Anatomical study of animal remains from Phoenician-Punic amphorae found in the Santa Giusta Pond, Sardinia (Italy)

Submitted: January 27, 2015
Accepted: November 20, 2015
Published: December 28, 2015
Abstract Views: 1367
PDF: 767
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

During the underwater excavations carried out in the Santa Giusta Pond, near Oristano, Sardinia, a significant amount of Phoenician- Punic materials was brought to light including amphorae (dating back to 7th-2nd century BC) and vegetal and animal remains. All of these archaeological finds may come from Othoca, an important Phoenician- Punic city on the eastern shore of the pond, geographically corresponding with the modern-day town of Santa Giusta. Animal materials consist of more than 3000 very well-preserved remains, belonging to sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and cattle (Bos taurus). Bone analyses allowed reconstructing the slaughtering methods, as well as manipulation procedures carried out to preserve meat in order to be exported overseas. Although pig (Sus scrofa) played an important economical role in other Sardinian Phoenician-Punic settlements, in this archaeological context this species is absent, suggesting that the meat contained in the amphorae was probably destined to other areas of the Mediterranean basin, where people did not eat pork.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Supporting Agencies

Fondazione Banco di Sardegna

How to Cite

Portas, L., Farina, V., Del Vais, C., Carcupino, M., Gazza, F., Sanna, I., & Zedda, M. (2015). Anatomical study of animal remains from Phoenician-Punic amphorae found in the Santa Giusta Pond, Sardinia (Italy). Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino Della Società Italiana Di Biologia Sperimentale, 88(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/jbr.2015.5073