I cippi funerari delle necropoli puniche di Tharros: tra dati antiquari e nuove scoperte

Since the nineteenth century the Punic necropolises of Tharros have returned a substantial number of cippus and altars, datable between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. Some of the documented types find wide comparison in the East and the West, both in funerary and votive contexts; other types, particularly cippus flanked by altars and monolithic tomb lids with altars, turn out to be typical Tharros productions. Many of the specimens were found out of context and therefore we are unaware of their original function. Others, however, were found in situ, either outside the tombs, at the base of the dromoi, or inside the chambers; the former, serving as markers and altars, were to characterize the funerary landscape; for the others, however, a symbolic value closely linked to the deceased must be assumed.