] COMBUSTIONE Carboni Carboni DI INCENSI E PARTI ANIMALI Vasi da fuoco Vasi da fuoco (ESCHARA) OFFERTA ALIMENTARE Vassoi ritagliati Vassoi ritagliati (TERRA/MARE) Bue, maiali, ovicaprini Ovicaprini Molluschi OFFERTA DI SEMI Fondi ritagliati Fondi ritagliati Semi Semi Mandorla

Tab. 1 - Tabella sinottica con gli indicatori delle azioni rituali svolte nella cerimonia di obliterazione dei pozzi P. 2927 e P.1660.

31 Oltre alla carne, il pasto prevedeva probabilmente il consumo di cereali bolliti (Mastronuzzi 2008, 144-146). 32 La presenza di un fondo di un mortaio, o uno scodellone, ritagliato utilizzabile come vassoio (MC.11.4514/22) è legata probabilmente al rituale della presentazione dell’offerta che segue il sacrificio. Successivamente, le parti destinate alla divinità venivano depositate insieme agli altri oggetti, mentre il pasto veniva consumato altrove (Greco 2008, 45). Nei pasti rituali comuni, infatti, la prassi prevedeva che le stoviglie e gli utensili fossero lasciati nel tempio perché appartenenti anch’essi alla divinità, come attestato anche in contesti coevi analoghi sia della Sicilia che dell’Italia meridionale (Osanna - Giammatteo 2001, 109- 113; Osanna 2003, 261; Bailo Modesti et al. 2005, 47).

156 XVII (2013) Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C.

OFFERTE RITUALI P.2927 P.1660 CERAMICA Skyphos attico ritagliato (vassoio) Coppa a figure rosse ritagliata (vassoio) Coppie di vasi da mensa e preparazione Coppie di vasi da mensa e preparazione Lucerna Bolsal, lucerna OGGETTI IN PIETRA Ciottoli (20) bianchi/neri Pomice lavorata OGGETTI IN CERAMICA - Oscillum OGGETTI IN METALLO - Chiavistello di ferro OSSA LAVORATE Astragalo sx (bovino) Astragali E CONCHIGLIE Astragalo sx (ovino) Carapace e piastrone di testuggine Conchiglia (Glycimeris)

Tab. 2 - Schema delle offerte votive dai pozzi P. 2927 e P.1660.

4. UN CULTO DEDICATO A UNA COPPIA DIVINA L’analisi del contesto entro cui si svolse il rituale per l’obliterazione dei pozzi P.2927 e P.1660 suggerisce alcune indicazioni sulla natura della divinità, o delle divinità, cui il culto era tributato. La dualità del rito, testimoniata ad esempio nell’uso sia di acqua (libagione) sia di fuoco (thysia), può essere ricondotta a una coppia divina. La natura delle offerte rinvenute, inoltre, sembrerebbe richiamare la presenza di due opposti, rappresentati di coppie di ciottoli sferici bianchi e neri33, recuperati all’interno del riempimento del pozzo P.2927. Questa diade potrebbe essere costituita da una divinità maschile e una femminile. L’elemento maschile è da riconoscersi, con ogni probabilità, in Baal ‘Addir/Poseidon34, come attestato da una iscrizione rinvenuta in prossimità dell’area dei pozzi35; il collegamento al mondo infero e alle acque sotterranee è rappresentato dagli oggetti in metallo e da quelli in pietra e dalle conchiglie. Il riferimento all’universo femminile può essere testimoniato dall’oscillum di terracotta, dagli astragali, dalla bolsal e dalle lucerne36. Riguardo all’identificazione della divinità maschile con Baal ‘Addir/Poseidon, va sottolineato come la presenza di conchiglie, ma soprattutto l’offerta del vino, per la quale si

33 Una suggestiva ipotesi circa l’interpretazione della presenza di ciottoli di colore diverso, chiaro e scuro o bianco e nero ci è suggerita ancora una volta dalle fonti greche: Pausania narra dell’esistenza a Figalia, presso il Monte Elaios in Arcadia, di un culto in grotta dedicato a Demetra Melaine (Nera), così chiamata per il colore della veste della statua lignea della dea: Pausania, VIII 42, 4 (Pausania, Guida della Grecia, Libro VIII, testo e traduzione a cura di M. Moggi, commento a cura di M. Moggi e M. Osanna, Milano 2003, 488 per il solo § 4 (con rinvio a Sfameni Gasparro 1986, 326), 487-490 per tutto il cap.42). 34 Baal ‘Addir, attestato a Biblo nel VI secolo a.C. con l’epiteto “Signore Potente”, ricopre nel pantheon fenicio il ruolo di divinità ctonia e agraria. In epoca tarda, soprattutto in Nord Africa, è assimilato a Baal Hammon, il quale, proprio come Baal ‘Addir, è riconducibile al Baal siriano, figlio di Dagan, signore della vita e della fertilità, della terra e dalla vegetazione, della tempesta e della pioggia, delle acque infere e delle acque marine (Lipińsky 1992, 55-56, 126). 35 Si tratta del frammento di aryballos laconico MC.10.2951/1 rinvenuto nella favissa F.2950 (vedi infra nota 47), che reca un’iscrizione dedicatoria in greco a Belos, il Baal fenicio (Guizzi 2012, 13-15, figg. 1-2; Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 32). 36 Il prevalente genere femminile dei destinatari di questo tipo di forme ceramiche, in particolare le lucerne, è testimoniato, nell’Età del Ferro, anche in contesti della madrepatria, ad esempio a Sarepta (Anderson 1988, passim).

157 Federica Spagnoli VO rimanda alla nota formula omerica37, ben si adattino alla figura divina titolare del tempio maggiore dell’area sacra38, proprio per la loro afferenza all’ambito marino e alla navigazione39. Il profilo che viene delineandosi per la figura divina femminile, invece, è compatibile con quello di Astarte, la paredra di Baal, cui era dedicato un tempietto a nord dell’edificio maggiore, nel suo aspetto ctonio, come divinità legata alla fecondità, alla rinascita e ai cicli vitali dell’uomo e della natura40. Esso, peraltro, sembra essere anche più direttamente riferibile, sia nei caratteri generali, sia nei rituali attestati dalle offerte (il sacrificio della testuggine, l’offerta di maialini), alla figura di Demetra. A un culto tipicamente demetriaco possono, infatti, essere ricondotti i semi rinvenuti nelle coppette e nei fondi ritagliati, la mandorla e le lucerne41. La testuggine è anch’essa un’offerta tradizionalmente associata alla dea, specie in ambito ionico ed etrusco42, sebbene non sia in realtà estraneo alla cultura fenicia, come testimoniano alcune rappresentazioni su sigilli rinvenuti a Tharros43. Uno di questi sigilli, oltre alla scena di sacrificio di testuggine, raffigura anche una grande conchiglia44, elemento che richiama la simbologia associata a Poseidon45. Nell’area sacra del Kothon, dunque, l’originaria coppia Baal ‘Addir/Astarte, titolare dei templi maggiori del complesso sacro sin dall’VIII secolo a.C., in particolare nelle fasi più arcaiche46, nel corso del V secolo a.C.47 viene progressivamente assimilata alla coppia

37 oἶνοψ πόντος (ad es. Odissea I 183, VI 179); sul legame tra l’elemento marino e i rituali iniziatici e misterici, riconducibili principalmente alla sfera dionisiaca, D’Agostino 1999, 115-117. 38 Nigro 2010a, 22; Nigro 2012a, 294-301. 39 Bailo Modesti et al. 2005, 39. 40 Sul culto di Astarte a Mozia e in generale sui culti femminili nella Sicilia Occidentale, si vedano Amadasi Guzzo 1981; Nigro 2010d; Spatafora 2010. 41 Torelli 1999, 685-686; Lippolis 2006, 137 segg. 42 Bonamici 2005, 5. 43 Acquaro 1976, tav. XXIV; Acquaro 1984, 76-80, 84, fig. 101. 44 Si tratta di una Charonia Tritonis Nodifera, uno degli attributi di Tritone/Dagon, il figlio di Baal ‘Addir/Poseidon; un esemplare proviene dalla “Casa del corno di conchiglia” (Zona D) così chiamata proprio per questo particolare rinvenimento (Nigro 2012b, 210). 45 Nigro 2010b, 41-43. 46 Fasi 9-7, corrispondenti ai Periodi IV e V. Il culto della coppia divina Baal ‘Addir/Astarte è attestato, oltre che nel Tempio C5, edificio maggiore dell’area sacra nei Periodi IV e V, anche in un’altra istallazione sacra, la favissa F.2950, posta a sud-ovest del Tempio, a ridosso dell’area occupata prima dall’Edificio C8 e poi dal Quartiere di Porta Sud. Nella Favissa F.2950 le offerte votive accumulate a seguito di azioni rituali reiterate nel corso di più di due secoli, e le testimonianze del rito effettuato in occasione della chiusura e della obliterazione della favissa, avvenuta alla metà del VI secolo a.C., attestano l’antichità del culto tributato a questa coppia nell’area sacra. Tra le offerte rituali, specialmente quelle relative all’utilizzo finale dell’installazione, numerosi sono i semeia riferibili a Baal ‘Addir: oltre all’aryballos con iscrizione dedicatoria a Belos (vedi supra nota 35), altri elemento che riconducono a Baal ‘Addir nel suo aspetto infero e legato alle acque marine, sono uno scarabeo in Egyptian Blue (Melandri 2012, 16-18, fig. 1), un rocchetto da rete (MC.10.262), un lisciatoio in pietra (MC.10.183) e, probabilmente, anche un’anfora in serpentite verde rinvenuta dagli archeologi inglesi nella stessa area. Anche il tipo di rituali attestati, cioè la libagione effettuata con il vino versato direttamente nell’acqua affiorante dal fondo della favissa attraverso un versatoio (costituito da un collo di anfora ritagliato, MC.10.2951/37) costituisce un ulteriore riferimento alla divinità maschile. Richiamano invece a un culto dedicato ad Astarte, come divinità di rinascita legata ai cicli della natura e della vita, lo svolgimento di una thysia, il pasto collettivo con carne, cereali e molluschi, di cui rimangono nella

158 XVII (2013) Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C.

Poseidon/Demetra, pienamente inserita nella koiné siceliota dell’epoca48, specie per quanto riguarda la figura femminile, ma, in realtà, risalente ad antichissime tradizioni greche Alcuni rinvenimenti effettuati in prossimità dei due pozzi confermano ulteriormente la sovrapposizione del culto di Demetra a quello di Astarte: una terracotta frammentaria in cui è rappresentata una mano (di divinità femminile in trono) che reca un melograno49, chiaro riferimento alla dea Malophoros50; la matrice fittile di una protome femminile con polos rinvenuta nel Sacello C751, per la quale si richiama a un confronto con una protome proveniente da Selinunte databile agli ultimi decenni del VI secolo a.C.52. Dall’area sacra provengono, inoltre, numerose forme per focacce o per pani53 (i pani e i dolci della dea che si offrivano tradizionalmente) e delle testine femminili miniaturistiche54. Dagli scavi inglesi nella stessa regione dell’isola provengono oggetti che riconducono all’ambito demetriaco: una protome fittile femminile, delle coppette a vernice nera, alcune delle quali con lettere incise sul fondo, un piatto da pesce con il fondo appositamente forato55.

5. CONCLUSIONI. IL CULTO DI DEMETRA A MOZIA: UN CASO DI INTERPRETATIO PUNICA? Nell’area sacra del Kothon il culto di Baal ‘Addir e di Astarte è attestato fin dalle fasi più antiche: è presente nel Tempio C5, C1 e C256, e nel Tempietto di Astarte (Edificio C6, C4)57. Nei rituali finora descritti, relativi all’obliterazione dei pozzi, le divinità appaiono adorate come coppia divina; in questa associazione sembra prevalere il carattere infero e ctonio di entrambe (l’uno legato alle acque sotterranee, l’altra alla terra) su tutte le altre

favissa tracce consistenti (ceramica da mensa e resti del pasto), i tipi e le età degli animali sacrificati (alcuni molto giovani, “primizie delle greggi”) e la scelta del periodo autunnale per lo svolgimento del rituale (Nigro - Spagnoli 2012, 8-11, 32). 47 Fasi 5-4, Periodi VI e VII (Nigro 2013a, tab. 1). 48 Ampolo 2012, 25 segg. 49 MC.08.210. Si tratta probabilmente della mano di una divinità femminile in trono. Per l’analisi stilistica e i confronti si rimanda allo studio sulle terrecotte figurate dagli scavi delle Campagne 2005-2008 nella Zona C di N. Chiarenza nel volume Mozia XIV di prossima pubblicazione. 50 “Colei che porta frutti” o “Colei che porta greggi”: Pausania I 44, 3. 51 MC.13.100. 52 Poma 2009, 246, n. 64. La matrice presenta alcuni elementi di derivazione ionica misti a tratti caratteristici della coroplastica siceliota, per cui si potrebbe avanzare l’ipotesi di un inquadramento cronologico entro la prima metà del V secolo a.C. Dalla Zona K proviene una protome con caratteristiche simili (Beer 2000, 1250- 1251, fig. 4). 53 Per quelle meglio conservate (MC.09.65; MC.10.40; MC.11.30) si rimanda, come confronto, a Famà 2009, 270, nn. 14-16. 54 MC.08.233, MC.09.250. 55 Isserlin 1971, tav. XXX:a-d. La testa femminile è riconducibile a una tipologia di ex voto molto frequente a Mozia e nei santuari magno-greci dedicati a Demetra e Kore dalla fine del VI secolo a.C. (Amadasi Guzzo 1969, 53-54, tavv. LXVIII-LXIV). Coppette e vasi incisi sul fondo (di solito una X, una A o una alef) o con il fondo appositamente forato caratterizzano i luoghi di culto ctonii (Torelli 1978, 214; Greco 1999, 244) e sono molto frequenti tra le offerte votive del Tempio C1-C2 e del Santuario C3 (Nigro 2009b, 704-705, figg. 7, 12). 56 Anche le installazioni cultuali che erano nell’Adyton del Tempio C5 lasciano presupporre lo svolgimento di riti di fuoco e di libagione (Nigro 2010c, 25-26, fig. 25; Spagnoli 2013, 90-91). 57 Nigro 2010a, 19-23.

159 Federica Spagnoli VO prerogative, specie quelle astrali58. La divinità femminile sarebbe, dunque, una interpretatio demetriaca59 della figura di Astarte: alcune caratteristiche di questa dea fenicia poliedrica e ancestrale sarebbero trasferite tout court a Demetra ed elette a oggetto di un culto che attinge a ritualità e iconografie greche. All’interno di questo quadro si delinea, per il settore sud-occidentale dell’area sacra, il ruolo di mediazione religiosa e culturale: qui è probabile che avessero luogo formule di ritualità ctonia frutto del sincretismo religioso tra tradizioni diverse, elime in primis e, successivamente, siceliote e greche. D’altra parte questo era uno dei punti nevralgici dell’area sacra, presso il quale affioravano stagionalmente le acque dolci60, posto all’ingresso meridionale dell’isola e immediatamente accessibile a chi entrasse nello Stagnone da sud61. Esso si configura quindi come luogo di culto interreligioso, un luogo vocato a culti legati ai cicli naturali e riproduttivi, particolarmente permeabile alla contaminazione e all’assimilazione di tradizioni religiose differenti, e a realtà altre rispetto all’universo religioso fenicio. Le conseguenze di questi fenomeni non si limitano alla sfera religiosa, ma comportano anche implicazioni culturali e sociali: la cultualità ctonia, praticata esclusivamente dalle donne62, rappresenta, seppur nella modalità descritta dalla formula “cittadinanza latente” (una cittadinanza, cioè, di tipo cultuale)63, un valido veicolo di mediazione e integrazione delle componenti etniche indigene, siceliote e greco-coloniali che diventeranno, con un processo di graduale assimilazione e contaminazione in atto sin dalla fine dell’VIII secolo a.C. (Mozia V), gli elementi caratterizzanti della cultura moziese del V secolo a.C.

58 Il carattere astrale del culto di Baal e della sua paredra, officiato nel Tempio del Kothon, trova riscontro nel tipo di oggetti che erano nel tempio: davanti alla base di stele nella Navata Orientale, ad esempio, è stato rinvenuto, infisso nel pavimento, il puntatore di uno strumento per misurazioni astrali, forse un astrolabio, e i numerosi fori nello stesso pavimento indicano che ve ne dovevano essere degli altri. L’orientamento stesso della fabbrica sacra e la posizione degli arredi sacri (betili e stele) confermano come la componente astrale fosse alla base della concezione del culto stesso, tanto da influenzare l’orientamento della fabbrica sacra: le due triadi betiliche presenti nel tempio, una nella Navata Orientale e l’altra nella Corte Centrale, sono orientate secondo il sorgere della costellazione di Orione rispettivamente nell’equinozio di primavera (a 200°) e nel solstizio d’inverno (a 110°). I due allineamenti di betili, le triadi, appunto, corrispondono agli assi minore e maggiore dell’edificio, che quindi sembra essere stato concepito ab origine secondo tale orientamento (Nigro 2009a, 262-265; Nigro 2010a, 19-22, figg. 8-10; Nigro 2010d, 163). 59 Questo fenomeno non rappresenta certamente una novità nel panorama mediterraneo: un processo di assimilazione analogo avviene in ambito etrusco, laddove Vei, divinità con prerogative astrali e ctonie legate alla “forza vitale” e al mondo infero, assume, dal VI secolo a.C., le caratteristiche di Demetra/Cerere (Belelli 2012, 462-464). 60 Sulla valenza e la funzione dei santuari periferici o liminari si vedano: Veronese 2006, 56; Tantillo 2012 passim. 61 I luoghi di culto delle divinità ctonie sorgono di solito vicino al mare o in corrispondenza di corsi d’acqua (Veronese 2006, 542; Tantillo 2012, 641). 62 Sfameni Gasparro 1986, 195 segg. 63 Detienne - Vernant 1979, 187.

160 XVII (2013) Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

ACQUARO, E. 1976 Componenti etrusco-ioniche nella glittica tharrense: Rivista di Studi Fenici IV/2 (1976), pp. 167-170. 1984 Arte e cultura punica in Sardegna (Sardegna Archeologica, Studi e Monumenti 2), Sassari 1984. ALHAIQUE, F. 2012 Resti faunistici dal pozzo P.2927: L. NIGRO - F. SPAGNOLI, Alle sorgenti del Kothon. Il rito a Mozia nell’Area sacra di Baal ‘Addir - Poseidon. Lo scavo dei pozzi sacri nel Settore C Sud-Ovest (2006-2011) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica/CM 02), Roma 2012, p. 49. AMADASI GUZZO, M.G. 1969 Catalogo delle terrecotte: A. CIASCA ET ALII, Mozia - V. Rapporto preliminare della Missione congiunta con la Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Sicilia Occidentale (Studi Semitici 31), Roma 1969, pp. 53-104. 1981 Culti femminili a Mozia: Rivista di Studi Fenici 9 (1981), Supplementum, pp. 7-11. AMPOLO, C. 2012 Compresenza di ethne e culture diverse nella Sicilia Occidentale. Per una nuova prospettiva storica: F. BERLINZANI (a cura di), Convivenza etniche, scontri e contatti di culture in Sicilia e Magna Grecia (Aristonothos - Scritti per il Mediterraneo antico, NIC 07), Trento 2012, pp. 15-57. ANDERSON, W.P. 1988 Sarepta I. The Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age Strata of Area II, Y (Publications de l’Université Libanaise, section des Études Archéologiques, II), Beyrouth 1988. BAILO MODESTI ET ALII 2005 Le acque intorno agli dei: rituali e offerte votive nel santuario settentrionale di Pontecagnano: M. BONGHI JOVINO - F. CHIESA (a cura di), Offerte dal regno vegetale e dal regno animale nelle manifestazioni del sacro, Atti dell’Incontro di Studio. Milano 26-27 giugno 2003 (Tarchna Supplementum 1), Roma 2005, pp. 37-63. BEER, C. 2000 Two female terracotta protomai from Motya, Area K (campaign 1991): M.E. AUBET - M. BARTHÉLEMY (eds.), Actas del IV Congreso Internacional de Estudios Fenicios y Púnicos, Cádiz, 2 al 6 de Octubre de 1995, Cádiz 2000, pp. 1249-1254. BELELLI, V. 2012 Vei: nome, competenze e particolarità cultuali di una divinità etrusca: V. NIZZO - L. LA ROCCA (a cura di), Antropologia e archeologia a confronto: rappresentazioni e pratiche del sacro. Atti del secondo Incontro Internazionale di studi, Roma, Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini”, 20-21 maggio 2011 (Antropologia e archeologia a confronto 2), Roma 2012, pp. 455-475. BONAMICI, M. 2005 Appunti sulle pratiche cultuali nel santuario dell’acropoli volterrana: M. BONGHI JOVINO - F. CHIESA (a cura di), Offerte dal regno vegetale e dal regno animale nelle manifestazioni del sacro, Atti dell’Incontro di Studio. Milano 26-27 giugno 2003 (Tarchna Supplementum 1), Roma 2005, pp. 1-10. D’AGOSTINO, B. 1999 Oinops pontos. Il mare come alterità nella percezione arcaica: B. D’AGOSTINO - L. CERCHIAI (a cura di), Il mare, la morte, l’amore. Gli Etruschi, i Greci e l’immagine

161 Federica Spagnoli VO

(Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Antiquité T. 111, n. 1), Roma 1999, pp. 107- 117. DETIENNE, M. - VERNANT, J.-P. 1979 La cuisine du sacrifice en pays grec (Bibliothèques des Histoires), Paris 1979. DE VINCENZO, S. 2012 Tra Cartagine e Roma: I centri urbani dell’eparchia punica di Sicilia tra VI e I secolo a.C. (Topoi. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World), Berlin 2012. FABBRI, M. - OSANNA, M. 2005 Aspetti del sacro nel mondo apulo: rituali di abbandono tra area sacrae abitato nell’antica Ausculum: M.L. NAVA - M. OSANNA (a cura di), Lo spazio del rito. Santuari e culti in Italia meridionale tra Indigeni e Greci, Atti delle giornate di Studio (Matera, 28-29 giugno 2002) (Siris. Studi e ricerche della scuola di specializzazione in Archeologia di Matera, Supplementum 1), Bari 2005, pp. 215-233. FAMÀ, M.L. 2009 Arule, oggetti di uso domestico e oscilla figurati: M.L. FAMÀ (a cura di), Il Museo Regionale “A. Pepoli” di Trapani. Le collezioni archeologiche, Bari 2009, pp. 257-275. GRECO, G. 1999 Santuari extraurbani tra periferia cittadina e periferia indigena: AA.VV., La colonisation greque en Méditerranée Occidentale. Actes de la rencontre scientifique en hommage à Georges Vallet organiseé par le Centre Jean-Bérard, l’Ecole Française de Rome, l’Istituto Universitario Orientale et l’Università degli Studi di Napoli «Federico II», Rome-Naples, 15-18 novembre 1995 (Collection de l’Ecole Française de Rome 251), Rome 1999, pp. 231-247. 2008 Strutture per un sacrificio: G. GRECO - B. FERRARA (a cura di), Doni agli dei. Il sistema dei doni votivi nei santuari, Atti del Seminario di Studi (Napoli 21 aprile 2006), Pozzuoli 2008, pp. 29-48. GUIZZI, F. 2012 Graffito con dedica votiva su un aryballos dall’area sacra del Kothon a Mozia: L. NIGRO - F. SPAGNOLI, Alle sorgenti del Kothon. Il rito a Mozia nell’Area sacra di Baal ‘Addir - Poseidon. Lo scavo dei pozzi sacri nel Settore C Sud-Ovest (2006-2011) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica/CM 02), Roma 2012, pp. 13-15. ISSERLIN, B.S.J. 1971 New light on the “cothon” at Motya: Antiquity XLV (1971), pp. 178-186. LIPINSKY, E. 1992 Dictionnaire de la Civilisation Phénicienne et Punique, Paris 1992. LIPPOLIS, E. 2006 Mysteria: archeologia e culto del santuario di Demetra a Eleusi, Milano 2006. MASTRONUZZI, G. 2008 Il culto di Demetra in Messapia: C.A. DI STEFANO (a cura di), Demetra. La divinità, i santuari, il culto, la leggenda, Atti del I Convegno Internazionale (Enna, 1-4 luglio 2004), Pisa - Roma 2008, pp. 137-153. MELANDRI, I. 2012 Uno scarabeo in Egyptian Blue dalla favissa F.2950: L. NIGRO - F. SPAGNOLI, Alle sorgenti del Kothon. Il rito a Mozia nell’Area sacra di Baal ‘Addir - Poseidon. Lo scavo dei pozzi sacri nel Settore C Sud-Ovest (2006-2011) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio- Punica/CM 02), Roma 2012, pp. 16-19. NIGRO, L. 2009a Il Tempio del Kothon e il ruolo delle aree sacre nello sviluppo urbano di Mozia dall’VIII al IV secolo a.C.: S. HELAS - D. MARZOLI (Hrsg.), Phönizisch und punisches Städtewesen.

162 XVII (2013) Demetra a Mozia: evidenze dall’area sacra del Kothon nel V secolo a.C.

Akten der internationalen Tagung in Rom vom 21. bis 23. Februar 2007 (Iberia Archaeologica Band 13), Mainz am Rhein 2009, pp. 241-270. 2009b Offerte e depositi votivi nel Santuario C3 del Kothon di Mozia nel IV secolo a.C.: S. FORTUNELLI - C. MASSERIA (a cura di), Ceramica attica da santuari della Grecia, della Ionia e dell’Italia (Atti Convegno Internazionale Perugia 14-17 marzo 2007), Venosa 2009, pp. 703-719. 2010a L’orientamento astrale del Tempio del Kothon di Mozia: E. ANTONELLO (ed.), Il cielo e l’uomo: problemi e metodi di astronomia culturale. Atti del VII Convegno Nazionale della Società Italiana di Archeoastronomia. Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano. 28-29 settembre 2007, Roma 2010, pp. 15-24. 2010b Il corno di Tritone: Archeo 306 (Agosto 2010), pp. 38-43. 2010c Alle origini di Mozia: stratigrafia e ceramica del Tempio del Kothon dall’VIII al VI secolo a.C.: L. NIGRO (a cura di), Motya and the Phoenician Ceramic Repertoire between the Levant and the West, 9th-6th Century BC. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Rome, 26th February 2010 (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica V), Roma 2010, pp. 1-48. 2010d Il Sacello di Astarte e i culti femminili a Mozia: G. BARTOLONI - P. MATTHIAE - L. NIGRO - L. ROMANO (a cura di), Tiro, Cartagine, Lixus: nuove acquisizioni. Atti del Convegno Internazionale in onore di Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo, Roma 24-25 novembre 2008 (Quaderni di Vicino Oriente IV), Roma 2010, pp. 163-180. 2012a The Temple of the Kothon at Motya, Sicily: Phoenician Religious Architecture from the Levant to the West: M. GRUBER ET ALII (eds.), All the Wisdom of the East. Studies in Near Eastern Archaeology and History in Honor of Eliezer D. Oren (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 255), Friburg 2012, pp. 293-331. 2012b Scavi e restauri dell’Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ a Mozia, 2007-2009: il Tempio del Kothon, il Temenos Circolare, il Sacello di Astarte e il Tofet: C. AMPOLO (a cura di), Sicilia occidentale. Studi, rassegne, ricerche. Atti delle settime giornate internazionali di studi sull’area elima e la Sicilia occidentale nel contesto mediterraneo, Erice, 12-15 ottobre 2009. Workshop «G. Nenci» diretto da Carmine Ampolo, Vol. II (Seminari e Convegni 29), Pisa 2012, pp. 207-218. 2013a Il Tofet e la città. Il limite meridionale del Santuario e le strutture collegate negli scavi della Sapienza 2010-2011: Scienze dell’Antichità 19/1 (2013), pp. 35-51. 2013b Before the Greeks: the earliest Phoenician settlement in Motya - recent discoveries by Rome «La Sapienza» Expedition: Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 39-74. NIGRO, L. (a cura di) 2005 Mozia - XI. Il Tempio del Kothon. Rapporto preliminare delle campagne di scavi XXIII e XXIV (2003-2004) condotte congiuntamente con il Servizio Beni Archeologici della Soprintendenza Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Trapani (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica II), Roma 2005. NIGRO, L. - LISELLA, A.R. 2004 Il Quartiere di Porta Sud: L. NIGRO - G. ROSSONI (a cura di), «La Sapienza» a Mozia. Quarant’anni di ricerca archeologica, 1964-2004. Catalogo della mostra, Università di Roma «La Sapienza», Facoltà di Scienze Umanistiche, Museo dell’Arte Classica, 27 febbraio - 18 maggio 2004, Roma 2004, pp. 78-83. NIGRO, L. - SPAGNOLI, F. 2012 Alle sorgenti del Kothon. Il rito a Mozia nell’Area sacra di Baal ‘Addir - Poseidon. Lo scavo dei pozzi sacri nel Settore C Sud-Ovest (2006-2011) (Quaderni di Archeologia Fenicio-Punica/Colour Monograph 02), Roma 2012.

163 Federica Spagnoli VO

OSANNA, M. 2003 L’insediamento indigeno di Torre di Satriano (PZ): le nuove ricerche dell’Università degli Studi della Basilicata: Siris 3 (2003), pp. 233-268. OSANNA, M. - GIAMMATTEO, T. 2001 Azioni rituali e offerte votive: M.L. NAVA - M. OSANNA (a cura di), Rituali per una dea Lucana: il Santuario di Torre di Satriano. Catalogo della Mostra (Soprintendenza Archeologica della Basilicata, Consiglio Regionale di Basilicata), Potenza 2001, pp. 107- 122. POMA, L. 2009 Le terrecotte figurate arcaiche e classiche: M.L. FAMÀ (a cura di), Il Museo Regionale “A. Pepoli” di Trapani. Le collezioni archeologiche, Bari 2009, pp. 223-248. SFAMENI GASPARRO, G. 1986 Misteri e culti mistici di Demetra, Roma 1986. SPAGNOLI, F. 2013 Phoenician cities and water: the role of the sacred sources in to the urban development of Motya, Western Sicily: T. TVEDT - T. OESTIGAARD (eds.), A History of Water, Series 3, Vol. 1. From Jericho to Cities in the Seas: A History of Urbanization and Water Systems, London 2013, pp. 86-103. SPATAFORA, F. 2010 Attestazioni di culti femminili nei santuari della Sicilia Occidentle: E. ACQUARO - A. FILIPPI - S. MEDAS (a cura di), La devozione dei naviganti. Il culto di afrodite ericina nel Mediterraneo. Atti del convegno di Erice, 27-28 novembre 2009 (Biblioteca di Byrsa 7), Lugano 2010, pp. 137-152. TANTILLO, I. 2012 Alcune riflessioni sull’organizzazione spaziale dei santuari demetriaci periferici delle poleis siceliote in Età Arcaica: V. NIZZO - L. LA ROCCA (a cura di), Antropologia e archeologia a confronto: rappresentazioni e pratiche del sacro. Atti del secondo Incontro Internazionale di studi, Roma, Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini”, 20-21 maggio 2011 (Antropologia e archeologia a confronto 2), Roma 2012, pp. 641-652. TORELLI, M. 1978 La ceramica ionica in Etruria: il caso di Gravisca: AA.VV., Les Cèramiques de la Gréce de l’Est et leur diffusion en Occident. Centre Jean Bérard. Institut français de Naples, 6‐9 juillet 1976 (Colloques Internationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique n. 569, Sciences Humaines), Paris ‐ Naples 1978, pp. 213‐215. 1999 Santuari, offerte e sacrifici nella Magna Grecia della frontiera: G. PUGLIESE CARRATELLI - M. BATS (a cura di), Confini e frontiera nella Grecia d’Occidente. Atti del trentesimo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 3-6 ottobre 1997, Napoli 1999, pp. 685- 705. VERONESE, F. 2006 Lo spazio e la dimensione del sacro. Santuari greci e territorio nella Sicilia arcaica (Saggi di antichità e tradizione classica 24, nuova serie), Padova 2006.

164 [Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 165-173]

LO STILE ‘POETICO’ DELLE HISTORIOLAE ITTITE

Rita Francia - Sapienza Università di Roma

The language of Hittite Historiolae and magic spells sometimes displays a stylistic structure that can be defined as ‘poetic’. The style of these compositions is similar to that of ‘rhythmic prose’, according to the definition of E. Norden.

Keywords: historiolae; rituali magici; poesia; prosa ritmata; ittita

I rituali magici ritrovati nei depositi documentari di Ðattuša rappresentano una parte numericamente rilevante dell’intero corpus ittita, costituendo una testimonianza importante per la ricostruzione dell’aspetto culturale di questo popolo1. Lo studio dello stile del linguaggio dei rituali ittiti ha portato alla luce delle caratteristiche per noi inaspettate2. Già in lavori precedenti abbiamo posto l’attenzione sulle historiolae3 e abbiamo rilevato che alcune di esse e, probabilmente, anche alcuni scongiuri, presentano delle particolarità linguistiche e stilistiche tali da potersi definire ‘fuori dalla norma’, avendovi individuato un andamento cadenzato e ritmato; riteniamo che la definizione più adatta per definire lo stile di questo linguaggio sia ‘poetico’4. La complessità di queste composizioni non può essere frutto di improvvisazione o casualità: essa rivela l’esistenza di una tradizione ben fondata che, se da un lato affonda le sue radici nella cultura indoeuropea d’origine, dall’altro ha certamente subito gli influssi delle altre popolazioni, indoeuropee e non, con cui gli Ittiti si sono trovati ad avere a che fare, come i Pala, i Hatti, antichi abitanti dell’Anatolia, e i Hurriti, ma anche quelle di ambito mesopotamico e nord siriano con cui gli Ittiti ebbero stretti contatti. Il risultato è una poesia semplice, sia nella forma che nei contenuti, come si addice a componimenti di matrice popolare, con un andamento simile alle nostre filastrocche, con una ricchezza e una varietà di forme espressive tipiche dei testi destinati ad essere tramandati oralmente. Le historiolae, infatti, analogamente ai rituali in cui sono incardinate, sono il prodotto della cultura volgare dell’epoca: composte in ambito popolare per una fruizione popolare, il cui mezzo di trasmissione era l’oralità. Questi componimenti sono estremamente significativi, riguardo al contenuto, perché riflesso di un ambito culturale di cui non restano molte testimonianze,

1 Stando a HW2 Lief. 2 (1977), p. 85 i rituali rappresentano il 70% dell’intera documentazione. Per le sigle e le abbreviazioni usate rimandiamo a H. G. Güterbock - H. A. Hoffner, The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. L-N (Chicago 1989), pp. XV-XXVIII. 2 Il presente contributo è parte di uno studio più ampio che stiamo conducendo sulle historiolae e sugli scongiuri nei rituali ittiti. 3 Definiamo le historiolae ittite narrazioni brevi di argomento non necessariamente mitologico, ambientate in un tempo passato o presente, i cui protagonisti sono esseri umani, divini, animali o piante, inserite in incantesimi il cui scopo è di fungere, esplicitamente o implicitamente, da paradigma per le azioni rituali di cui fanno parte. Per una definizione generale di historiola si veda Frankfurter 1993, 458, con bibliografia precedente. 4 Francia 2004, a tal proposito si vedano anche le annotazioni di Melchert 2007, e il nostro “Storia degli studi sulla poesia ittita e una nuova chiave di lettura di un testo ‘classico’: CTH 414”, (2013).

Rita Francia VO e ‘corali’ perché espressione stratificata di una cultura che si è protratta nel tempo5. I testi nella forma in cui ci sono giunti sono, probabilmente, solo una delle numerose fogge in cui ognuno di essi circolava: quella che, o per casualità o perché ritenuta particolarmente significativa, fu raccolta e messa per iscritto, destinandola così alla conservazione. L’uso del termine ‘poesia’ può sembrare inappropriato per la documentazione a cui ci riferiamo: poesia evoca ben altre aspettative in noi lettori moderni; riteniamo, pertanto, di dover precisare cosa intendiamo con esso e, soprattutto, quali significative caratteristiche abbiamo rilevato nei testi esaminati che ci hanno indotto a farvi ricorso. Il Dizionario della Lingua Italiana Treccani on-line attribuisce a ‘poesia’ una serie di significati, quelli che a noi interessano sono due: 1.a. «L’arte (intesa come abilità e capacità) di produrre composizioni verbali in versi, cioè secondo determinate leggi metriche, o secondo altri tipi di restrizione; con un certo grado di approssimazione si può dire che il sign. di poesia è individuabile nell’uso corrente e tradizionale nella sua contrapposizione a prosa, in quanto i due termini implicano rispettivamente e principalmente la presenza o l’assenza di una restrizione metrica»; 2.a. «Il carattere di opere o parti di opere ritenute particolarmente ispirate e suggestive: […]. In questa accezione, tratto pertinente non è più il metro o un equivalente del metro, ma l’elevatezza concettuale e formale, al di là di una rigida adesione a schemi formali di metro, ritmo, struttura […]». La prima definizione (1.a) considera essenzialmente l’aspetto formale del testo: la presenza di uno schema metrico di base in una composizione la contrappone alla prosa, quindi un componimento è poetico se rispetta una struttura metrica; la seconda (2.a) invece fa riferimento ad aspetti intrinseci, come «l’elevatezza concettuale e formale». Nel linguaggio letterario, vengono definite poetiche quelle opere che utilizzano quanto più possibile gli artifici della ‘funzione poetica’, intesa in senso jakobsoniano6. In esse si sfruttano al sommo grado le proprietà musicali e ritmiche della lingua e, nel contempo, si fa uso del codice linguistico violando le regole della comunicazione quotidiana, per conseguire una maggiore intensità espressiva. In queste opere inoltre si ricorre sovente all’uso di figure retoriche per creare immagini nuove e suggestive tali da colpire l’uditorio. Si può parlare dunque di poesia anche per scritti, testi letterari e non, che di fatto ‘poesie’ (cioè componimenti composti ricorrendo ad artifici metrici) non sono, ma che presentano un particolare linguaggio la cui funzione predominante è quella ‘poetica’. Lo scopo principale di questa funzione è ‘far poesia’, arricchire cioè il messaggio di significati in più che prescindono dalla sfera semantica ed attengono alla sua tessitura fonico-ritmica. Là dove predomina la funzione poetica, il significato della comunicazione è affidato essenzialmente al modo in cui il messaggio è costruito. Le parole pertanto sono importanti non solo e non tanto per i contenuti di cui sono portatrici, ma per il modo in cui vengono

5 Melchert 2007. 6 Jakobson 1966, 181-218. Con il termine ‘funzione’ riferito al linguaggio intendiamo il modo in cui esso viene adoperato relativamente allo scopo per cui il messaggio espresso è formulato. Pertanto, lo ‘scopo’ è di fondamentale importanza nella produzione del messaggio: è anteriore ad esso e incarna l’intenzione sottesa al messaggio stesso. La ‘funzione’ è, in ultima analisi, la forma che il messaggio assume una volta che è stato realizzato.

166 XVII (2013) Lo stile ‘poetico’ delle historiolae ittite organizzate nel testo e per le sensazioni e le informazioni aggiuntive che possono trasmettere con il loro suono. In questi messaggi l’emittente, cioè colui che invia il messaggio, sfrutta le componenti ritmiche e musicali della lingua, utilizzando il codice linguistico in modo arbitrario, violando cioè le norme della comunicazione quotidiana, per ottenere una maggiore intensità espressiva e arricchire il messaggio di significati più profondi, cioè di altre connotazioni altrimenti assenti. Questa funzione, in epoca contemporanea, può essere ritrovata sia in opere letterarie, sia in testi che letterari non sono, come, ad esempio, gli slogan pubblicitari7.

1. LA FILASTROCCA Un altro genere testuale in cui si rilevano caratteristiche ‘poetiche’, almeno nell’aspetto formale (per la presenza di metro, ritmo e rima) è la ‘filastrocca’. E’ questo un componimento di matrice popolare presente in tutte le culture, caratterizzato da particolarità linguistiche e formali specifiche, diverse da qualunque altro tipo di componimento. Dare una definizione della filastrocca non è semplice, per tracciarne le caratteristiche esaminiamo le principali che ne sono state date. Il Dizionario della Lingua Italiana Treccani on-line, definisce la ‘filastrocca’ una «canzonetta o composizione cadenzata (talvolta anche in forma di dialogo), generalmente in metri brevi, assonanzati o ritmati, con ritmo celere, formata di frasi collegate tra loro da richiami meramente verbali, che viene recitata o cantata dai bambini nei loro giochi, o anche dagli adulti per divertire, quietare, addormentare i bambini stessi». L’etnolinguista Glauco Sanga8, esperto di letteratura folklorica, a proposito della filastrocca scrive: «Il genere della filastrocca è oscurissimo, tanto da non essere delimitabile come genere se non all’ingrosso e con continue incertezze. Una definizione formale è assai difficile, perché entra continuamente in contatto con i generi contermini: la filastrocca viene eseguita con una recitazione ritmata, ma può essere anche cantata; non ha caratteri formali tali che la possano distinguere dal gioco infantile e dalla conta, o dalla preghiera, o dallo scongiuro. Sul piano semantico, sembra alla nostra coscienza che la filastrocca si caratterizzi solo in negativo, come testo nonsense. Questa impressione è del tutto fallace, e sottolinea solo la distanza culturale tra noi e i testi di letteratura popolare che non comprendiamo più; d’altra parte è difficile da rimuovere finché non si propone una qualche credibile ipotesi di lettura».

7 Un testo letterario in prosa in cui è facilmente individuabile la prevalenza della funzione poetica è senza dubbio l’incipit del romanzo manzoniano I promessi Sposi: «Quel ramo del lago di Como, che volge a mezzogiorno, tra due catene non interrotte di monti, tutto a seni e a golfi, a seconda dello sporgere e del rientrare di quelli, …». Evidente è la differenza tra questa descrizione e quella che, ad esempio, si trova in una guida del Touring Club Italiano pur riferita agli stessi luoghi: «Magnifico bacino prealpino, totalmente lombardo … È chiamato anche Lario. Le sue acque sono all’altitudine di 199 m; la superficie è di 146 km2, la lunghezza di circa 50 km, la larghezza massima di 4,4 km, la profondità di 410 m. …» (Guida rapida d’Italia. Vol. I. Touring Club Italiano 1992). Al linguaggio pubblicitario appartiene lo slogan di un noto whisky: «il cuore della notte batte al ritmo di Ballantine’s», macroscopica metafora, arricchita da allitterazioni, (notte, batte) e assonanze (cuore, notte). 8 Goi 1991, Introduzione.

167 Rita Francia VO

Secondo il linguista Mario Alinei9 la filastrocca è: un «Componimento in versi brevi, con ripetizioni di sillabe e parole”; lo studioso ritiene che la migliore definizione del genere sia stata data da Anselmo Roveda: «la filastrocca è […] un testo di poesia popolare, prodotto o conosciuto dai bambini di una data cultura popolare, legato al mondo infantile della cultura popolare di riferimento, cultura alla quale si informa nei contenuti e nei valori, anche inconsci e di sostrato, usato dai bambini o con loro, dagli adulti, con funzioni (insegnamento, intrattenimento,...) e in generi (ninna nanna, conte,...) vari; nonostante la varietà di generi e funzioni, è in definitiva: un testo, per lo più breve, d’uso o destinazione infantile, con spiccate connotazioni ritmiche»10. A questa definizione di testo Alinei aggiunge anche gli aggettivi «recitato o cantato/cantilenato»11. Da queste definizioni si evince che le principali caratteristiche della filastrocca sono: essere recitata o cantata/cantilenata, avere una spiccata componente ritmica, essere composta in versi brevi, mostrare ricchezza di assonanze e di collegamenti lessicali tra le singole frasi che la compongono, dunque ricca di molte ripetizioni ed essere destinata ad un pubblico infantile. La definizione di Sanga evidenzia che le sue caratteristiche formali non la distinguono, tra l’altro, dallo scongiuro, parere questo condiviso anche da Alinei12: «Ci sono poi altri etnotesti formalmente avvicinabili alle filastrocche, ma distinti da essi in quanto di solito riservati agli adulti, come gli scongiuri e le formule di incantesimo o magiche (magic spells, charms)…. Come tutti sanno, ve ne sono poi innumerevoli altre, con o senza figure magiche o religiose, che guariscono il singhiozzo, i crampi, allontanano i fantasmi, fanno venire bene il burro, proteggono dal malocchio….». Sia gli scongiuri che le filastrocche dunque custodiscono uno spaccato di cultura popolare, di tradizione orale, affidata solo in un secondo tempo alla scrittura, mantenendo intatte alcune caratteristiche loro peculiari tra cui l’orecchiabilità data dal ritmo semplice ma efficace. Naturalmente questo tipo di linguaggio si serve degli artifici tecnici che riconosciamo anche nella poesia ma è ben lontano dalla ‘poesia’ vera e propria. Si tratta infatti di etnotesti, cioè di «testi orali che rappresentano un’espressione autonoma della cultura di una comunità linguistica: [...]. Testi fissati dalla tradizione (proverbi, indovinelli, preghiere, ecc.) o testi solo parzialmente formalizzati (leggende, storie, etc.)13». Gli etnotesti mostrano particolarità formali che li accomunano a quelli poetici nel senso proprio del termine: innanzitutto gli espedienti tecnici del linguaggio con cui sono composti, che non si ritrovano nel comune parlare quotidiano, come le figure del significante (assonanze, consonanze, allitterazioni, rime etc.).

9 Alinei 2009, 263-269. 10 Roveda 2010, 239-268. 11 Alinei 2009, 266. 12 Alinei 2009, 267. 13 Beccaria (diretto da) 1996.

168 XVII (2013) Lo stile ‘poetico’ delle historiolae ittite

2. LA PROSA RITMATA Caratteristiche analoghe a queste sono quelle individuate da Eduard Norden nel suo celebre studio sulla prosa d’arte antica del 1898, ma ancor oggi attuale, in quel tipo di prosa da lui etichettato «prosa d’arte» e, più specificamente «prosa ritmata» e «prosa poetica». La ‘poesia’ è una creazione moderna: la distinzione tra ‘prosa’ e ‘poesia’ era del tutto estranea alla mentalità arcaica: Isocrate afferma che «la prosa non deve essere mai metrica, ma deve essere sempre ritmica»14 ponendo così una netta distinzione tra una composizione in metro e una ritmata. Nell’analizzare la prosa poetica, Norden15 osserva che alcune tipologie testuali, tra cui le formule magiche, sono concepite in una lingua diversa dal quotidiano, in una prosa che si differenzia dalla lingua comune ed è ben più antica della poesia. Le caratteristiche che pongono questa prosa su un piano diverso rispetto a quella del parlare comune sono: la solennità, e infatti essa è realizzata in forma ritmata «non uguale al canto, ma ad esso affine (recitativo)», e il ricorso ad alcuni espedienti fonici, come l’allitterazione e la rima, al fine di elevare il discorso e, contemporaneamente, anche far sì che esso si imprima nella memoria degli uditori. In una società in cui il mezzo di trasmissione primario è quello orale, il tenere a mente quanto si è udito è di somma importanza.

3. IL CARMEN LATINO Restando in ambito classico, manifestazioni di questo tipo di prosa si hanno anche nella documentazione latina risalente alla fase cosiddetta preletteraria. A Roma per soddisfare l’esigenza di realizzare un tipo di espressione elevata, distinta cioè dalla comunicazione quotidiana, si ricorreva al carmen. Con questo termine si indicava in modo indistinto ciò che solo in un secondo momento si qualificò come prosa da una parte e poesia dall’altra16. Il carmen era espresso con un discorso ritmato, paragonabile ad una poesia fortemente formulare (concepta verba), ma senza schemi fissi, come quelli del verso (conformemente alla definizione di Isocrate). Questo tipo di espressione può anche definirsi ‘prosa commatica’, modulata e ritmata, arricchita da armoniose cadenze. La fase preletteraria latina è definita da De Meo17: «Un lungo periodo, durante il quale alla parola pronunciata o scritta in particolari modi e circostanze si attribuì forza magica capace di determinare fatti ed eventi, sicché bastava nominare le potenze misteriose e invisibili per assicurarsene l’intervento, o pronunciare la maledizione perché il destinatario ne fosse colpito, a meno che altre forze, anch’esse invocate, non avessero agito in senso contrario (il fascinus verborum, l’influenza maligna, per essere rimosso o annullato esigeva atti e formule apotropaiche: fascinum arcere). E tale era l’efficacia del carmen da non risultare vanificata neppure dalla mancata comprensione delle parole da parte di chi le pronunciava o di colui al quale erano dirette, ché esse agivano anche in forza del loro mistero.». Nella Roma arcaica con il carmen erano espresse tutte quelle manifestazioni letterarie formulate con un linguaggio diverso da quello comune, proprio del quotidiano, solenne e tale da essere ricordato. In questa forma furono dunque composti sortilegi, incantesimi,

14 art. fr. 12 (Baiter - Sauppe 1839). 15 Norden 1898, vol. I, 40. 16 De Meo 1986, 139. 17 De Meo 1986, 139.

169 Rita Francia VO formule di scongiuro, malefici, ma anche proverbi, ricette mediche, filastrocche, canti militari, preghiere e suppliche agli dei, nonché leggi. La caratteristica principale del carmen era di essere composto secondo un andamento cadenzato, ritmato, scandito, oltre a mostrare figure retoriche come il parallelismo tra membri di frase, l’antitesi, la ripetizione, l’assonanza, la figura etimologica, l’omoteleuto e l’allitterazione, figura tipica della letteratura latina. Il ritmo, l’intensificazione semantica, la ripetitività formulare erano tipiche del linguaggio popolare solenne e, paradossalmente, anche di quello ad esso per certi versi opposto, il giuridico-sacrale18. Il comune denominatore di questi generi letterari è di doversi imprimere nella memoria degli ascoltatori, di essere ricordati e tràditi oralmente, da qui la necessità di questi artifici retorici.

4. HISTORIOLAE ITTITE E PROSA RITMATA In uno studio sui testi liturgici e sulle preghiere latine e umbre, Calvert Watkins riprende il concetto di ‘prosa ritmata’ (‘rhythmic prose’) di Norden, riferendosi ad una prosa che non può né essere ricondotta né a quella normale (frasi lunghe, sintatticamente complesse) né alla poesia con struttura metrica. A conclusione delle sue riflessioni, lo studioso americano sottolinea la stretta familiarità individuabile tra la ‘prosa ritmata’ e la struttura poetica in versi: «The traditional label is “rhythmic prose”, but that is far from being even observationally adequate, the more so since the typical responsion of equivalence tokens that “rhythmic prose” shows is precisely ‘the essencial characteristic of verse’»19. Ritornando ai testi ittiti di contenuto rituale, non si può fare a meno di notare come alcune historiolae e scongiuri siano stati elaborati ricorrendo ad espedienti retorici ricercati, tanto da non poter essere posti sullo stesso piano della normale espressione in prosa in cui sono concepite altre sezioni di questi stessi testi. Un esempio di questa particolare espressione linguistica è dato dal brano seguente desunto dal rituale “del Signore della lingua” (EME-aš EN-aš) KUB 12.62 + KBo 53.3 (CTH 338):

Ro. 10’ EME-aš EN-aš ku-wa-pí pa-a-ši KASKAL-ši ka-ri-pu-┌wa┐-an-[zi pa-a-i-mi] (11’) UR.MAÐ tar-wa-u-wa-an-zi pa-a-i-mi a-li-li war-┌šu┐-wa-an-zi pa┌a-i-mi┐ (12’) LÚ DUMU. U19 la-la-u-wa-an-zi pa-a-i-mi KASKAL-aš-za ka-ri-pu-wa-an-zi Ú-UL (13’) me-em-ma-i UR.MAÐ-aš-za tar-wa-u-wa-an-zi UL me-em-ma-i a-li-la-aš-za (14’) war-šu-wa-an-zi Ú-UL me-em-ma-i dUTU-uš-za ÐUL-mu-uš EMEÐI.A (15’) UL me-- ma-i /

Ro. 10’ ‘Signore della lingua, dove vai?’ ‘vado alla strada per divorare 20, (11’) vado dal leone per balzare, vado dall’uccello alili21 per beccare, (12) vado dall’essere umano per parlare’”. La strada non (13’) si rifiuterà di divorare , il leone non

18 De Meo 1986, 154. 19 Watkins 1995, 231. 20 Così Archi 1998. 21 Si tratta di un uccello impiegato nell’ambito dell’ornitomanzia: HED, vol. I, p. 34 e sg.; HW2, Lfg. 1, p. 59.

170 XVII (2013) Lo stile ‘poetico’ delle historiolae ittite si rifiuterà di balzare, l’uccello a. (14’) non si rifiuterà di beccare, la divinità solare non rifiuterà le malvagie lingue.

Analisi stilistica22:

A (10’) lalaš išðaš kuwapi pāši

B palši karipuwan[zi pāimi] C *walkwi23 tarwauwanzi paimi D alili war┌šu┐wanzi p┌āimi┐ E (12’) antuðši lalauwanzi pāimi

F palšaš=za karipuwanzi natta memmai G *walkuwaš=za tarwauwanzi natta memmai H alila-aš=za (14’) waršuwanzi natta memmai I dIštanuš=za idalamuš lalaš natta memmai /

Il brano è composto in stile dialogico drammatico ‘botta e risposta’. Il verso (A) è di apertura e introduce il dialogo con la domanda: “Signore della lingua, dove vai?”, a cui seguono due strofe di quattro versi ognuna, di cui la prima (B-E) costituisce la prima parte del dialogo e la seconda (F-I) la ripresa enfatica di esso da parte dell’interlocutore. Riteniamo di individuare in queste due strofe la costruzione formulare litotica (argomento - negazione del contro argomento) la cui funzione è di conferire maggiore enfasi all’argomento stesso24. Infatti nella prima strofa si susseguono delle frasi affermative, mentre la seconda è costituita da frasi negative che però rendono positivo il significato del verbo di frase: memmai “rifiuterà”, ma natta memmai “non rifiuterà”, cioè “accetterà”. I versi sono isocoli, ripetono cioè la stessa struttura sintattica, conferendo al brano un andamento ripetitivo a blocchi distinti: in B-E si ripete la costruzione dat. loc. - acc. (verbo all’infinito) - verbo:

B KASKAL-ši karipuwan[zi paimi] dat.loc. - acc. (infinito) - verbo C *walkwi tarwauwanzi paimi dat.loc. - acc. (infinito) - verbo D alili war┌šu┐wanzi p┌aimi┐ dat.loc. - acc. (infinito) - verbo E antuðši lalauwanzi paimi. dat.loc. - acc. (infinito) - verbo

In F-I invece ricorre la costruzione soggetto (per cui è specificata la desinenza -aš) +za acc. - negazione - memmai:

F soggetto +za - acc. (infinito) - negazione - verbo

22 Per l’analisi stilistica non si è tenuto conto della lunghezza delle righe ma delle singole frasi, in strutture che chiamiamo ‘versi’, con i logogrammi sostituiti dalla corrispondente parola ittita. 23 Per la lettura del sumerogramma UR.MAÐ = *walkuwa-: Weeden 2011, 164. 24 Watkins 1995, 686.

171 Rita Francia VO

F KASKAL-aš=za karipuwanzi natta memmai soggetto +za - acc. (infinito) - negazione - verbo G *walkuwaš =za tarwauwanzi natta memmai soggetto +za - acc. (infinito) - negazione - verbo H alila-aš=za waršuwanzi natta memmai soggetto+za - acc. (infinito) - negazione – verbo I dIštanuš=za idalamuš lalaš natta memmai /. soggetto +za - acc. - negazione - verbo

In entrambe le strofe si individua l’omoteleuto: nella prima strofa per la ripetizione del verbo finale paimi, mentre nella seconda del verbo memmai; i versi di ciascuna strofa sono isocoli, avendo uguale numero di parole e stessa costruzione25. Nei versi (B)-(E) e in (F)- (H) c’è anche una rima interna data dalla desinenza dell’infinito -uwanzi che ricorre sempre nella stessa posizione, al centro del verso; interessante è anche osservare che i primi tre versi delle strofe iniziano tutte con una sillaba che contiene il suono AL: pALši, *wALkwi, ALili - pALšaš, *wALkuwaš, ALilaš generando un legame omofonico tra i versi. In (C) e in (G) vi è l’allitterazione per la ripetizione di WA (*walkwi tarwauwanzi - *walkuwaš=za tarwauwanzi).

5. CONCLUSIONI I rituali possono ritenersi a buon titolo uno spaccato di letteratura popolare, ed è proprio in questo la loro peculiarità: nella loro genesi e formazione è da ricercare la spiegazione della loro tipologia formale e stilistica, come già considerato per le medesime espressioni testuali di ambito classico. L’accuratezza e le particolarità stilistiche che abbiamo riscontrato nel brano analizzato sono del tutto simili a quelle della prosa ritmata e della prosa poetica. Il tipo di ‘poesia’ è paragonabile a quella semplice e popolare che si ritrova nelle filastrocche, negli scongiuri, nelle formule magiche delle letterature classiche e non. Per queste ragioni riteniamo che si possa usare a buon titolo il termine ‘poetico’ nel riferirsi allo stile di questo genere testuale, intendendo con ciò quella particolare poetica propria della ‘prosa d’arte antica’, cioè la prosa poetica e la prosa ritmata. Infatti lo stile in cui le historiolae ed anche alcuni scongiuri sono scritti si discosta dalla semplice prosa, ma nel contempo non può definirsi a pieno ‘poetico’. In questo i testi ittiti non sono diversi dalle composizioni arcaiche e popolari analoghe proprie di altre culture, mostrando una prosa «non uguale al canto, ma ed essa affine», secondo la definizione di Norden.

25 Riteniamo il sintagma aggettivo - nome (idalamuš lalaš) in (I) una unità, conformemente a Kloekhorst 2011.

172 XVII (2013) Lo stile ‘poetico’ delle historiolae ittite

BIBLIOGRAFIA

ALINEI, M. 2009 Le origini linguistiche e antropologiche della filastrocca: Quaderni di Semantica XXX/2 (2009), pp. 263-290. ARCHI, A. 1998 Société des hommes et société des animaux: F. IMPARATI (a cura di), Studi di Storia e di Filologia Anatolica Dedicati a Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli (Eothen 1), Firenze 1988, pp. 25-37. BAUTER, J.G. - SAUPPE, H. 1839 Isokratēs, Zurich 1839. BECCARIA, G.L. (diretto da) 1996 Dizionario di Linguistica Italiana e di Filologia, Metrica, Retorica, Torino 1996. DE MEO, C. 1986 Gli Stili del Latino, Bologna 1986. FRANCIA, R. 2004 Montagne grandi (e) piccole, (sapete) perchè sono venuto?: Orientalia 73 (2004), pp. 390- 408. 2013 Storia degli studi sulla poesia ittita e una nuova chiave di lettura di un testo ‘classico’: CTH 414, Studi Micenei ed Egeo Anatolici (2013). FRANKFURTER, D. 1993 Narrating Power: the Theory and Practice of the Magical Historiola in Ritual Spells, M. MEYER - P. MIRECKI (eds.), Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, Leiden - New York - Köln 1993, pp. 457-476. GOI, S. 1991 Il Segreto delle Filastrocche, Milano 1991. JAKOBSON, R. 1966 Saggi di linguistica generale, Milano 1966. KLOEKHORST, A. 2011 Accentuation and Poetic Meter in Hittite: M. HUTTER - S. HUTTER-BRAUNSAR (eds.), Hethitische Literatur. Überlieferungsprozesse, Textstrukturen, Ausdrucksformen. Akten des Symposiums vom 18. bis 20. Februar 2010 in Bonn, Münster 2011, pp. 157-176. MELCHERT, H.C. 2007 New Light on the Hittite Verse and Meter: K. JNES-BLEY - M.E. HULD - A. DELLA VOLPE - M. ROBBINS DEXTER (eds.), Proceedings of the 18th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference. Los Angeles, November 3-4, 2006, Washington 2007, pp. 117-128. NORDEN, E. 1898 Die antike Kunstprosa vom VI. Jahrhundert V. Chr. bis in die Zeit der Renaissance. Voll. I-II, Stuttgart 1898. ROVEDA, A. 2010 Daula daulagna. Filastrocche dell’alta valle dell’Orba, con varianti dell’area ligure e piemontese: Quaderni di Semantica XXXI/2 (2010), pp. 239-268. WATKINS, C. 1995 How to kill a dragon. Aspects of Indo-European poetics, Oxford 1995. WEEDEN, M. 2011 Hittite Logograms and Hittite Scholarship (Studien zu den Böğazköy-Texten 54), Wiesbaden 2011.

173

[Vicino Oriente XVII (2013), pp. 175-178]

IL SUMEROGRAMMA IR NEI TESTI ITTITI

Valerio Pisaniello - Sapienza Università di Roma

This paper aims at offering a new hypothesis about the origin of the meaning ‘to ask, to wish’ for the Sumerogram IR in Hittite texts, according to the Sumero-Akkadian correspondences in the Mesopotamian lexical lists.

Keywords: Ittita; sumerogramma; Accadico; liste lessicali; paleografia

Nei testi ittiti il sumerogramma IR (HZL 77) corrisponde al verbo u̯ ek- ‘domandare, richiedere, desiderare’1, confrontabile con altri temi dell’ambito indoeuropeo: ai. vaś- ‘desiderare’, av. vas- ‘volere’ e gr. ἑκών (*ϝεκών) ‘volentieri’, per cui è possibile ricostruire la forma originaria comune i.e. *u̯ ek̂ -. Il significato del verbo ittita è chiaro; si considerino, ad esempio, i seguenti passi:

(NH) CTH 566, KUB 22.70 Vo. 60 ki-i-ša-ma-aš-kán ku-it A-NA DINGIRLIM URUA-ru- uš-na ZI-an ša-an-ḫi-iš-kán-zi nu ma-a-an IR-u-ar ku-it-ki ú-e-mi-i̯ a-an-zi (61) ma-a-an kat-ta u̯ a-al-ḫa-an-ta ku-it-ki ú-e-mi-i̯ a-an-zi nu a-pí-e-el ŠA DINGIRLIM UNMEŠ-uš ku-i-e- eš ka-a nu-kán ḫa-an-te-iz-zi (62) pa-ra-a ti-iš-kán-zi ma-a-an-ma-za DINGIRLIM pa-ra-a ti-i̯ a-u-u̯ a-ar ma-la-an ḫar-ti nu MUŠEN ḪUR-RI SIG5-ru SIG5 «Per il fatto che questi stanno cercando di stabilire il volere della divinità di Arušna per loro. Se trovano qualche richiesta (IR-u-ar = u̯ ekuu̯ ar), se trovano qualcosa di percosso, gli uomini di quella divinità che sono qui si porteranno all’esterno. Se, o divinità, hai approvato la presentazione, allora la tadorna sia favorevole! Favorevole»;

(NH) CTH 573, KUB 5.22, 19 a-ši ku-iš ḫal-u̯ a-aš-ši-iš ANA IRTI ŠA ˹DUTUŠI˺[ ] x [ ] (20) ku-it-ki i-ši-aḫ-ta nu-u̯ a MUŠENḪI.A SIxSÁ-an-du «quel su nominato uccello ḫalu̯ ašši, che alla richiesta della maestà […]x [ ] qualcosa ha annunciato: “che gli uccelli allora confermino!”».

Ciò che risulta all’apparenza inspiegabile è l’uso del sumerogramma IR come variante del verbo e del sostantivo verbale, poiché questo termine in sumerico non ha mai il valore individuato per l’ittita2. L’unica spiegazione avanzata finora è quella di Richard Beal3, il quale, in base alla forma IRTUM/TAM presente in diversi testi oracolari, dove il termine

 Desidero ringraziare il Prof. A. Archi per i preziosi suggerimenti in fase di stesura del presente lavoro. 1 Per le sigle e le abbreviazioni si faccia riferimento a H. G. GÜTERBOCK - H. A. HOFFNER, The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. L-N, Chicago 1989, pp. XV-XXVIII; per un elenco delle attestazioni di IR con complemento fonetico, cfr. Weeden 2011, 519. Il sumerogramma è presente anche nell’antroponimo MUNUSDINGIRMEŠ.IR, corrispondente alla lettura maššan(a)uzzi-, in cui si può riconoscere il corrispondente luvio dell’itt. u̯ ek- (attestato in geroglifico come (“69”)wazi(ya)-, per cui cfr. Melchert 1987, 198). 2 Cfr. Laroche 1964-1965, 8 n. 1: «Le sumérogramme IR ne convient pas au sens de wek-. Mais s’agit-il bien de IR, ou d’un autre signe confondu avec lui dans l’écriture cunéiforme d’Anatolie?». 3 Beal 1992, 129. Valerio Pisaniello VO sembra specializzarsi nel senso tecnico di ‘richiesta oracolare’4, ipotizza che essa possa essere semplicemente un’abbreviazione, ER, per l’accadico erištum ‘desiderio, richiesta’, concludendo che il sumerogramma possa spiegarsi in termini di retroformazione. Concorde con tale interpretazione è Mark Weeden5, che porta a sostegno di essa i dati relativi alla complementazione fonetica accadica6 e aggiunge la citazione, desunta da Jared Miller, di un’attestazione di IR come logogramma per ḫurtāi- ‘maledizione’ in una tavoletta con tracce di tradizione scribale kizzuwatnea7. Quest’ultimo suggerisce, infatti, che in questo caso IR possa essere un’abbreviazione dell’accadico erretu8: anche in questo contesto pertanto si tratterebbe di una retroformazione, secondo un processo del tutto parallelo a quanto ipotizzato da Beal per il valore semantico di ‘chiedere’. Inoltre, dal momento che le più antiche attestazioni del sumerogramma IR per l’itt. u̯ ek- sembrano essere quelle contenute in KBo 27.2039, una tavoletta che raccoglie oracoli e presenta elementi ḫurriti, Weeden conclude che l’uso di tale pratica scrittoria possa essere originaria dell’ambiente ḫurrita o nord-siriano ed essersi trasmessa in seguito agli Ittiti, forse proprio tramite la tradizione dei testi oracolari. Pur ritenendo valida tale interpretazione, vorremmo proporre qui un’altra possibile via d’analisi, partendo però dal significato che il termine IR ha nei testi sumerici. Consapevoli che si tratta di un’ipotesi al momento non confermata palesemente dalla documentazione, riteniamo che essa tuttavia possa servire a spiegare l’inatteso valore del sumerogramma nei testi ittiti. Escludendo gli utilizzi puramente fonetici, il segno IR in sumerico viene impiegato innanzitutto per indicare e r , la radice perfettiva plurale del verbo ĝ e n ‘andare’. Un buon numero di attestazioni ha poi un sostantivo i r ‘odore, profumo, sudore’10; raramente si trova un ĝiši r con il valore di ‘piolo’ (accad. irru)11 e altrettanto raro è un verbo i r 12 ‘saccheggiare’ (accad. šalālu) . Si segnalano infine il verbo i r , forma emesal di d e 6

4 LÚ TUM Si vedano ancora, ad es. KUB 5.13 I 6: IŠ-TU ḪAL IR QA-TAM-MA-pát nu MUŠEN ḪUR-RI NU.SIG5- du NU.SIG5: «dall’indovino la domanda (è posta) allo stesso modo. La tadorna sia sfavorevole! Sfavorevole» e KUB 5.17+ II 21: IŠ-TU LÚIGI.MUŠEN IRTUM QA-TAM-MA-pát nu MUŠENḪI.A SIxSÁ-an-du: «dall’augure la domanda (è posta) allo stesso modo. Gli uccelli confermino!». Per il significato tecnico cfr. Laroche 1964- 1965, 7-8. 5 Weeden 2011, 253. 6 IRTUM è infatti attestato 229 volte, mentre IRTAM 22 volte; a questi si aggiungono due soli casi di IRTI. 7 Cfr. Miller 2012, 103. Il brano in questione è Bo 3288++ Vo 41’: [GAM-r]a-za KAxU-za EME-za IR-za LÚIGI-eš GIM-an …, parallelo a KUB 46.38 II 9’: GAM-ra-za ˹KAxU˺-za EME-za ḫur-ti-i̯ a-za LÚIGI-zi-aš- ši-iš ˹GIM-an˺]. Inoltre, in Bo 3288++ Vo 63’ si trova la complementazione fonetica IR-da. 8 La corrispondenza tra questo termine accadico e l’itt. ḫurtāi- è garantita dal vocabolario KBo 1.42 II 25: GÚ.GÙN.A = ER-RE-DU = ḫur-ta-iš. Cfr. CAD A.2 p. 304 s. v. arratu. 9 IRMEŠ in Ro II 2 e IRḪI.A in Vo III 14. Il ductus della tavoletta sembra essere medio-ittita, ma cfr. Weeden 2011, 253 n. 1131. 10 Cfr. ad es. la Statua C di Gudea, III 8-10: (8) temen-bi (9) ì-ir-nun /-ka (10) šu-tag ba /-ni-du11: «il suo basamento ha asperso con olio profumato di prima qualità». 11 Cfr. CAD I-J p. 180 s. v. irru A. 12 Cfr. CAD Š.1 p. 196 s. v. šalālu A.

176 XVII (2013) Il sumerogramma IR nei testi ittiti

‘portare’, ed un possibile i r indicante un tipo di albero (accad. armannu)13. Tra tutti questi valori ci sembra significativo il termine indicante ‘odore, profumo, sudore’, poiché corrisponde al sostantivo accadico erešu, come testimoniano le liste lessicali, ad esesempio:

ir IR = zu-tu, e-re-šu (Ea II 47); e-re-eš IR = e-re-šu (Ea II 49); i r KASKAL14 = šá E.RIŠ e-re-šu (Ea I 275)15.

Come si è già notato, il termine accadico che indica la richiesta è erištu, derivato del verbo erēšu ‘chiedere, desiderare’16, omografo del sostantivo erešu, che, come detto sopra, corrisponde nelle liste al sumerico i r . Alla luce di queste corrispondenze, riteniamo sia possibile spiegare il valore semantico ‘chiedere’ del sumerogramma IR in ambito ittita ipotizzando un equivoco di fondo nella lettura di una qualche lista lessicale, in cui il sostantivo erešu ‘odore, profumo, sudore’, semanticamente corrispondente al sum. i r , sia stato erroneamente interpretato come erēšu ‘chiedere, desiderare’, con conseguente estensione del valore semantico di quest’ultimo al segno sumerico17. Vorremmo infine sottolineare che tale ipotesi potrebbe anche non essere incompatibile con quella avanzata da Beal e sostenuta da Weeden: la corrispondenza tra il sum. i r e l’accadico e-re-šu nelle liste può aver giocato a favore della generalizzazione in Anatolia di IR - retroformazione sulla base dell’accadico erēšu - proprio con il valore semantico ‘chiedere, desiderare’, relegando ad una posizione marginale altri possibili significati, anch’essi eventualmente frutto di abbreviazioni di parole accadiche, come quello di ‘maledizione’, dall’accadico erretu, individuato da Miller.

13 Il termine armannu indica un albero di discussa identificazione (corrispondente nelle liste lessicali a ĝ iš.ḫ ašḫ u r . k u r . r a ) ma anche l’essenza aromatica che se ne ottiene, per cui la sua corrispondenza con il sum. IR in alcune liste potrebbe rappresentare il più comune valore di ‘profumo’. Cfr. CAD A.2 p. 291 s. v. armannu. 14 Da leggere qui i r 7. 15 Cfr. CAD E p. 280 s. v. erešu A. Cfr. anche Civil 1979, 190, 249. 16 Cfr. CAD E p. 281 s. v. erēšu A. 17 Purtroppo, come si è detto, la documentazione ittita non conferma direttamente questa ipotesi, che, di conseguenza, rimane puramente speculativa. Non ci sembra infatti che si trovi nelle liste lessicali ittite la corrispondenza tra il sum. IR, l’accad. erēšu e l’itt. u̯ ekuu̯ ar: Il vocabolario KBo 13.1+ IV 26 (CTH 301.a.1.A) riporta IGI.KAL.DI.DI = E-RE-ŠU = ú-e-ku-u-u̯ a-ar (cfr. Otten - von Soden 1968, 19), in cui l’entrata sumerica - diversa dall’atteso IR - sembrerebbe avvalorare l’ipotesi di un’origine diversa per tale logogramma.

177 Valerio Pisaniello VO

BIBLIOGRAFIA

BEAL, R.H. 1992 Recensione a CH. RÜSTER - E. NEU, Hethitisches Zeichenlexikon: Inventar und Interpretation der Keilschriftzeichen aus den Boğazköy-Texten (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten Bh. 2), Journal of the American Oriental Society 112/1 (1992), pp. 127- 129. CIVIL, M. 1979 Materials for the Sumerian Lexicon XIV. Ea A = nâqu, Aa A = nâqu, with their Forerunners and Related Texts, Roma 1979. LAROCHE, E. 1964-1965 La prière hittite: vocabulaire et typologie: Annuaire de l’Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, Ve section, Sciences Religieuses LXXII (1964-65), pp. 3-29. MELCHERT, H.C. 1987 PIE velars in Luvian: C. WATKINS (ed.), Studies in Memory of Warren Cowgill (1929- 1985). Papers from the Fourth East Coast Indo-European Conference Cornell University, June 6-9, 1985, Berlin - New York 1987, pp. 182-204. MILLER, J.L. 2012 The Palaeography and Orthography of Six Rituals ‘Redacted’ in the Manner of Arusna: E. DEVECCHI (ed.), Palaeography and Scribal Practices in Syro-Palestine and Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age. Papers Read at a Symposium in Leiden, 17-18 December 2009 (Publications de l’Institut historique et archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul 119), Leiden 2012, pp. 95-109. OTTEN, H. - VON SODEN, W. 1968 Das akkadisch-hethitische Vokabular KBo I 44 + KBo XIII 1 (Studien zu den Boğazköy- Texten 7), Wiesbaden 1968. WEEDEN, M. 2011 Hittite Logograms and Hittite Scholarship (Studien zu den Böğazköy-Texten 54), Wiesbaden 2011.

178