mozia a reinterpratation

daria kutsaeva table of content 45 INHABITED AREA 47 Central inhabited area

48 INHABITED AREA A 03 MOZIA INTRODUCTION

49 House of Amphora 12 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

50 House of 22 THE ISLAND

52 INHABITED AREA B 24 DEFENSIVE AREA

53 INDUSTRIAL AREAS 26 F o r t i f i c a t i o n s

54 Area K 28 Porta Nord

56 Area T 30 Connection road

58 SUBMERGED ROAD OF MOZIA 33 Porta Sud

53 PROJECT CONCEPT 34 Kothon

37 Casermetta 49 Harbour

39 RELIGIOUS AREA 50 North Gate

40 Sanctuary of Cappiddazzu 49 Kothon

41 Necropolis 50 Piazza

43 Topheth 49 Connections

2 3 MOZIA

The archaeological site

The “Stagnone di ” is a sort of elliptical lagoon; about 11 km long and the maximum width is 3 km. Characterized by very shallow waters, it is formed by four islands (Scuola, Santa Maria, San Pantaleo and Isola Grande) all detached from the mainland due to a partial submersion of the western cusp of .

Over the centuries this basin has undergone considerable changes of natural and anthropoligical origin. It is not possible to reconstruct a precise picture as the examination of the most ancient cartography is not sufficient to define with certainty the appearance that the landscape had originally.

4 5 History

The foundation of the city probably and concentrated themselves in the dates from the eighth century BC, three principal colonies of , about a century after the foundation of Panormus (modern ), and in Tunisia. It was originally . The last of these, from its a colony of the Phoenicians, who were proximity to Carthage and its opportune fond of choosing similar sites, and situation for communication with North probably in the first instance merely Africa, as well as the natural strength a commercial station or , of its position, became one of the chief but gradually rose to be a flourishing strongholds of the Carthaginians, as and important town. The Phoenicians well as one of the most important of transformed the inhospitable island their commercial cities in the island. into one of the most affluent cities of its time, naturally defended by the Motya is first mentioned by Hecataeus of lagoon as well as high defensive walls. Miletus and notices it among Ancient windmills and salt pans were the chief colonies of the Phoenicians in used for evaporation, salt grinding Sicily which existed at the time of the and refinement, and to maintain the Athenian expedition, 415 BC. A few years condition of the lagoon and island itself. later (409 BC) when the Carthaginian Recently the mills and salt pans (called army under Hannibal Mago landed at the the Ettore Infersa) have been restored promontory of Lilybaeum, that general by the owners and opened to the public. laid up his fleet for security in the gulf around Motya, while he advanced with In common with the other Phoenician his land forces along the coast to attack settlements in Sicily, it passed under Selinus. After the fall of the latter city, we the government or dependency are told that Hermocrates, the Syracusan of Carthage, whence Diodorus exile, who had established himself on its calls it a Carthaginian colony. ruins with a numerous band of followers, laid waste the territories of Motya and As the Greek colonies in Sicily Panormus; and again during the second increased in numbers and importance expedition of the Carthaginians under the Phoenicians gradually abandoned Hamilcar (407 BC), these two cities their settlements in the immediate became the permanent station of the neighbourhood of the newcomers, Carthaginian fleet.

6 7 Siege of Motya

It was the important position to which made themselves masters of the city, they Motya had thus attained that led Dionysius put the whole surviving population, men, I of Syracuse to direct his principal efforts women, and children, to the sword. to its reduction, when in 397 BC he in his After this, the Syracusan despot placed turn invaded the Carthaginian territory it in charge of a garrison under an in Sicily. The citizens on the other hand, officer named Biton, while his brother relying on succour from Carthage, made Leptines of Syracuse made it the station preparations for a vigorous resistance; of his fleet. But the next spring (396 BC) and by cutting off the causeway Himilcon, the Carthaginian general, which united them to the mainland, having landed at Panormus with a very compelled Dionysius to have recourse large force, recovered possession of to the tedious and laborious process of Motya with comparatively little difficulty. constructing a mound or mole of earth Motya, however, was not destined to across the intervening space. Even when recover its former importance; for this was accomplished, and the military Himilcon, being apparently struck with engines of Dionysius (among which the the superior advantages of Lilybaeum, formidable on this occasion founded a new city on the promontory made its appearance for the first time) of that name, to which he transferred were brought up to the walls, the Motyans the few remaining inhabitants of Motya. continued a desperate resistance; and after the walls and towers were carried by From this period the latter altogether the overwhelming forces of the enemy, disappears from history; and the little still maintained the defence from street islet on which it was built, has probably to street and from house to house. This ever since, as now, been inhabited only obstinate struggle only increased the by a few fishermen. By the time the previous exasperation of the Sicilian Romans conquered Sicily, during the Greeks against the Carthaginians; and (264–241 BC), Motya when at length the troops of Dionysius had been eclipsed by Lilybaeum.

8 9 Archaeological site

In the Punic period the Stagnone white accumulations sheltered from was separated from the open sea by the atmospheric agents by means of a peninsula. The Isola Grande was terracotta tiles. In 1984, to defend and connected to the mainland near its preserve the lagoon, which represents northern part, thanks to a narrow one of the most important wetlands in isthmus. The entrance to the lagoon was southern Europe, the so-called Oriented therefore only on the southern side, thus Natural Reserve of the Stagnone was guaranteeing a greater defense for the established. island of Mozia. The present name of the island of Mozia A map designed around 1720 by Baron is San Pantaleo. This name was most Samuel von Schmettau shows the probably assigned to it in the 11th territory of the former peninsula divided century, when the island was donated by into three parts called “Isola Burrone”, the Norman conquerors to the Marsala “Isola Altavilla” and “Isola Longa”. abbey. The name signifies a damp, low In an 1824 map the two southern and muddy place. In the second half of islands were connected by a saltpan. In the sixteenth century, the possession the first detailed topographical map of of the island passed to the Jesuits until, the Stagnone, drawn up in 1863 by the once the latter were expelled from the Military Topographical Institute, the territory, the island was divided into three islands found themselves forming private plots mostly cultivated with part of the same island territory. grape vines. These small owners sold These islands now appear as tongues of the island to Giuseppe Whitaker who, land that emerge a few meters above sea starting in 1906, organised a series level; transformed over time into human of archaeological excavations that settlements or extensive salt pans, the continued on and off until 1929. landscape of which is characterized by Thanks to Whitaker, buried hystorical typical windmill buildings. The latter testimonies made a comeback after supply the energy necessary to transfer centuries of negligence, generating a the marine waters into the evaporation new interest in this place as fascinating tanks destined for the extraction of as it is rich in memories. salt which, once collected, is placed in

10 11 The island

The archaeological remains on the island can be distinguished in different categories according to the role they played within the city.

In particular, they will be presented and described on the basis of a subdivision into functional zones of the urban fabric: defensive, religious, inhabited and industrial areas.

12 13 Current situation

The site of Motya has been clearly the desperate defence of the inhabitants. identified and described by William Henry Smyth. Between the promontory The island of Mozia is owned and operated of Lilybaeum (Capo Boéo) and that of by the Whitaker Foundation (Palermo), Aegithallus (San Teodoro), the coast famous for Marsala wines. Tours are forms a deep bight, in front of which available for the small , and the lies a long group of low rocky islets, well-preserved ruins of a crossroads called the Stagnone. Within these, and civilisation: in addition to the cultures considerably nearer to the mainland, mentioned above, Motian artifacts lies the small island formerly called San display Egyptian, Corinthian, Attic, Pantaleo, on which the remains of an Roman, Punic and Hellenic influences. ancient city may still be distinctly traced. The , a type of cemetery for the Fragments of the walls, with those of two cremated remains of children. Many of the gateways, still exist, and coins as well as ancient residences are open to the public, pieces of ancient brick and pottery – the with guided tours in English and Italian. never failing indications of an ancient site – were found scattered throughout the In March 2006, archaeological digs island. The circuit of the latter does not uncovered rooms of a previously exceed 2.5 km, and it is inhabited only undiscovered house at one of the town’s by a few fishermen; but is not devoid of siege walls. The finds have shown that fertility. The confined space on which the the town had a “thriving population long city was built agrees with the description after it is commonly believed to have of Diodorus that the houses were lofty been destroyed by the Ancient Greeks.” and of solid construction, with narrow Discovered items include cooking pans, streets between them, which facilitated Phoenician-style vases, altars, and looms.

14 15 A KOTHON The Harbors of Carthage

A cothon (Greek: lit. ‘drinking vessel’) is an artificial, protected inner harbor such as that in Carthage during the Punic Wars c.200 BC. The cothon at Carthage was divided into a rectangular merchant harbor followed Cothons were generally found in the by an inner protected harbor reserved Phoenician world. Other examples for military use only. This inner harbor include Motya in Sicily from the 6th was circular and surrounded by an outer century BC, which performed an ring of structures divided into a series of uncertain purpose, (measuring 35 docking bays for ship maintenance, along metres x 51 metres), although it has with an island structure at its centre that been suggested this cothon might even also housed navy ships. have been closable and drainable to form a dry dock.

16 17 defensive area

18 19 FORTIFICATIONS

In the absence of natural outcrops are more strengthened by the facing suitable for defense, Mozia is enclosed overlapped to the previous structures. within a wall about 2.5 km long, founded Thus walkable rounds are created, on the limestone bank that rises near the protected by large stone battlements, short beach. In this way it was possible to which offer the advantage of complete ensure an efficient control of the coast viability of the walls. In the third phase practically eliminating the space for the pedestrian accesses are brought to any possible landing maneuver. Towers the level of this walkway, connecting it were built the towers along the whole to the coast through the use of stairs and perimeter of the island to guarantee modifying the masonry technique used a uniform defense. The construction in the plinth, which is thus made up of of the walls took place for at least four squared stone blocks. main phases that lasted a total of about a In the last big phase of construction, century and a half, from the middle of the the perimeter of the walls is further sixth to the end of the fifth century. B.C. articulated by the insertion of fortified The most ancient walls make part cores projecting the most important of the structure of an already well- parts of the city. developed city, including elements that The fortifications are strengthened up characterize the life of Mozambique, to 5 meters thick while the towers have such as the Tofet, or even undermining a lateral dimension of 10-12 meters. them, as in the case of the necropolis that Among the latter, there is one on the was already disused at the time. eastern side, particularly well preserved The towers that characterize this first also in height, flanked by a staircase defensive phase are rectangular, with originally lapped by the sea. This tower two internal rooms; the riddels, about is made of squared limestone blocks a meter thick, have a stone base, with reinforced at the corners by larger sized overlying raw plastered bricks. In the blocks set and regularized. next phase the towers and the riddels

20 21 PORTA NORD

The complex of the North Gate, one of access road to the island is divided into the principal parts of Mozia, is the main two carriageways, and of its pavement part of the whole defensive system. This only a first stretch with large limestone nucleus is the result of many adaptations slabs is preserved. and reconstructions of around the 5th The entrance to the city was organized century BC, following an increase in according to a system of three orders of the fortified line aimed at improving doors, each of which was divided into side- its defensive capabilities. The door is by-side openings, in correspondence of protected on the outside by two large the roadways, separated by a central wall. quadrangular bastions and two towers, Two small artifacts identified as chapels one on each side, leaning against the from around the 6th century BC are also walls and accessible only from the inside. part of the North Gate complex. They In the area between the North Gate and were probably destroyed during the war the two ramparts the pavement visible with Dionisio. The buildings may have to large boulders matches with the more been demolished by the attackers or recent one which replaced the pebbles by the people of Mozia themselves for typical of a period of life in the city security reasons. where traffic had to be more modest. The

22 23 porta nord

bird-eye view

24 25 porta nord

archaeological site.

26 27 connection road

From the coast in front of the North Gate main interventions on Mozia and with there is a road that connects the island the displacement of the necropolis in the to the mainland, near Birgi. The road, same Birgi. about 1700 meters long and 7m wide to Although doubts remain regarding its allow the passage of two wagons at the function, it can certainly be said that the same time, is now submerged due to an road played a fundamental role in the increase in water level of about 50 cm. commercial activities of the Phoenicians. The road was built on an embankment, It is not certain, however, if it was used paved with irregular limestone slabs. It is more as a link or rather as a dock. In fact, mostly straight, with a widening at about outside the North Gate, the presence of 500 meters from the North Gate, which structures approximately 1.5-2 meters can be interpreted as a resting place or a wide was observed, consisting of large base for a small warehouse. Nearly 500 square blocks that seem to define a small meters from the coast of Birgi there is an port, leaning against the connecting interruption, which could be identified road. Considering that the material as a voluntary destruction of the route used for the connection is similar to by the inhabitants of Mozia to obstruct that of Kothon, the hypothesis that access to the island of Dionysius. This the road was actually a quay does not extraordinary work may have been built seem so groundless. Furthermore, the around the middle / end of the 6th submerged cliff, parallel to the current century BC C. in conjunction with the coastline, seems to constitute the natural construction of the fortifications and the completion of the port.

28 29 PORTA SUD

Defensive area

The first plant built in Mozia dates back groups of buildings with an irregular to the early 7th century BC and consisted layout, separated by a narrow alley. The of a large house with a courtyard, above end of the third phase coincided with which the South Gate was erected. the Syracusan siege of 397 BC which Between the end of the 7th and the imposed drastic defensive measures beginning of the 6th century BC, with on the inhabitants of Mozia. To this the destruction of these structures, of end, two pits were dug for the recovery which only scanty ruins remain, was of materials placed one in front of the concluded the first phase of occupation door and one a little more to the west. of the area. During the next phase, on the With this material a barrier was built at rubble of the pre-existing house another the door itself, subsequently removed one of almost equal shape was built, by Whitaker during his excavations. while in the south was constructed an The construction of a curved wall dates imposing defensive wall, then replaced back to this last defensive phase, which, by the fortifications erected around the running inside the fortifications in front middle of the 5th century BC. of the South Gate, incorporated the This phase coincided with the maximum district and the Kothon. building development of the area The troubled history of the district make during which, among other things, the it difficult to determine its functions. South Gate and the tower that is set However, it is not excluded that his up on the eastern quay of the Kothon buildings were connected to the work canal were built. Towards the end of activities that took place at the nearby the 5th century BC inside the walls a Kothon. new district was built, consisting of two

30 31 kothon

Nearby the South Gate there is a small the keel of the ships to be repaired, rectangular artificial basin, which which was also supported thanks to measures 51 x 35.50 meters on each two triangular supports placed in side and has a maximum depth of 2.50 the southern corners of Kothon. In meters. It can be assumed that the correspondence of these supports a wall canal was excavated during the second was erected in a later period that closed half of the 6th century BC, as shown the entrance to the canal. The inner part, by the excavations conducted by the of a length of about 23.50 meters, has archaeological mission of the University no docks and the currently visible walls. of Leeds. The overall arrangement of the It’s the result of rear arrangements. The Kothon in its current appearance dates canal, to the north, widens considerably back to the 5th century BC, followed by towards the basin, maintaining the same partial reconstructions or additions in an depth as the southern part but without indefinable period. The flat bottom, cut pavement. in stone, gradually declines from north It is not yet known with certainty what to south and is slightly deeper in the this basin really was for; some suppose center than the sides. The Kothon was that it could serve as a port for small connected to the sea by a channel that and light boats that probably made the narrows towards the south. shuttle between the island and the ships The narrowest part presents the bottom anchored offshore. Almost certainly over paved with limestone blocks, in the the years its function was that of saline, middle of which ran a longitudinal given that at the time of Whitaker it was groove. This was probably used to slide known as the “Salinella”.

32 33 porta nord

bird-eye view

34 35 porta nord

details

36 37 CARSEMETTA

This construction appears to have been The peculiar characteristic of this a possible military garrison, given its building consists in the building location leaning outside one of the technique used for the construction fortification towers along the southern of the walls, of the frame type, which coast. The building is divided into two is one of the best known examples in rooms on the sides of a corridor, at the Mozia. The large blocks of sandstone end of which a staircase leads to the upper that make up the skeleton of the walls floor. At present the archaeological are placed at regular intervals one on evidence of this level is limited to the the other and are all of the same size. remains of an environment that probably The absence of stratigraphic data makes was uncovered. The ground floor, on dating difficult but its construction is the other hand, is fairly well preserved: certainly later than that of the tower its eastern part, bounded on the west while its destruction was caused by a by the corridor and on the east by the fire, which may have developed during tower, is divided into three rooms, two one of the last battles in which the island of which are contiguous on the front of remained involved, if not exactly the one the building, and an inner one of greater that determined the yield. Along with dimensions. The latter communicated the remains of the fortifications, this with the corridor and with one of the two building not only demonstrates the pre- rooms through two doors. The western existence of a solidly fortified city, but part of the building is in turn made up also offers evidence of the fierce siege of three adjoining rooms aligned in a the city must have sustained, as well as north-south direction, today in a very the precautionary measures taken by the bad condition. inhabitants for their own defense.

38 39 RELIGIOUS area

40 41 Sanctuary of Cappiddazzu

Religious area

The name of this great sanctuary, buildings. This building measures 27.40 under Punic control. In the front there is a located in the northern part of the x 35.40 meters and can be dated around small building consisting of a rectangular island, was chosen by Whitaker himself the middle of the 6th century BC The stone slab with a large hole in the center in reference to a famous legend. It tells sanctuary has undergone various phases and two semi-holes on the sides, placed the story of a ghost, the spirit of a hermit of intervention that make a clear reading inside a rectangular enclosure that, very who was roamed near the monument. complicated. probably, was intended to contain three Whitaker devotes little space to the The most ancient archaeological conical betiles that indicated the house description of the excavation at this evidences are constituted by a series of in that place of the deities. point, but elaborates some fundamental pits dug in the rock, about 30 cm deep, The southern area of the enclosure is observations. He classifies this building all enclosed within a larger pit. divided into a series of adjoining rooms, as a sanctuary, arguing that the main part It seems reliable to believe that these distributed around an open area in which can be dated around the last years of the pits could be used as sacrificial areas, a there is a large elliptical Punic tank. island’s life and adds that in the excavated hypothesis supported by the finding of Even in these areas there are numerous area there are archaeological remains animal bones. Above these ditches the building interventions from the late of various ages, even dating back to the first part of the building was erected, period (1st century BC - 5th century AD) Arab domination. made up of walls in unformed rough that are not always easy to read, including The excavations and studies that since stone that represent the oldest known two floors, only partially 1964 have followed in a systematic way sacred building, datable to the second preserved. In the Byzantine era, on the on this area, allow us to consider this half of the 7th century BC. At a stage remains of the sanctuary, a small basilica interesting complex as one of the most of development of religious buildings was built, removed with the excavation of important monuments for the definition relating to the fifth century BC, some the early 1900s, of which only the design of the Phoenician-Punic civilization in imposing architectural crowning of the plant remains. the Mediterranean. Essential elements elements for monumental masonry The materials coming from this sanctuary of the sanctuary, still clearly legible, are a structures (Egyptian gorges) appeared are not immediately connectable to a tripartite building in a north-west / south- then used as the foundation of the base sacred function but indicate the constant east direction of which the foundations of the building with three naves. This last attendance of the site since the first are preserved, and the north-east side transformation probably took place in the moments of the Phoenician settlement of the base is embedded in a rectangular fourth century BC, that is in the second until the Middle Ages, passing through enclosure, partly disappeared but entirely period of life of Mozia when, after the the Romans and the first Christians. rebuildable, including other smaller defeat by the Greeks, the island returned

42 43 NECROPOLIS

The archaic necropolis, whose into the rock. The trousseau consisted excavation was started by Whitaker, mainly of Phoenician-Punic ceramics; is located on the northern coast of the however, it was often combined with island; it looks like a vast rocky area, Greek ceramics, especially imported almost lapped by the sea, strewn with Corinthians, which allows us to date holes and cineraries and crossed by the most of the burials between the end of walls that partly incorporates the funeral the 8th and the middle of the 6th century. artefacts. B.C. Sometimes the ceramic trousseau Three types of tombs have been was enriched with iron weapons or identified: gold, silver and bronze ornaments. In a) cinerary formed by six slabs, four of general, it was quite modest, with the which are lateral, one is at the base and sole exception of a set consisting of 15 the other one is at the top as a closure; ceramic objects including a Phoenician generally placed inside a more or less terracotta statuette reproducing a female circular pit dug into the rock or on the figure, a symbol of fertility. About half of rock floor itself. the 6th century a.C., an era in which the b) amphora-cinerary of various types, walls surrounding the necropolis were placed in a ditch made in the rock or in built, also coincides with the change the groud. of the funeral rite from incineration to c) cinerary consisting of a monolithic inhumation and with the extension of stone block, square or rectangular, the space dedicated to burial. The most in which a square dimple was made in recent burials, within the sarcophagus the center for the burnt remains of the or in the pit, datable between the second deceased; as a cover it had a stone slab or half of the sixth and the fifth century. a.C., another identical monolithic block, also are distributed within the north-eastern with a square pit in the center. Also the coastal strip of the island, between the cineraries of this type were placed inside eastern tower and the Tofet. After this holes carved in the rock or in the ground. date, the people of Mozambique no In all three cases, the trousseau was longer laid their dead on the island but placed outside the cinerary, in the space on the coast opposite, near Birgi. between this and the edges of the pit dug

44 45 TOPHETH

Religious area

The term tofet defines a particular type stone stelae and inscriptions, represents the middle of the 6th century BC, sees a of Phoenician sanctuary, cited in the Old a vast source of information on the city considerable expansion of the sanctuary Testament as the place near Jerusalem since it preserves names and documents, area and its integration into the renewed where the sacrilegious rite was carried art and technique of sculpture and urban plan of the city, which is surrounded out to pass individuals of very young age drawing, divine iconographies, elements by walls. The Tofet extends to the west into the fire. of custom, production and organization with new constructions, including an The widest part is always the consecrated of craft groups, contacts with external isolated temple with an altar inside while field, separated from the surrounding areas. to the east the area expands with the land of profane use, where the burning Excavations have identified a series of enlargement of the urn field, starting remains of sacrifices were ritually eight layers that reflect the temporal from the level of the beach and continuing collected and deposited. Buildings used scan of its use. The appearance and with the successive overlapping thrown for part of the cult or services, if present, dimensions of the sanctuary have changed of the artificial embankment (layers III — are usually very small. considerably over the centuries, with two I) until reaching the most ancient sector. he identification and the first surveys main phases of design. The simple sacred The restricted area of the primitive of the Tofef of Mozia date back to G. place was circumscribed by a modest sanctuary remains in the center, probably Whitaker, who published the first news rocky relief, on which the few cinerary with the chapel and small monuments. of it in 1921. A series of excavation vessels were leaned. In the following layer, In layers V, IV and III are used the votive campaigns in the 1960s made it possible a good number of cineraries are already monument, alongside some cineraries to delineate the history and appearance contained following the intensification that will disappear in layers II and Ia, of the sanctuary through the ample of the sacrifices, a sign of the complete from the second half of the fifth century evidence of its complex stratigraphy. organization of the community and the BC. The location of the Tofet on the northern increase of the population. Thus begins a The regular maintenance operations coast of Mozia dates back to the most process of artificial elevation of level that of the urn field by the operators, lead ancient period of the Phoenician will continue throughout the period of to the systematic removal of these settlement. The first testimonies of the use of the sanctuary. monuments and to their re-deposition cult can be dated around the end of the In the fifth layer, datable to the first half in the containment walls of the artificial 8th century BC; from that moment on, of the 6th century BC, the number of embankment. At the beginning of the the sanctuary became an integral part sacrifices still increases and the urn field 4th century BC, the brief conquest of the city, being included in its walls, was accompanied by two small covered of Syracuse marks the temporary and the practice of worship certainly rooms, one of which perhaps a chapel, interruption of the cult. With the continued until the end of the 4th enclosed by a fence wall proportioned resumption of the religious life of the century BC, with a brief interruption to the size of the sanctuary and provided sanctuary (layer Ib), the architectural coinciding with the conquest of Mozia with a well that ensured the availability of fragments of the destroyed buildings are by the Syracusans. The archeology of water to the needs of the cult. used in the higher parts of the terracing the sanctuary, with its cinerary vessels, The second phase, which began around walls.

46 47 INHABITED area

48 49