THARROS, PROGETTO CARDO MAXIMUS EST: PRIMI RISULTATI DELLA RICERCA SU ORGANIZZAZIONE URBANA E SOCIETÀ DELLA CITTÀ PUNICA

Abstract

Excavation campaigns are underway as part of a University of Bologna project under ministerial concession,
called ‘cardo maximus Est’. The excavations have uncovered an impressive building operation datable between
the 4th and 5th centuries AD that features a building between the eastern cardo and the city’s main street. These
Late Antique structures are distinguished by different construction techniques guided by functional purpose
and rest directly on collapsed layers of earlier, sturdy masonry, whose architectural elements had been reused in
the more recent work. Highly characteristic elements are present, such as Egyptian gorges, which, in association
with specific loose materials, suggest the presence of late Punic constructions quite functionally different from
housing. The preliminary data of the excavation campaigns are presented here through a categorical analysis
of the materials discovered.

Key words: Tharros, cardo maximus, Egyptian gorges, Punic city, Late Antique age.