Pourquoi tous ces enfants ? Quelques réflexions sur les sanctuaires infantiles à incinération de tradition phénicienne (« tophet »)

Abstract

This study offers some general remarks on the interpretation of the tophet-phenomenon in the light of the current debate. The importance of interpretative models based on a comprehensive knowledge and use of all sources is stressed, together with the need of organic theories, not limited to individual aspects, but seeking to tackle the entire range of issues. In particular, the relationship between urns and stelae is reconsidered, concluding that the interment of the urns and the erection of the votive markers were the final act of a unique ceremony. The issue of the presence of infant burials in a necropolis located in the vicinity of a tophet is raised again, in the light of new data provided by the recent excavations at Motya (Sicily): a circumstance that the theory of the tophet as an infant necropolis fails to explain adequately. On the contrary, the hypothesis of the tophet as a cult-place where newborns or very young children (and lambs and kids) were sacrificed to the gods as a consequence of a vow matches all our sources, and can answer many questions that would otherwise remain unsolved.

Keywords

• Phoenicians
• tophet
• necropolis
• urns
• stelae
• inscriptions