MOTY A A PHOENICIAN COLONY IN SICILY ENAMELLED ALABASTRON FROM MOTYA 1 : 1 FROM A DRAWING BY THE AUTHOR MOTY A BY JOSEPH I. S. WHITAKER WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS PLANS AND MAPS LONDON G. BELL AND SONS, LTD. MCMXXI DEDICATED TO CAV. GIUSEPPE LIPARI-CASCIO MY FELLOW-WORKER AT MOTYA J. I. S. W. PREFACE IN writing the following pages on Motya and the excavations that have recently been carried out there, my primary object has been to give archaeologists and students of ancient history the benefit of the knowledge and information that it has been possible to acquire regarding a hitherto comparatively little known ancient site. Although the exploration so far made has been confined almost to entirely the fortifications and outskirts, or fringe, of the old Phoenician city, and the greater part of the area which this town probably occupied still remains untouched, the work that has been accomplished has undoubtedly revealed much which was previously to unknown us, and has thrown light on several points hitherto more or less obscure. On no other Phoenician site, perhaps, are so many ruins of an important fortified city still to be found standing in situ at the present day as at Motya. Once overcome and destroyed, as it was, by the elder Dionysius, Motya apparently ceased to exist as a town, and such of its ruins as were allowed to remain, first by its Greek conquerors, and later by the Carthaginians themselves when found- ing the new city of Lilybaeum, were covered up by the protecting soil and debris, and have probably thus remained, untouched by the hand of man, until the present day. In this lies the great archaeological interest and importance of the site. San as Pantaleo, the island has been called for many years past, has been visited from time to time by archaeologists and those viii MOTYA interested in ancient history, but its ruins have never before been systematically excavated. The old name of Motya, which for so many centuries had lapsed into oblivion, is, however, gradually coming into use again, and the work which is now being carried out on the island has already had the effect of reviving in some measure an interest in the site of the once mighty stronghold of Punic power in Sicily. The idea of excavating the buried remains of Motya first occurred to me some forty years or more ago, but it was not until many years later and after overcoming innumerable obstacles and difficulties I of that became sole proprietor the little island, and was finally enabled to give effect to the project that I had for so long cherished in pectore, and commence the work of exploration. During the first few years fair progress was made and much of interest was brought to light, but with the outbreak of the Great War work was arrested and has since been at an almost complete standstill. The result, however, of the excavations which it has so far been possible to carry out at Motya may, on the whole, be considered as fairly satisfactory, and will, I trust, prove to be of some service to and to those interested in Phoenician archaeologists history ; while I further venture to hope that the account I have given of our work may also form a contribution not altogether without value to science in general. For any errors and shortcomings of which I may have been guilty in this volume I must claim the indulgence of my readers. In conclusion, to those who have in any way aided me in carrying out what I may truly say has been a labour of love to me, I beg to tender my warmest thanks. To Dr Thomas Ashby, Director of the British School in Rome, who has kindly read through the greater part of the MS., as well as to Professor Biagio Pace, of the University of Palermo, both of whom have given me the benefit of their valuable advice on many points and assisted me generally in my work, I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude. PREFACE ix My indefatigable fellow-worker at Motya throughout all these years has been the Cav. Giuseppe Lipari-Cascio, of Marsala, and to him, I may add, is in great part due the creation of the little archaeological museum now existing on the island. The late Professor A. Salinas, for many years Director of the National Museum in Palermo, who had always taken the keenest interest in Motya, assisted me in various ways at the outset of our exploration campaign, and until he was called to Messina after the great earthquake which devastated that town in 1908. His death occurred shortly afterwards. Professor E. Gabrici, who succeeded to the Directorship of the Palermo Museum, has also afforded me all the assistance in his power and facilitated recent work at Motya. To another, now no more, the late Mr C. F. Gray of Marsala, [ was indebted for much kind assistance in connection with the purchase of land at Motya, as well as in acquiring some interest- ng archaeological objects from the site of Lilybaeum and its neighbourhood. Mr G. F. Hill, of the British Museum, has been most kind in assisting me in working out the coins, together with Dr Ashby and Professor van Buren, of the American Academy in Rome. Among Dther friends who have taken an interest in the work at Motya, and issisted me in connection with it, I must mention Mr Frank Hird md Professor Taramelli, Director of the Cagliari Archaeological Museum. Finally, I have to thank Messrs G. Bell & Sons, and specially VIr Edward Bell, for the care and attention bestowed on the publication of this volume, the printing of which has been :arried out by Messrs Neill & Co. of Edinburgh in their customary excellent style. JOSEPH I. S. WHITAKER. PALERMO, March 1921. CONTENTS PAGE xii I BIBLIOGRAPHY JST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... xiii PART I JHAPTER I. LACK OF HISTORICAL RECORDS OF MOTYA PHCENICIA AND THE PHOENICIANS i II. PHOENICIAN CITIES AND COLONIES . .21 III. SICILY AND ITS EARLIER INHABITANTS . 34 IV. THE PHOENICIANS IN SICILY .... 42 V. THE GREEKS IN SICILY ...... 59 VI. THE FALL SIEGE AND OF MOTYA .... 75 VII. MOTYA AFTER ITS FALL LILYB^UM ITS SUCCESSOR . 92 PART II I. ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT MOTYA IN THE PAST . in II. SUMMARY OF RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT MOTYA ........ 124 III. THE FORTIFICATIONS OF MOTYA . .137 IV. THE GATEWAYS OF MOTYA . ... 163 V. THE COTHON OF MOTYA 185 " " VI. THE HOUSE OF THE MOSAICS AND THE CAPPIDDAZZU RUINS -194 VII. THE MOTYAN CEMETERIES ... .206 /III. THE MOTYA MUSEUM .... .261 NDEX -355 BIBLIOGRAPHY BESIDES the works of the ancient writers, the following are among those which have been consulted in the compilation of this volume : TH. FAZELLO, De rebus Siculis, decades duo, Panormi, 1558. PH. CLUVERI, Sicilia antiqua, Lugduni Batavorum, 1619. lies de et de J. HOUEL, Voyage pictoresque des Sidle, de Malte Lipari, Paris, 1782. W. H. SMYTH, Sicily and its Islands, London, 1824. G. DENNIS, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, London, 3rd ed., 1883. " A. DE LUYNES, Recherches sur 1'emplacement de 1'ancienne ville de Motya," in Mon. Ant. e Bull. Institute corrispondenza arcbeologica, Rome, 1855. " G. UGDULENA, Sulle monete punico-Sicule," in Mem. R. Accad. Scienze, Palermo, 1857. A. SALINAS, Su di alcune monete puniche di Motya, Palermo, 1858. Relazione R. Museo Palermo, Palermo, 1873. Le Mura Fenicie di Erice, Palermo, 1883. E. RENAN, Mission de Phenicie, Paris, 1861. " in J. SCHUBRING, Motye-Lilybaeum," Philologus, xxiv., Gottingen, 1863. A. HOLM, Geschichte Siciliens in Altertbum, Leipzig, 1870-1898. T. FISCHER, Beitrdge zu phystscbe Geographie der Mittelmeerldnder besonders Siciliens, Leipzig, 1877. " F. S. CAVALLARI, Scavi e scoperte a Solunto," in Bull. Com. Ant. Sic. viii., Palermo, 1 875. Sulla topografia di talune cittd Grecbe in Sicilia, Palermo, 1884. and A. HOLM, Topografia archeologica di Siracusa, Palermo, 1883. G. POLIZZI, / monumenti di antichitd e d'arte della provincia di Trapani, Trapani, 1879. " I. COGLITORE, Mozia Studi storico-archeologici," estratto dal Uarcbivio stories Siciliano, anno viii., ix., Palermo, 1884. PERROT et CHIPIEZ, Hist, de I'art dans Vantiquite, vol. iii., Paris, 1882-1904. G. RAWLINSON, Phoenicia (Story of the Nations Series), London, 1890. E. A. FREEMAN, History of Sicily, in 4 vols., Oxford, 1891-1894. " G. PATRONI, Nora Colonia Fenicia in Sardegna," estratto Mon. Art. R. Accad. Lincei, vol. xiv., Roma, 1904. " G. M. COLUMBA, I porti della Sicilia," Monografia storica dei porti deW antichitA nell* Italia insulare, Roma, 1906. A. Mosso, Le origini della civiltd Mediterranea (Preistoria), Milano, 1910. E. GABRICI, Sulla origine dello stile geometrico di Cuma, Napoli, 1911. " B. PACE, Prime Note sugli scavi di Mozia (1906-1914)," R. Accad. Lincei, Roma, 1916 " Arti ed artisti della Sicilia antica," R. Accad. Lincei, Roma, 1917. " Bolli fittili dell' antico Lilibeo e necropoli di tipo punico," estratto Notizi degli scavi, Roma, 1919. A. DE GREGORIO, Studi archeologici iconografici, Palermo, 1917. P. ORSI, Numerous monographs and notes, chiefly in the Bull, di Paletnologia Italians in Mon. Ant. della R. Accad. Lincei, and in Notizie degli Scavi, from 1889 onwardf R. P. DELATTRE, Numerous publications on Carthage and its cemeteries, in varioi] : French scientific journals, from 1889 onwards. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Enamelled alabastron from Motya, from a drawing by the Author (colour- plate) ......... Frontispiece Map of the Stagnone di Marsala . to face page i PAGE Archaic sculpture : lions and bull . 115 Phoenician inscription .... 116 Gold statuette of a bull . .119 Marble vase from Lilybaeum . I2 5 Type of wall A .... 143 Blocks of stone prepared for the island . ... 144 Type of wall B . H5 Type of wall C .