I sigilli egiziani ed egittizzanti in steatite e fayence nei contesti fenici e punici di Sardegna

This work takes into account the attestations of steatite and faience scarabs from Sardinia and actually preserved in the most important archaeological museums of the island. The study involved not only the direct analysis of the artifacts, but it took into account bibliographical sources too, relating to the researches undertaken in the necropolis of Tharros from the mid-19th century. Furthermore, a significant part of the work is reserved to the study of the documents preserved in the historical archives of the two heritage departments (Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio) of Sardinia, and those of the City and of the University of Cagliari. The study of the archival sources was a further step to get a better understanding of the original quantity and the way in which the scarabs, the most part belonging to private collections, entered the national museums. The most significative documents have been gathered and organized in the documentary addendum, representing an integral part of this study. At the same time, a typology was set up from the analysed scarabs, in a manner that the studied artifacts are divided up in reference to a specific type (scarab, scaraboid, cowroid, plaque, stamp seal and cylinder seal) and, in turn, they are further sorted according to iconographic conventions and their variations, recurring for each type. The study of the artifacts made it necessary creating a catalogue, divided into a section gathering all the data obtained from the analysis of the scarabs, and a second part with images of the artefact, essential for its comprehension. Starting from the data obtained from the catalogue, attention was focused on some particular aspects of the iconography and at the same time some hypothesis were drafted for the chronology, the likely manufacture place of Sardinian scarabs and their comparison with other artifacts from similar contexts.