Selinunte: rapporto preliminare sulle attività di ricerca 2023-2024 del progetto archeologico dell’Institute of Fine Arts della New York University e dell’Università degli Studi di Milano

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the archaeological research carried out in 2023–2024 by the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University
and the University of Milan within the main urban sanctuary of Selinunte. Following a new agreement with the Archaeological
Park of Selinunte, Cave di Cusa and Pantelleria, the area of investigation was expanded from the southern sector to the entire temenos,
allowing for the first time a holistic, both synchronic and diachronic, approach to the sanctuary’s development. Research focused, on
the one hand, on the continued excavation of Temple R, particularly through the opening of trench SAS T at the north-east corner of
the cella. This excavation revealed an uninterrupted stratigraphic sequence from the pre-Greek phase to the fourth century BCE and
produced significant new evidence for ritual practices associated with the foundation of the temple (ca. 570 BC), its restructuring in
the Early Classical period after a fire (ca. 475 BC), and the transformations following the destructive event of 409 BC. Votive deposits
beneath successive floors, traces of burning, the fourth century fill, and structural remains of the earliest open-air cult phases substantially
enhance our understanding of the long and complex biography of both the building and the sacred area. On the other hand,
investigations of the southern peribolos wall (SAS V) clarified its chronology (ca. 580–560 BC), construction techniques, and internal
articulation through regularly spaced transverse partitions, interpreted primarily as structural supports and possibly creating niches for
the display of votive offerings. Continued excavation in 2024 also brought to light a large Hellenistic stoa and a well, providing new
insights into the Punic-period reorganization of this sector of the sanctuary. Overall, the results of the 2023–2024 campaigns confirm
the central role of Temple R and the peribolos wall within Selinunte’s Archaic monumental program and offer new perspectives on cult
practices, architectural transformations, and the long-term relationship between the sanctuary and the urban fabric.