Livestock dung is a valuable material in many rural communities worldwide. In our research area, the site of Althiburos and its surroundings, now el Médéïna, in northwestern Tunisia, dung is the main source of fuel for domestic purposes, primarily the processing and cooking of foods. Ovicaprine dung is daily used in traditional mud tannur type ovens, namely tabouna. The archaeological record shows that mud constructed cooking installations were common during the first millennium BC. Previous studies of phytoliths and dung spherulites at Numidian Althiburos suggested the use of vegetal and fecal matter for fuel purposes. We present here the results of the continuation study based on the comparison between archaeological results (a selection of cooking installations, six hearths and two mud ovens) and those obtained from the ethnographic study of dung fuel materials from the site area. The present study builds up on ethnographic observations and informal interviews (dung collection, management, storage, waste disposal and cooking and baking activities), temperature measurements within the burning fuel, as well as modern material sampling (fresh dung, burned pellets, dung ashes and fuel trash paths) which was followed by integrated studies of phytoliths and calcitic microfossil analyses (dung spherulites and wood ash pseudomorphs) for comparative purposes. The results obtained provided direct evidence regarding the type of fuel sources: dung, wood and a mixing of dung and vegetal matter (wood and agricultural by-products). Dung was used as source of fuel material across time (from the Early Numidian occupation phase, 10th-9th century BC, to the last centuries BC) and space (in different excavation areas and type of installations). Such integrated studies demonstrate the value of combining different microarchaeological techniques and the use of ethnoarchaeological material from site areas.
Little is known about the Eastern Maghreb in the second and first millennia BC, except for the very last centuries when classical sources provide some information about the Numidian kingdoms. The survey and excavation of Althiburos and its surroundings have provided valuable data related to the first millennium BC. Occupation of the site dates back to the ninth or tenth century cal BC and continues into Roman times. Archaeobiological data — particularly the evidence of grape, a crop that only provides a return after several years, but thereafter produces fruit for a considerable period — suggest that the population was sedentary from the beginning, and that it probably grew throughout occupation. Iron slag is also present from the eight or tenth century cal BC. The construction of a Punic-type cistern and an impressive defensive wall indicate that the site developed into a city-like settlement by the mid-first millennium BC. While relations with Carthage may have played an important role in this process, we suggest that population growth was the main cause for sedentariness and, later, for the development of cities and the Numidian states. Other important aspects of the project include the typology and dating of pottery, the discovery of small pre-Roman habitation sites, and the dating of a small dolmen and one of the funerary mounds in the city’s surroundings.
RESUMENAunque es un yacimiento recurrentemente mencionado en la bibliografía especializada, hasta hace pocos años el Castellet de Banyoles sólo era realmente conocido por los hallazgos monetarios y de elementos suntuarios de carácter ritual, a parte de las torres pentagonales de tipo helenístico que flanquean su puerta. Los trabajos realizados desde 1998 han permitido precisar la datación del primer asentamiento entre el último tercio del siglo III a.C. y principios del II a.C., y han mostrado la existencia en ese momento de una muralla de compartimentos de tipo púnico. También han traído a luz un extenso sector de hábitat -que probablemente corresponde a un grupo gentilicio-, con casas de distintos tipos y tamaños, y un posible santuario. Con una superficie de 4,5 ha, se trata de una pequeña ciudad que agrupaba toda la población de la hoya de Móra, siguiendo un modelo mononuclear inédito en el mundo ibérico septentrional, y que tal vez se explique por razones estratégicas en un contexto histórico convulso a causa de la expansión bárquida y la segunda guerra púnica.
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