The project, promoted through collaboration between the Department of Antiquities of Libya (DoA) and the University of Macerata, has received official recognition as an Archaeological Mission from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). It continues a scientific partnership that has been active for over fifty years with the University of Macerata. The initiative builds upon the research launched by Prof. Enzo Catani and aims to enhance the knowledge, conservation, and promotion of the archaeological heritage of several sites in Cyrenaica through new survey campaigns. Activities have focused on the sites of Snibat el Awila / Suani el Abiad and Siret el Bab, Siret el Giamel (now part of Beida), the necropolis of Beida, and Gasr Batta. The approach integrated remote sensing tools and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the analysis of funerary and settlement landscapes. These investigations have led to the recording, cataloguing, and documentation of not only important funerary structures—many of them previously unpublished—including noteworthy monuments of various types (temple-shaped, circular, cube-shaped, hypogeal, porticoed, sarcophagus, and pit tombs), but also significant settlement traces (roads, quarries, productive or fortified structures, Byzantine religious buildings). Altogether, these findings situate the area within a long chronological span, ranging from the Classical period to Late Antiquity and the post-antique era. The project also included strengthening collaboration with Libyan educational and cultural institutions, fostering joint training and the exchange of expertise among scholars and professionals engaged in the protection of the local archaeological heritage, which remains under constant threat of depletion.
Il progetto, promosso in collaborazione tra il Dipartimento delle Antichità della Libia (DoA) e l’Università di Macerata, ha ricevuto il riconoscimento istituzionale di Missione archeologica dal MAECI. Esso si inserisce nel solco di una cooperazione scientifica attiva da oltre cinquant’anni con l'Università di Macerata. L’iniziativa ha proseguito, infatti, le ricerche avviate dal Prof. Enzo Catani e ha mirato ad approfondire la conoscenza, la conservazione e la valorizzazione del patrimonio archeologico di alcune località della Cirenaica attraverso nuove campagne di survey. Le attività si sono concentrate nei siti di Snibat el Awila / Suani el Abiad e Siret el Bab, Siret el Giamel (oggi inglobato in Beida), la necropoli di Beida e Gasr Batta. L’approccio ha integrato strumenti di telerilevamento e Sistemi Informativi Geografici (GIS) per l’analisi dei paesaggi funerari e insediativi, dove sono stati rilevati, schedati e documentati, non solo importanti realtà sepolcrali, di cui molte inedite, con monumenti anche di rilievo di differenti tipologie (a tempietto, a circolo, a dado, a ipogeo, a portico, a sarcofago, a fossa), ma anche significative tracce di insediamento (strade, latomie, strutture produttive o fortificate, edifici di culto bizantini), che collocano questo territorio all'interno di un lungo arco temporale, che va dal periodo classico all'età tardo-antica e post-antica. Il progetto ha previsto inoltre il rafforzamento della collaborazione con le istituzioni formative e culturali libiche, favorendo la formazione congiunta e la condivisione di competenze tra studiosi e operatori impegnati nella salvaguardia del patrimonio archeologico locale, soggetto a costante depauperamento.
Investigations on the archaeological sites of Siret el Bab, Siret el Jameil, and Batta: Cyrenaican Settlements and Necropolises (Cyrenaica, Libia)
Stortoni, E.;Bevilacqua, E.
2025-01-01
Abstract
The project, promoted through collaboration between the Department of Antiquities of Libya (DoA) and the University of Macerata, has received official recognition as an Archaeological Mission from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). It continues a scientific partnership that has been active for over fifty years with the University of Macerata. The initiative builds upon the research launched by Prof. Enzo Catani and aims to enhance the knowledge, conservation, and promotion of the archaeological heritage of several sites in Cyrenaica through new survey campaigns. Activities have focused on the sites of Snibat el Awila / Suani el Abiad and Siret el Bab, Siret el Giamel (now part of Beida), the necropolis of Beida, and Gasr Batta. The approach integrated remote sensing tools and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the analysis of funerary and settlement landscapes. These investigations have led to the recording, cataloguing, and documentation of not only important funerary structures—many of them previously unpublished—including noteworthy monuments of various types (temple-shaped, circular, cube-shaped, hypogeal, porticoed, sarcophagus, and pit tombs), but also significant settlement traces (roads, quarries, productive or fortified structures, Byzantine religious buildings). Altogether, these findings situate the area within a long chronological span, ranging from the Classical period to Late Antiquity and the post-antique era. The project also included strengthening collaboration with Libyan educational and cultural institutions, fostering joint training and the exchange of expertise among scholars and professionals engaged in the protection of the local archaeological heritage, which remains under constant threat of depletion.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
