Rusadir
Melilla Punic City · Rsadr · Russadir
Phoenician to Late Antique (7th c. BCE–5th c. CE)·Phoenician / Punic / Roman / Mauri·🇪🇸 Melilla (Spanish enclave, Moroccan coast, Mauretania Tingitana), Spain
About
About Rusadir
Punic then Roman oppidum Rusadir beneath Melilla la Vieja; Phoenician purple dye vats (6th c. BCE), Punic tophet on Cerro del Cubo, Roman bath cisterns and 2nd-c. Mithraeum fragment. Cape Tres Forcas (rʾš ʾdr = powerful cape) gave name and purple murex rocks.
Why it mattersWesternmost Phoenician purple dye centre linking Iberia and Mauretania.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Tophet urn count unpublished
- 02Mithraeum extent under barracks
Theories
- 01rʾš ʾdr as Baal cape epithet (Huss)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Phoenician factory 7th c. BCE; Punic city 6th c. BCE; Roman municipium 1st c. CE
- Period
- Phoenician to Late Antique (7th c. BCE–5th c. CE)
- Culture
- Phoenician / Punic / Roman / Mauri
- Purpose
- Purple dye port and cape fortress on Tres Forcas
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
7th c. BCE
Phoenician dye factory
6th c. BCE
Punic city rʾš ʾdr founded
1st c. CE
Roman municipium under Claudius
3rd c. CE
Mithraeum phase
On the ground
Structures & features
35.2940° N · 2.9330° W · 30 m · 2 mapped features
Punic Dye Vats of Rusadir
industrial6 rock-cut vats 2 m deep for murex purple
35.2950° N · 2.9340° WCerro del Cubo Tophet
tophetPunic tophet with urns and stelae on hilltop
35.2930° N · 2.9320° W
Gallery