Unique marble mask unearthed at Carthage's Tofet site in Tunisia
The Ministry of Culture hailed this find as a "unique testimony to the richness of the Punic-Carthaginian heritage".
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00:00The Tunisian Ministry of Culture Affairs announced on Chilsden a remarkable archaeological find at the Tophet site in Katharge,
00:08a marble mask depicting a woman with a Phoenician-style coiffure, described as unique and dating back to the late 14th century BC.
00:20It is especially important to place these new discoveries within the broader context of ongoing research.
00:28Indeed, excavations at this site have been continuing for some time as part of a major project funded by the National Heritage Institute
00:39and the Agency for Heritage Revival and Cultural Development with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
00:48The goal here is to continue and resume excavations, restore and highlight the site in order to present it in the best possible light to both Tunisia and international visitors.
01:02According to the first hypothesis, the object may have been offered as a gift intended to gain the favor of the gods.
01:14At the same location, but in a slightly old archaeological layer dating from the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 3rd century BC,
01:26a unique object was recently discovered, a marble piece representing only the front part of a woman's face,
01:33carved in relief, while the back is hollowed out and concave.
01:36This feature is reminiscent of certain clay masks found in Catharge, indicating that we must proceed with caution and take the time to study the artifact,
01:46to understand its meaning, composition and the influence it carries, whether Eastern, Greek or others.
01:52Catharge was an open city, the capital of the Western Mediterranean, where people, nationalities of various backgrounds lived.
01:59Therefore, a thorough study will be necessary to determine whether it was made in Catharge or elsewhere.
02:10A material analysis of the marble and the remaining polychromy will help determine its origin, which is likely from the Eastern Mediterranean.
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