Dr. Meriem Marzouki
May - July 2023 & Nov. - Dec. 2023
Research Project: The Islamic Presence in the Ancient Sites and Byzantine Fortifications of the Zaghouan Region: Continuity or Rupture
This research project proposes to study the early Islamic presence in the ancient sites and Byzantine fortifications forming part of the Zaghouan territory (north-eastern Tunisia). It is a continuation of the previous post-doctoral research on the archaeological site of Zagtoun, which traces the transformation of this ancient city during the early Islamic period. Our objective is to generalize this approach to all the ancient sites in the study area. It is a question of extending the field of investigation to cover other sites in the same territory and which present the same problem.
In fact, the studies that we have carried out on some sites in the mountainous region of Zaghouan have shown an early Islamic presence in the ancient sites and the Byzantine fortifications. This continuity of occupation is linked to many factors:
- Natural factor: the exploitation of natural resources, notably water points and agricultural land.
- Urban factor: the exploitation of already existing urbanism, abundance of building materials and the reuse of ancient materials in Islamic monuments.
- Strategic factor: the exploitation of the roads that connected the different regions of the country.
This work consists of an approach that is as diversified as possible (sources, archives, ancient and current maps and plans, toponymy, archaeological prospection) to understand this mountainous region. This approach makes it possible to put forward the broad outlines of the settlement and occupation of the land from the end of Late Antiquity to the early Islamic period. This project proposes to present both the state of the available documentation and the archaeological knowledge that has been gained from it. The aim is to bring together and link all this data in a work of archaeological synthesis.
Profile
Dr. Meriem Marzouki is a doctor in History, Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Tunis, a member of the Laboratoire d'Archéologie et d'Architecture Maghrébines (LAAM-LR13ES10) and a researcher associated with the laboratory Histoire Et Archéologie Des Mondes Chrétiens Et Musulmans Médiévaux "CIHAM-UMR 5648". She devotes her research to questions relating to the settlement, archaeology and material culture of medieval and modern Maghreb societies. Her research interests are mainly focused on the archaeology of the mountain environment, vernacular architecture and the way of life of Berber mountain societies in northeast Tunisia.
CV
Selected Publications
Marzouki, Meriem (2021), "Zriba, un village perché Du Mont Zaghouan (Nord-Est Tunisien)", in: Miguel Reimão Costa / Susana Gomez Martinez / Desidério Batista / Vitor Ribeiro, eds., Mediterranean Hilltop Settlements: Architecture and Landscape / Povoados alcandorados do Mediterrâneo: Arquitetura e Paisagem, Mértola: CAM / CEAACP, 66-70.
Marzouki, Meriem et al. (2020a), "Berbers and Arabs: tracing the genetic diversity and history of Southern Tunisia through genome wide analysis", American Journal of Physical Anthropology 173.4, 697-708.
Marzouki, Meriem (2020b), "Peuplement Et Organisation Du Territoire Dans La Region De Djebel Zaghouan (Nord-Est Tunisie)", in: Maria de Fátima Palma Ramos / Virgilio Martins Lopes, eds., O Território e a Gestão dos Recursos entre a Antiguidade Tardia e o Período Islâmico (Nakla Colección de Arqueología y Patrimonio 24), Granada: Editorial Alhulia, 487-499.
Marzouki, Meriem (2017), "Takrouna, Zriba et Jéradou, Les Villages Perchés Du Djebel Zaghouan", Historia Hors-Série, 80-82.
Marzouki, Meriem (2016), "Zâwiya Sîdî Bou-Gabrîne à Djebel Zaghouan : étude architecturale et historique", Al-Sabîl : Revue d’Histoire, d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Maghrébines 1, 1-15.