A case of semi-combusted pregnant female in the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Mount Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia, Italy)

We present a case of a pregnant woman with the fetus skeletal remains in situ, belonging to the
Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Sardinia, Italy). The burial dates back to the late 6th to
early 5th century BCE. Of the unborn fetal cases documented in the literature this is amongst the
oldest four and it represents the first documented case of a pregnant woman in the Phoenician and
Punic necropolis literature. A physico-chemical investigation of bones combining X-ray diffraction
and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy suggests that the female skeleton and fetus were
subjected to an incomplete heat treatment according to a funerary practice, perhaps limited to the
period of early 5th century BCE, that appears to be peculiar to this site.