A Sector of Iron Metallurgy in Utica from the Last Quarter of the 9th and the Beginnign of the 8th Century BC

Abstract

New Tunisian excavations in the northern tip of Utica’s ancient promontory have revealed adobe structures and an area containing waste from iron working. Due to the significant presence of varied production of ceramic material – locally handmade, and of Phoenician, Greek, Sardinian, and Italian origin from the early Iron Age, as well as Tartessian – besides iron slags and tuyères, it is undeniable that we are dealing with an area intended both for habitation and iron production that dates to the last quarter of the 9th century BCE and the beginning of the following century. This new discovery suggests Utica as a multicultural meeting place aimed at an economic project related to metallurgy.