Mozia (Island of San Pantaleo)
Mozia (Or even Mothia, Motya) was an ancient Phoenician city, located on the island of San Pantaleo, in the Stagnone of Marsala. The island is located in front of the west coast of Sicily, between the Isola Grande and the mainland, and belongs to the Whitaker Foundation.
The general topography of the Phoenician-Punic city can be obtained both from the archaeological remains brought to light by the excavations, in particular from the path of the walls, and from the physical conditions of the ground and from the data obtained from aerial photography. In the southern sector of the island there is a relatively high elongated area (6-7 meters above sea level), which perhaps constituted the acropolis of the city ("zone B"), flanked on the coast by two lower areas (2 meters above sea level): in the western one the kothon (inner port) of the city, perhaps originally a pond or marshy area. To the north, another modest elevation (5-6 meters above sea level) is occupied by the sanctuary of “Cappiddazzu”, which is reached by a road coming from the North Gate. The archaeological data seem to refer to the second half of the sixth century BC a first phase of urban arrangement, in which impressive public works (fortifications, arrangement of the port areas and of the kothon, extension of sanctuaries, road connecting with the mainland). The central part of the island is crossed by a road system with long arteries (approximately north-east / south-west) that meet at right angles, forming a wide and relatively regular network for the rather extensive residential districts, but presumably interspersed with gardens and orchards. The neighborhoods along the beach, on the other hand, are always oriented according to the coastline, along the entire perimeter of the island. In the northern periphery is the central part of the necropolis and the tophet, while a district of workshops extends along the north and east coast; at kothon another district probably housed shipyards or warehouses. On the southern coast is the rich residence of the "house of the Mosaics". The connection between the center and the peripheral districts would be ensured by an annular road, a section of which could be recognized at the edge of the industrial area south of the necropolis. It has been assumed that the different orientation derives from a subsequent arrangement of the city center, inspired by the regular planning of Greek cities, used in Sicily and Magna Graecia from the XNUMXth century BC, while the peripheral districts would follow a previous layout. Plan similar to that of Mozia has the Punic settlement in the modern site of Kerkouane, at Cape Bon, in Tunisia.
In-depth information sheet: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozia
Source: wikipedia
Photo: Di Selinous, Aldo Ferruggia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17248164
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Information contributions: Web, Region of Sicily
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