Ksour Essef cuirass

The Ksour Essef cuirass is a triple-disc breastplate from Southern Italy, discovered in 1909 inside a Punic tomb near Ksour Essef, Tunisia. It is now a key exhibit in the ancient department of the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, alongside other artifacts from the same burial.

History of the excavations

The tomb was found by Tunisian workers on February 20, 1909, during earthworks at a site called Hammada-El-Mekata, about 12 kilometers southwest of Mahdia. Alfred Merlin, director of Tunisia’s antiquities service, and inspector Louis Poinssot examined the tomb the following month. The excavation caused some damage: two amphorae were broken (later restored from fragments), and the sarcophagus planks were also damaged and later repaired at the Bardo’s laboratory.

Archaeological context

The tomb was a shaft tomb, a common type in the Tunisian Sahel. The shaft measured 2.30 by 1.30 meters and was filled with stones from nearby Rejiche quarries. It led to two burial chambers: one empty, the other larger (2 by 2.40 meters, 1.60 meters high). Inside this chamber lay a cypress-wood sarcophagus, painted red, 0.84 meters high, 1.80 meters long, and 0.68 meters wide.

This sarcophagus style was widespread from Byzacium to Gigthi. Initial reports mention a single body lying on its back, with poorly preserved bones coated in reddish-brown pigment (cinnabar). Merlin suggested the deceased may have undergone ritual emaciation.

Besides the sarcophagus and cuirass, the tomb contained four amphorae, a bowl, a wooden dish (still holding ochre), a black-glazed lamp, elements of a bronze belt, and copper plates (later identified by Habib Ben Younès as parts of a casket). The cuirass was found next to the lamp. Some items were rediscovered in museum storage in the 1990s; Ben Younès noted that many finds from early 20th-century Punic necropolis excavations have since been lost.

Description

The cuirass (inventory number 01-02-03-01) is a gilded bronze "kardiophylax" (heart guard). It measures about 30 centimeters in height (or 28 by 30 centimeters for the pectoral), with a front side of 42.5 by 44 centimeters and a reverse side of 42 by 66 centimeters. The breastplate and back piece feature three raised circles. One circle depicts a helmeted Minerva with large eyes, thick lips, and visible hair strands.