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Beads, rings and mosaic tessarae from Tunisia (Carthage and Utica, 1st centuries BC and AD, El Djem, 2nd-3rd centuries and Mahdia, 10th century) were analysed by Raman spectroscopy for non-destructive differentiation of various types of glasses (most have Si-and Na/Ca-rich compositions, some others are lead-containing glass) and identification of synthetic or natural minerals (crystal or stone). The results are discussed in the light of chemical analyses. A green glass is coloured by a Cr-based nanosized pigment and a red mosaic tesserae is obtained by a colloidal dispersion of gold (Cassius purple). Cassiterite (SnO 2 ) is used as an opacifier or fluxing agent. The examination of glass mosaic and jewellery microstructure shows that some pieces are made of sintered glass, i.e. using a paste technology.

The quantitative determination of total phenols, ellagic tannins and gallic and ellagic acids in the peel of the Tunisian pomegranate variety Chelfi, has been carried out. The ellagic tannin content is prominently less than the amount of total phenols, which led us to look for the presence of the condensed tannins. The determination of the content of catechic tannins in eight Tunisian varieties of the pomegranate was carried out using weekly samples over a period of 2 months.

We compiled 123 focal mechanisms from various sources for Tunisia and adjacent regions up to Sicily, to image the current stress field in the Maghrebides chain (from Tunisia to Sicily) and its foreland. Stress inversion of all the available data provides a first-order stress field with a N150°E horizontal compression (S Hmax ) and a transpressional tectonic regime, but the obtained stress tensor poorly fit to the data set. We separated them into regional subsets (boxes) in function of their geographical proximity, kinematic regime, homogeneity of kinematic orientations, and tectonic setting. Their respective inversion evidences second-and third-order spatial variations in tectonic regime and horizontal stress directions. The stress field gradually changes from compression in the Maghrebides thrust belt to transpression and strike slip in the Atlassic and Pelagian foreland, respectively, where preexisting NW-SE to E-W deep faults system are reactivated. This spatial variation of the sismotectonic stress field and tectonic regime is consistent with the neotectonic stress field determined by others from fault slip data. The major Slab Transfer Edge Propagator faults (i.e., North-South Axis-Hammamet relay and Malte Escarpment), which laterally delimit the subducting slabs, play an active role in second-and third-order lateral variations of the tectonic regime and stress field orientations over the Tunisian/Sicilian domain. The past and current tectonic deformations and kinematics of the central Mediterranean are subordinately guided by the plate convergence (i.e., Africa-Eurasia), controlled or influenced by lateral slab migration/segmentation and by deep dynamics such as lithosphere-mantle interaction.

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