Vecchie e nuove conoscenze per lo studio delle necropoli fenicie e puniche di Nora.

Abstract

The paper aims at gathering all data available so far about the Phoenician and Punic necropolis of Nora (Sardinia) in order to discuss the topographical layout of the funerary areas within the settlement, cited as the “oldest city of the island” by ancient authors. The spatial development of the ancient burials of the city has been frequently mentioned by Sandro Filippo Bondì, to whom this paper is dedicated, as one of the lesser known topic in the discussion about the urban evolution during the pre-roman period. After a brief outline of the important results of the excavations carried out between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the findings of a new research project based in the necropolis of the city are presented. Following minor activities conducted in 2011, the geophysical surveys and the excavations, started in 2012 in the former military area lying between the city and the countryside, brought to light new Phoenician burials and new Punic chambers carved in the natural sandstone bedrock. Those significant findings led to preliminary reconstructions which will be further refined after the gathering of new research data. At the moment we can propose the presence of two long lasting funerary areas continuously used from archaic phase (7th c. B.C.) to late Hellenistic age (3rd c. B.C.), when the contacts between the city and the Roman power, spreading all over the island, led to changes in the life of the city and to a complete abandonment of the two necropolis.