Landscape archaeology and urbanism at Meninx: results of geophysical prospection on Jerba (2015)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the geophysical prospection conducted at the site of Meninx (Jerba) in 2015. This was the first step in a Tunisian-German project (a cooperation between the Institut National du Patrimoine, Tunis, and the Institut für Klassische Archäologie der Ludwig-Maximilans-Universität München), the aim of which is to shed light on the urban history of the most important city on the island of Jerba in antiquity.Meninx, situated on the SE shore of the island (fig. 1), was the largest city on Jerba during the Roman Empire and eponymous for the island's name in antiquity. The outstanding importance of this seaport derived from the fact that it was one of the main production centers of purple dye in the Mediterranean. With the earliest secure evidence dating to at least the Hellenistic period, Meninx saw a magnificent expansion in the 2nd and 3rd c. A.D. It was inhabited until the 7th c. when the city was finally abandoned.

UBI SUNT MACELLA?THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON‐INVASIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND STUDY OF ROMAN FOOD MARKETS

“…There is no doubt that the macellum of Meninx must have been oriented towards the sale of fish owing to the direct connection of the site with the ancient coast (Ritter et al . 2018, 366, 368, 369).…”

“…2009, 133; Ritter et al . 2018, 357). Since the nineteenth century, small excavations have taken place at the site, more specifically near the forum and outside the city centre.…”

“…2017, 135: Ritter et al . 2018, 359–60). The macellum was located along the coast, about 60 m south‐west of the forum and basilica .…”

“…Magnetometer survey of the macellum and nearby storage building (to the east) as revealed during the recent field operations by the Munich team at Meninx (after Ritter et al . 2018). …”

Wool sheep and purple snails—Long‐term continuity of animal exploitation in ancient Meninx (Jerba/Tunisia)

“…Insight into faunal developments in the latter region mainly comes from antique seaports, primarily Carthage (e.g., MacKinnon, 2010). In the last decade, however, particularly the eastern coast of southern Tunisia witnessed intense archaeological research, for example, at Ghizène (Ben Tahar, 2016/17), Zitha (Moses et al, 2019), Henchir Bourgou (Ben Tahar, 2018; Ben Tahar et al, 2020) and more recently, at Meninx, a major ancient harbour located on the island of Jerba (Ritter & Ben Tahar, 2020; Ritter, Ben Tahar, Fassbinder, & Lambers, 2018) (Figure 1). The site of Meninx has been the focus of investigation since 2015 and offers significant scientific potential due to the extensive excavations and field surveys carried out by the joint efforts of the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) (Ritter et al, 2018).…”