Attività della Missione archeologica dell’Università di Palermo a Sabratha e Cirene negli anni 2009-2014

Abstract

Archaeological Reports of the University of Palermo mission at Sabratha and Cirene in the years 2009-2014 The onerous legacy left by N. Bonacasa it requires us to present the results of archaeological researches and restorations carried out at Sabratha and Cyrene. Sabratha. In the essay B, along the northern portico of the Temple of Serapis (beginning of the iii century), a pre-existent neo-Punic public building was recognized, diverging in orientation from the Roman buildings of the Forum, thus demonstrating the total rebuilding of the urban structure in Roman times. To protect this interesting discovery we have followed the restoration of the structures and the realization of the project for a covering with walkable glass sheets U.V. The defnitive publication of the results of the research and restorations has been personally treated by N. Bonacasa. The study of the Roman bath-buildings ended with the publication of the results. The restoration of the mosaic foor of the entrance corridor was also carried out in the Terme of Regio v. The more than satisfactory results allowed to save this important document of the history of the Sabrathensis mosaic. Thanks to the photogrammetric survey and the topographic study of the Insula 9 in the Regio ii, it was possible to develop an integrated planimetry of the “Terme a mare”. The fnal results and all the illustrative documentation are presented in this book. In the topographic survey of the Theater District (Regiones iii, iv, v) it was possible to anchor the plan of the buildings being studied: Casa dell’attore tragico, Casa del Peristilio, Terme of Regio v, Temple of Hercules, Christian Basilicas 3 and 4, Baths “of the Basilica 3”, Baths of Oceano, Temple of Isis, Paleochristian catacomb. We have recently published new data about the study of the catacomb and the Christian funerary areas in the Theater District. As regards the research on private residential constructions it is underway a new edition of the Roman wall paintings which were exhibited in the Museum after the restoration. Preliminary news on the Casa del Peristilio have recently been published in two studies, the fnal results of the surveys carried out in the domus will be presented in the book in preparation which concerns all the excavations conducted by the Mission in the Theater District. The presence of a public square in the area in front of the Temple of Hercules, beyond the decumanus, was hypothesized due to the absence of housing structures and the attendance of the spaces for funerary use in the Byzantine age. The same Temple of Hercules, dedicated to imperial worship, may have been the main building of a second Roman forum in Sabratha. It has also been suggested that the west portico had been reused as a place of Christian worship, connected with one of the funerary areas. Even the hypothesis that the Theater District had older structures than the second century expects to be confrmed by the fnal results of the numerous stratigraphic tests that will be presented in the same book in preparation. Cyrene. N. Bonacasa with the restoration and anastylosis works at the Temple of Zeus he intended to repropose the constructive unity and the architectural identity of the monument. The works were conducted from 1997 to 2013. North side. Five lintels have been restored: 4 relocated on the columns and a very fragmented one has been left on the ground; two triglyphs, two metopes and a frame block have also been relocated. East side. All the surviving blocks of the architrave containing the inscription with the dedication to iovi augusto have been restored and displayed on a long platform, in front of the east facade of the temple. West side. The interventions have been more lasting and demanding. With the systematic excava- * sergio.aiosa@unipa.it ** rosamaria.carra@unipa.it *** giuseppina_cipriano@virgilio.it **** anton