Marsala – The beginning of spring brought new crops to the Lilibeo-Marsala archaeological park, together with wildflowers. Many significant finds and new data have, in fact, come to light following two excavation campaigns, which mark the resumption of research in urban sites, in which the city of Marsala overlaps with the ancient Lilybaeum.
In the areas of the Punic moat (piazza Marconi/via Amendola) and Vico Infermeria, as part of a valorization project financed by the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity – directed by the Councilor Francesco Paolo Scarpinato – which allowed the preliminary remediation of waste accumulated over time and weed vegetation – investigations have been underway since 22 February – conducted by Marco Correra archaeologist of the Cooperativa ArcheOfficina, with the scientific direction of Maria Grazia Griffo, archaeologist of the Lilibeo Park.
The objective of the same investigations is to understand and reconstruct the historical-archaeological phases of this section of the powerful defensive system of the ancient city.
A first test (SAS A) was carried out in the area adjacent to the so-called ‘Rock Bridge’, consisting of a rectangular spur already spared in the Punic age (4th century BC) and jutting out from the north-east wall of the moat. This bridge, which was probably completed with a built structure (perhaps wooden), crossed the moat leading to the highest point of the city. The ongoing research will be able to provide useful information for understanding the original structure of the bridge and, above all, aims to reach the bottom of the moat which, according to historiographical sources, should reach a depth of approximately 12 metres.
At the current state of the investigation, the stratigraphies relating to the Roman and late Roman phase (1st-4th century AD) have been intercepted. The excavation will continue with the aim of reaching the layers relating to the Punic phase (4th century BC) and the bottom of the moat. The archaeological investigation has yielded abundant ceramics from the Roman and late Roman periods: amphorae, amphorae, jugs, cups and lamps, both locally produced and imported (African terraseagliata). A second test (SAS B) is being conducted in the area of the moat beneath the Norman-Swabian castle, with the aim of reaching the foundations of the surrounding wall between the circular tower and the south-east tower. The aim is to reach the foundation trench of the castle, thus seeking scientific confirmation of its dating, and at the same time verify the possible presence of pre-existences relating to fortifications preceding the medieval age. At the current state of the excavation, the layers relating to the sixteenth century phase have been reached, the period in which the adjacent bastion of San Giacomo was built. The finds returned are, in fact, related to late and post-medieval enamelled bowls, bowls and jugs.
“At the same time – says the director of the park, architect Anna Occhipinti – archaeological cleaning is being carried out in the settlement area of Vico Infermeria, a small portion of a Roman and medieval settlement located between the moat and the Punic fortifications. The area was partly covered by modern earthworks which did not allow easy reading of the wall structures. The purpose of the cleaning is to bring to light the stratigraphies, sections and wall structures, investigated by the Superintendency of Trapani in 1987, and to draw up a detailed survey of the architectural structures. The Open Day on Sunday 28 April, from 10.00 to 13.00, will be an opportunity to show the city a preview of the new interesting data emerging from archaeological research”.
At the same time, on via delle Ninfe/via Pomilia, in the area known to scholars as ‘Cooperativa Il Progresso’, in collaboration with the University of Palermo, as part of the SAMOTHRACE research project, an archeology laboratory is being built in the field, directed by Giovanni Polizzi (Researcher in Archaeological Research Methodologies, UNIPA Culture and Society Department), under the scientific direction of the Park’s technical staff. The state-owned area constitutes a sector of the ancient city of Lilybaeum in which it is possible to recognize different phases of life, ranging from the Hellenistic age to the late Roman era. Discovered in 1982, following exploratory surveys which made it possible to recognize a very rich archaeological deposit, it was the subject of systematic research in the following years (1984, 1986 and 1990) which brought to light a strip of town consisting in part of two blocks, crossed from a north-south road axis. If the evidence from the eastern block did not allow a clear interpretation of the remains, which would seem to refer to systematic plundering activities of nearby buildings (there are numerous blocks stacked next to each other), those from the western block instead allowed to recognize a rich domus with a colonnaded atrium dating back to between the 1st and 2nd centuries. AD which overlaps with a previous house dating back to the 2nd century. BC and equipped with a tetrastyle atrium. Below the structures of this late-Hellenistic residence, other walls suggest the existence of an even older building, perhaps dating back to between the 4th and 3rd centuries. BC and therefore attributable to the first phases of life of ancient Lilybaeum.
Despite the importance of the finds, the area has never been the subject of a systematic study, but since last year, thanks to the SAMOTHRACE project – which involves the complete revision of Lilybaeum’s domestic decorative systems and the virtual reconstruction of some domus of the Hellenistic city Roman – field research was resumed with the analysis of the numerous finds to be compared with those previously discovered. The ongoing research, which will take place until tomorrow, April 19, aims at a more accurate acquisition of information in those sectors spared by previous excavations, in order to allow a correct reading of the life phases of this sector of the Libyan settlement.
“The investigations, which carried out the cleaning of the exposed structures and the existing excavation sections, the removal of the ground witnesses and the final survey of the structures – concludes Director Occhipinti – are already providing new, interesting elements for understanding the life phases of the rich Libetan residence, which will be made known, on a preliminary basis, during a conference next May”.
Tags: Marsala research excavation activities Lilibeo Archaeological Park
