Archaeology

FEDERICA SPAGNOLI
FEDERICA SPAGNOLI

The course aims to provide an advanced knowledge of the cultural landscape of ancient Mediterranean with a particular focus on the role of cultural mediators played by the Phoenicians, both in the pre- and post-classical eras. During the lessons, the student will acquire the specific skills and the methodology to formulate a critical thinking, and evaluate issues, developing independent judgments, ideas, problems and original reflections.

Al termine, lo studente sarà in grado di:
• Distinguere i processi produttivi e le filiere (porpora, metalli, avorio) nelle catene fenicie e discuterne l’impatto economico-sociale.
• Discutere criticamente delle diverse classi di materiali trattati durante le lezioni.
• Valutare il ruolo di santuari e porti come hub produttivi e di scambio
• Presentare criticamente la letteratura scientifica open-access e produrre una presentazione su un argomento concordato.

For students enrolled in the MA in Oriental Languages – Arabic curriculum, the course represents a significant interdisciplinary enrichment, providing essential interpretative tools for an in-depth understanding of the Arab and Islamic world in its Late Antique and pre-Islamic roots.
In particular, the course:
• provides a historical and material framework for understanding the economies of the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean, contexts in which Semitic and Arab cultures developed;
• introduces key concepts (production chains, semi-finished goods, luxury goods, commercial networks) that are indispensable for the historical interpretation of medieval Arabic sources dealing with trade, craftsmanship, resources, and taxation;
• enables students to identify continuities and transformations between Phoenician, Hellenistic and Roman networks and later Arab-Islamic ones (routes, ports, hubs, productive specialization);
• strengthens the ability to linguistically and culturally contextualize economic terminology and concepts found in classical Arabic literature (e.g. luxury goods, raw materials, textile production, metallurgy);
• develops skills in the critical reading of international scholarly literature;
• stimulates advanced reflection on the relationship between natural resources, coastal environments, and productive practices, topics that are also central to studies of the medieval and premodern Arab world.
Although the course is not strictly linguistic in nature, it therefore contributes substantially to the historical-cultural and methodological training of students of Arabic, expanding their capacity to interpret sources and contexts.
For students of Archaeology, the course provides a central methodological and content-based foundation for understanding ancient Mediterranean economies. In particular:
• the analysis of production chains (purple dye, metals, ivory) develops fundamental skills for the study of technological processes, material circulation, and craft practices;
• the integrated use of archaeological, archaeometric, and textual sources strengthens the critical interpretation of material evidence;
• the focus on sanctuaries, ports, and hydraulic infrastructures as productive and logistical nodes introduces students to an advanced understanding of economic and cultic landscapes;
• the case studies from the Levant, Cyprus, Motya, Carthage, Iberia, and the Aegean allow for comparative analysis of settlement models and exchange networks on an interregional scale.
The course thus contributes directly to the development of key archaeological competencies, particularly in the fields of economic archaeology, craft production, and Mediterranean exchange networks.

A Shared Ground: Mediterranean Networks, Exchange, and Cultures
The common ground between L-1 (Archaeology) and LM-36 (Oriental Languages) lies in the perspective of a connected history of the Mediterranean, in which the Phoenician world represents a structural antecedent to the large-scale commercial and cultural networks that would later characterize the Hellenistic, Roman, and Arab-Islamic periods.
The focus on intermediate goods, cultic and logistical infrastructures, and processes of production and circulation enables students in both degree programmes to:
• understand the materiality of the cultures they study;
• acquire a shared analytical vocabulary for interdisciplinary dialogue;
• develop transferable skills applicable to historical, archaeological, and philological research.
Thanks to its interdisciplinary design, strong grounding in material evidence, and sustained attention to long-term economic and cultural processes, the course is fully appropriate for students of Archaeology (L-1) and highly formative for students of Arabic Language and Culture (LM-36).
It fosters a critical, comparative, and methodologically robust training, making a substantial contribution to the expansion of knowledge and competencies of students in both the Arabic and Archaeology curricula, in full alignment with the educational objectives of their respective degree programmes.

"In-between Goods: Raw Materials, Production, and Phoenician Craft Products in the Mediterranean

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1) Syllabus (42 hours total)

Module I – General Part (16 hours)

Introduction:
What “intermediate goods” are in the ancient world; Phoenician production chains between raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished goods; networks and nodes (Tyre, Sidon, Carthage, Motya). Historiographical overview and sources (archaeological, textual, archaeometric).

Raw materials and semi-finished products:

Metals (copper, tin, bronze, iron): procurement, techniques and standards (“metallurgical recipes,” alloys), workshops, and circulation of semi-finished products.

Ivory and bone: supply routes, “Phoenician” workshops, and iconographic hybridizations.

Purple dyes: chaîne opératoire, archaeochemical evidence, and production sites in the Mediterranean.
Cultic and logistical infrastructures: sanctuaries, ports, sacred basins, and water management as factors in production and exchange.

Phoenicians between the Aegean, Iberia, and the islands: settlement models and “hubs” for raw materials and semi-finished goods.

Module II – Monographic Part (16 hours)

Three production chains compared: finds and archaeometric data:

Purple production chain: muricid species, processes, residues, tools, costs, and status; from textile semi-finished product to luxury good.

Metal production chain (bronzes and precious metals):** procurement (Iberia, Sardinia, the East), techniques (casting, chasing, gilding), circulation of ingots and “in-between goods.”

Ivory production chain: iconographies, “Phoenician” models, workshops, and market.



Module III – Seminars & Flipped Class (10 hours)

Eight seminar meetings with student presentations (pairs/groups) on agreed sub-topics, e.g.:
“Metallurgy and trade networks in Iberia”;
“Luxury goods: patronage and reuse”;
“Sanctuaries as logistical nodes”;
“Motya and ‘in-between goods’ in votive offerings.”

Workshop on the critical reading of open-access articles provided on Classroom.

Bibliografia essenziale in open-access (vedi in Lavori del corso - Bibliografia)

• Lezioni frontali con case study e lettura guidata di articoli open-access
• Flipped classroom: studenti presentano, la classe discute e integra con dati e parallelismi inter-areali.
• Laboratorio di lettura critica di articoli open-access

• Consigliata (≥70% delle ore). Obbligatoria la presenza alle sessioni del Modulo III in cui lo studente presenta.

• Active participation in seminars and discussions: 20%
• Seminar presentation (flipped class, readings): 20%
• Final exam: 60%
Skills assessed according to the following grid
Ability to present the argument:
Insufficient (<18): Fails to explain the topic or explains it in a confused, incomprehensible way and/or with many errors.
Sufficient (18-22): Presents the topic without errors but in an essential way, without details and without being able to give examples.
Good (23-26): Explains the topic correctly, knows how to give details and examples, but makes links with other course topics with difficulty (if prompted). Cannot contextualize the topic within the context of the other subjects studied.
Excellent (27-30): Explains the topic correctly, with the ability to reason logically in the exposition, is able to provide details and give examples even different from those seen during the lessons, is able to make connections with other topics of the course and contextualize the topic in the context of the other subjects studied.
Ability to analyze and present information/data
Insufficient (<18): Does not present appropriate or relevant information or data. Cannot analyse information or data or makes inaccurate or inappropriate analyses. Reports information or data without knowing it.
Sufficient (18-22): Presents appropriate information or data but may not know or may ignore important information or data. Analysis is limited or somewhat inappropriate, i.e., contains inaccuracies and/or omissions that interfere with the analysis or the meaning of the analysis.
Good (23-26): Presents sufficient and appropriate data/information. Can generally analyse data or information for accuracy, relevance and validity. Minor inaccuracies or omissions do not interfere with analysis or significance.
Excellent (27-30): Presents sufficient, appropriate and credible data/information. Clearly analyses information for accuracy, relevance and validity. Information is clearly related to meaning.
Ability to think properly and draw conclusions

Insufficient (<18): Argument is illogical, simplistic, inconsistent or absent. Lack of clear and consistent conclusions or conclusions are simplistic and stated as an absolute, inconsistent with evidence or reasoning.

Sufficient (18-22): Arguments contain elements of logic or creative insights/ideas but not fully resolved. May have minor inconsistencies or omissions. Conclusions are relevant but abbreviated or simplified, not fully supported, and/or contain minor inconsistencies.

Good (23-26): Arguments are mostly logical, complete and coherent and show some original and creative insights/ideas. Conclusions are generally complete, supported by reasoning, and mostly coherent and relevant.

Excellent (27-30): Arguments are logical, creative, complete, coherent, and often original. Conclusions are complex and/or detailed, well supported by reasoning, creative, complete and relevant.

• Spiega come e perché la porpora funzioni da “bene di lusso” e individua gli intermediate steps tecnici attestati dalle evidenze archeochimiche
• Discuti la circolazione di semilavorati metallici e il rapporto tra standard di lega e reti fenicie in Iberia
• Confronta avorio e metallo come filiere: approvvigionamento, botteghe, committenza, circolazione

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  Modulo I – Parte generale (16 ore)o    Introduzione: cosa sono gli “intermediate goods” nel mondo antico; filiere fenicie fra materie prime, semilavorati e beni finiti; reti e nodi (Tiro, Sidone, Cartagine, Mozia). Sintesi storiografica e fonti (archeologiche, testuali, archeometriche). o    Materie prime e semilavorati:-       Metalli (rame, stagno, bronzo, ferro): approvvigionamento, tecniche e standard (“ricette” metallurgiche, leghe), officine e circolazione dei semilavorati.-       Avori e ossi: vie di approvvigionamento, botteghe “fenicie” e ibridazioni iconografiche. -       Coloranti e porpora: catena operativa, evidenze archeochimiche e siti produttivi nel Mediterraneo.o    Infrastrutture cultuali e logistiche: santuari-porto, bacini sacri e gestione delle acque come fattori di produzione e scambio o    Fenici tra Egeo, Iberia e isole: modelli di insediamento e “hub” per materie prime/semilavorati. Modulo II – Parte monografica (16 ore)Tre filiere a confronto, con dossier di reperti e dati archeometrici:5.              Filiera della porpora: specie muricide, processi, residui, utensili, costi e status; dal semilavorato tessile al bene di lusso. 6.              Filiera dei metalli (bronzi e preziosi): approvvigionamento (Iberia, Sardegna, Oriente), tecniche (fusione, cesello, doratura), circolazione di lingotti e “in-between goods”7.              Filiera dell’avorio: iconografie, modelli “fenici”, botteghe e mercato. Modulo III – Seminari & flipped class (10 ore)o    Otto incontri seminariali con presentazioni degli studenti (coppie/gruppi) su sotto-temi concordati: es. “Metallurgia e reti commerciali in Iberia”; “Beni di lusso: committenza e riuso”; “Santuari come nodi logistici”; “Mozia e i ‘beni in-between’ nelle offerte votive”.o    Laboratorio di lettura critica di articoli open-access forniti nel Classroom