Friday, August 09, 2024

Punic pots preserved in Pompeii necropolis

PUNIC WATCH: Fields of Artichokes and Vegetables Preserved Under the Ashes of the 79 AD Eruption and a Pre-Roman Necropolis with Punic Amphorae, Discovered in Pompeii (Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).
These are simple pit inhumations, a semicappuccina or with amphora coverings (all of North African import, some with Punic inscriptions, arranged alternately neck-to-puntal in a recurrent number of 7), characterized by the presence of few grave goods (mainly perfume bottles and coins) and by an excellent state of conservation of the skeletal remains, thanks to the immersion of the graves in groundwater, which has allowed the initiation of a paleo-anthropological research campaign on the remains.
Unfortunately, none of the punic inscriptions on the jars are visible in the photos.

The article reports on lots of other important paleobotanical and artifactual discoveries in the excavation.

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