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PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC WORLD Large quantities of amulets in siliceous paste, glass, bone and semiprecious stones have been found in Phoenician and Punic necropolis all over the Mediterranean. They mostly represent subjects from Egyptian tradition chosen amongst those most closely linked to the world of magic. There are also symbols belonging specifically to Phoenician Punic rituals, such as the so-said sign of Tanit or masks. Some amulets had particular functions, such as protecting the wearer from snake bites or scorpion stings, while others were to ward off the evil eye or to strike the enemy. Others had a more general function of protecting the wearer both in life and in death. PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC JEWELS The Phoenician production in the west derived from a tradition of goldsmiths which had developed at least by the second millennium BC in the Syrian-Palestinian area, with workmanship of the highest quality which was widely exported, and continued in Phoenicia and Cyprus in the early centuries of the first millennium BC. In the west, too, in the following centuries, large centres of production grew up, such as Carthage and Tharros (in Sardinia), which, maybe with the help of craftsmen from the east, developed techniques, styles and decorative motifs taken from the eastern Phoenician tradition of goldsmiths. The main areas where gold was extracted, apart from the eastern regions, would have been North Africa and Spain, where silver was also plentiful, as well as Sardinia.The most common ornaments from the VII and VI centuries BC in the Mediterranean regions were “basket” shaped drop earrings which perhaps represented a basket brimful of fruit, a symbol of abundance and a votive offering of the earliest crops. They were also used as elements of necklaces. The earrings with a pendant in the shape of a crux ansata, mostly made of gold or gold plated silver were maybe an elaboration of the Egyptian sign ankh, a symbol of life. The most ancient finger rings sometimes had an oval mount to hold a scarab or a fixed bezel with complex representations of near eastern origin. From the V century BC, the fixed oval or ellipsoidal bezels with a thin, flat foil, are decorated with a single figure or less complex themes. Some large and thick bow-shaped rings were used as seals and were hung round the neck on a simple string or necklace. The necklaces could be multicoloured with metal elements interspersed between semiprecious stones, amber and faïence or glass beads, or they could consist of gold or silver beads, or a double herringbone chain. They were often strung with pendants decorated with symbols or motifs of Egyptian or Phoenician origin. The hollow, cylindrical pendants surmounted by representations of the heads of animals sacred to the Egyptians, such as the lion, the ram and the cat, also had a magical, religious function, since the cavity was intended to contain a very fine rolled metal foil engraved with figures and magic formulae. The oldest bracelets were open and consisted of strings fastened together at the ends by two rectangular metal plates with granulated decoration. From the fifth century BC it was common to use a type of armband with a serpent’s head at one end and incisions to indicate the eyes, mouth and scales. Large anklets were also used and consisted of circular bands which were open at the ends.
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