In the last ten years the Archaeological Mission of Chieti University in Cyrenaica has investigated, through intensive field surveys and excavations, several contexts of the Cyrenaican chora. Among the many recorded settlements, Lamluda is the most interesting because of its urban organisation, productivity and location at the intersection of the main road network. Our aim is to present the preliminary data from the mapping, survey and excavation of the site, including the results of the archaeometric analysis and the epigraphic study. Among the copious ceramic finds the Roman coarse wares and amphorae are particularly numerous, dating mainly to the Imperial, Late Roman and Byzantine periods. The pottery illustrates not only the longevity of the settlement, which lasted until the eighth or ninth century AD, but also helps to trace the evolution of agricultural wealth and trade. Through archaeometrical and archaeological research it is possible to identify the main local products and their circulation, as well as the imported or exported amphorae and hypothesise on the nature of their contents.

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The Garden Tomb is a remarkable funerary complex in the Southern Necropolis of Cyrene, consisting of two burial chambers set within a courtyard with a monumental Doric façade. The architectural arrangement of the main tomb, most likely dating back to the fourth century BC, shows at least three phases of re-use and alterations of the original interior, in use until the Late Imperial period. Three sculptures belonging to the tomb and the decorative features of the exterior (entrance door kymation) and interior (red, blue and ochre wall paint in the main burial) of the monument are noteworthy. The epigraphic apparatus, drawn in charcoal on the walls of the main burial, is significant both in terms of the form of the letters and its content: one of the two inscriptions appears to give the price of loculi for sale.