Motya
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Motya was a Phoenician town founded in the eight century BC as a commercial center, and situated on the small island of Mozia in a lagoon on the most western part of Sicily.
It could only be reached by boat, although the inhabitants of Motya constructed a remarkable paved road at the bottom of the lagoon, by which chariots with large wheels could reach the town.
The town was sacked by Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, in 398 BC. By the time the Romans conquered Sicily, during the First Punic War (264 BC–241 BC), Motya had been eclipsed by nearby Lilybaeum (modern-day Marsala).
In March 2006, archaeological digs uncovered rooms of a previously undiscovered house at one of the town's siege walls. The finds have shown that the town had a "thriving population long after it is commonly believed to have been destroyed by the Ancient Greeks." Discovered items include cooking pans, Phoenecian-style vases, altars, and looms. [link]
References
- [Livius Picture Archive], including maps of the island and the lagoon
- [page about Motya]
- [page about Marsala]
- [picture archive]
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