ADULIS, UNA CITTA’-PORTO TRA MEDITERRANEO E OCEANO INDIANO: ARCHEOLOGIA E RESTAURO

The town of Adulis, 50 km ca. south of Massawa (Eritrea), was one of the most important harbors of the Red Sea and a fundamental gate within the net of cultural and trade contacts between Mediterranean and Orient. Ancient literary sources frequently refer to Adulis, destroyed and abandoned during the 8th century, rediscovered at the beginning of 19th century. The first excavation has been carried in 1867 followed by various researches up to the 60s of the twentieth century. The more extensive and systematic research has been conducted by the Italian archaeologist R. Paribeni in 1906/7. Since 2011 the archaeological and research activities started again, directed by Ce.R.D.O., in cooperation with the Eritrean Government, the Catholic University of Milan, the Politecnico of Milan, the “L’Orientale” of Naples, the Museum of Rovereto. The researches, aiming to the valorization of the ancient town, including the creation of an archaeological park, led to the rediscovery of one of the major monuments of the town, the “Altar of the Sun”, as called by Paribeni, who excavated it in 1906: it is a monumental truncated stepped pyramid on the top of which the ruins of a Christian church stand. The contribution here proposed traces new readings of Paribeni trench, the new excavations activities, the setting up of cognitive phases of the “Altar of the Sun”, propaedeutic methodologies for the conservative restoration and safety measures for area. The methodology (archaeological restoration), applied for the conservation of the monument acknowledged by the local Authorities and carried out during the fieldwork November 2012-January 2013, has been a pilot-yard and a formation opportunity for the local workers.