Le sculture del complesso monumentale di via delle Terme a Porto Torres – Turris Libisonis (Sardegna, Italia)

Abstract

The monumental complex on via delle Terme was uncovered between 2006 and 2010 in Porto Torres, ancient Turris Libisonis, but subsequently only brief reports were published about it by the discoverers. For the first time, this study takes a comprehensive look at the notable marble sculptures found there, to finally place them within the context of research on their respective classes of materials. After a summary of the uncovered structures, the study of the architectural decoration follows initially, through which it is possible to chronologically frame the construction of the complex with considerable precision. The analysis then continues with the statues: two cuirassed torsos and a figure of Hercules. The pieces are meticulously related to their respective typological series and, with detailed reasoning, an attribution to a specific iconography is proposed for the statue of Hercules, together with the recognition of specific principes for the two cuirassed torsos. For this purpose, new and old findings are linked together, leading to the probable identification of a gallery of imperial statues, the only one in the Roman province of Sardinia to have been augmented with further dedications over a long period, at least from the Claudian period to the late Antonine age, possibly in close relation to a monument of the imperial cult