ASPETTI SOCIALI, ORGANIZZATIVI E IDEOLOGICI NELLE NECROPOLI PUNICHE: LE TOMBE A CAMERA DI SULKY

Abstract

The Punic chamber tombs are an ideological space under the exclusive management of family groups. In
this matter the excavations of the Sulky necropolis between 1998 and 2008 are significant: the three types of funerary
structures in Sulky (undivided chamber; bipartite chamber; free pillar chamber) are close to eminent families between
480 and 450 BCE. The main archaeological indicators of this development are related with the inner scenography of
the chambers, with the presence of paintings, reliefs, sarcophagus and symposium ceremonies. In the course of the 5th
and 4th centuries new indicators (crowed and undifferentiated burials, sporadic presence of jewelry, the lack or modesty
of sets of funerary goods) testify to the inclusion of social strata others than elitarian ones and a process of social
enlargement of the burial rights.
Keywords: Punic Age; Chamber Tombs; Burials of Elite; Funerary Scenography; Right of Burial; Clientele.
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