La Baia di Algeciras dall’età fenicia all’età punica (IX-II a.C.). Conformazione del territorio de Carteia (Cadice, Spagna)

Abstract

Despite the outstanding location of the bay of Algeciras/Gibraltar at the entrance to the Straits, and the role it had to play in Phoenician colonization of the area, its urban development is not as well known as it is in the neighbouring bays of Gadir or Malaka. Dealing with a wide variety of documentation apart from published works concerning Carteia, Cerro del Prado or Gorham’s Cave, such as cartography, aerial photography, and in particular with reports of emergency excavations and other unpublished works, our analysis focuses on the changes in settlement patterns from Phoenician to Punic times. A special attention is paid to the progressive appropriation – both physical and symbolic – of the bay, taking into account the role played by local populations and trying to understand this local development in the wider context of other Punic poleis in the Straits of Gibraltar