An unrecorded funerary monument at Beni Salah (Guelma, Algeria): Archeological evidence of the interaction between the Libyco-Numidian substratum and Mediterranean cultures

Abstract

This article describes and analyses an unpublished funerary monument uncovered in the forest of Beni Salah in a rural area northeast of Guelma, which so far has not benefited from scholars’ attention. The finding is a rock-cut funerary monument, discovered during recent surveys, that testifies to the various cultural interactions between local traditions and Mediterranean influences, particularly Punic and Roman
            The monument measures approximately 1.90 m in height and 2.24 m in width, was carved from an impressive sandstone block, and encompasses three anthropomorphic stelae sculpted on the façade, as well as an offering table composed of seven cupules intended for libations and ritual practices.
            The stelae feature stylized  faces engraved in niches, each of which was topped by a triangular pediment decorated with a lunar crescent and a palm. The left side of the stele features several low- relief sculpted hands.

            The iconographic analysis underscores a wealthy set of symbols. First, the lunar crescent, which is very common in North African funerary traditions and pertains to the astral beliefs as well as the ascension of the soul, is followed by the palm, which refers to the victory over death, immortality, and prosperity. The protective and apotropaic function of the hand is also well documented in ancient African traditions. These iconographic symbols are the product of a religious syncretism between indigenous elements and Punic-Roman influence.

            The artistic details of the stelae obviously maintained ancestral conventions, favoring the Libyan long-established rule of simple facial features, combined with Roman architectural features, such as the triangular pediment; this mixture of local and Mediterranean cultures highlights the gradual process of acculturation that occurred in the rural areas of ancient Africa.

            There are two primary ways to interpret the monument. The first: a family monument meant to honor multiple members of the same group and which may have been arranged following a social hierarchy, as can be noted from the stelae's size and placement. The second: a sanctified area devoted to the worship of an ancestor, where the main figure may have acted as a mediator between the living and the dead, gradually converting this burial site into a cult space.

            Based on stylistic and iconographic parallels, and despite the lack of stratigraphic and epigraphic evidence, the monument may have been built between the first and third centuries C-E.

            This monument is an important example of the persistence of local customs in a Romanised setting and would certainly help future research gain a deeper understanding of the rural world of antiquity.

Key words: rock-cut funerary monument, Beni Salah(Guelma), libyco -Numidian traditions , religious syncretism.