A NEW PUNIC “MOULD FOR RITUAL BREAD” IN TERRACOTTA FROM SARCAPOS (VILLAPUTZU, SARDINIA)

Abstract

Abstract: In 2019, a University of Bologna excavation at the Punic-Roman settlement of Santa Maria near Villaputzu
(SU) unhearted a new fragment of a terracotta “ritual bread mould”. The artifact is ring-shaped and decorated with a
frieze of “Phoenician-Cypriot” palmettes and a braid motif. It comes from a peripheral sector of the settlement, and
thus, for the Punic era, neither a connection with the nearby necropolis nor a different functional, productive, or
cult-related intent can be excluded.

Keywords: Santa Maria – Villaputzu; Sarcapos; Terracotta “Moulds for Ritual Bread”; Punic Sardinia.