2025 - North African Ribāts through the case Study of Iunca (Tunisia), by Anna Leone
This project focuses on the ribats (coastal forts) which characterised the province of Ifrīqiya’s coast (today Tunisia) by the late 9th century. It aims to shed new light on how the Mediterranean economy and power balance was reorganised after the Arab expansion west and how the coast became Ifrīqiya’s main military, economic and religious-cultural focus by the mid-10th century. The archaeological investigation at Iunca (central Tunisia), will offer the first opportunity to stratigraphically investigate a ribāt on the coast of Tunisia.
The archaeological team, in collaboration with the Institut National du Patrimoine de la Tunisie, will focus the excavation of the fort in key identified sectors. It will train two archaeologists in stratigraphic excavation, topography, 3D modelling, and 4 conservators in on-site conservation.
Iunca was a coastal centre of both strategic and economic importance during the period under study as it connected sub-Saharan and Mediterranean trade networks. The Iunca ribāt was one of the earliest set up on the coast and scholars are debating on whether it was a new construction, or a development of a Byzantine fort. This study will contribute to this debate.
Anna Leone is Professor at the Department of Archaeology, Durham University. Her interests lie at the intersection of Roman, Byzantine and early Arab archaeology.
Photo credits: Hamed Gamaoun, David Stanley
