Mozia oltre…: testimonianze archivistiche ed archeologiche sulla continuità di frequentazione dell’area del santuario di Cappiddazzu

Abstract

All ancient sources agree on telling that the Phoenician settlement of Motya, in the
middle of the Stagnone Lagoon of Marsala, was destroyed by Syracuse in 397 BC
and that after this date the popolation re-homed elsewhere (mostly Lilibeum and
Selinunte). Actuallyt here is few evidence that the island continued to be attended,
but this evidence seems to be concentrated in one point of the town, the Sanctuary
of Cappiddazzu. The study of the Whitaker Archive has led to the identification of
documentation related to materials and excavations conducted in the area of the
Sanctuary. These data together with those that emerged during the excavations of the
60s of the last century carried out by Prof. V. Tusa, allow to better delineate the life
“beyond” the Phoenician city, when the settlement was concentrated only in some
parts of the ancient town, and especially with the continuity of the cultual destination
of the Phoenician sanctuary of Cappiddazzu.

Keywords: Motya, Whitaker Archive, Capiddazzu, archivial evidence