Contribution to the study of the Nora Tophet Stelae repertoire: An unpublished Stele in the Historic Center of Pula (Cagliari, Sardinia)

This paper presents an unpublished Punic votive stele recently discovered in the historic center of Pula (Cagliari, Sardinia) and reused in the façade of a private house. Typological, iconographic, and lithological features clearly link the monument to the tophet sanctuary of ancient Nora. The stele depicts a standing frontal anthropomorphic figure, nude and holding a floral attribute, probably a lotus flower. The discovery contributes to the reassessment of the Nora tophet repertoire, which was partially lost after the 19th-century excavations, and enriches its iconographic range. It represents the first attestation at Nora of the female-figurewith-flower type, characteristic of the repertoire of the tophet of Sulcis. The case highlights the importance of systematic documentation and recovery of reused or displaced monuments for reconstructing the diversity and local variability of Punic religious iconography in the central Mediterranean.