Recent excavations in Selinunte

Recent excavations in Selinunte (ancient Selinus), one of Sicily’s most precious sites, have exposed what appears to be the largest Agora of the ancient world. 

This trapezoidal Agora covering more than 3 hectares, lies at the heart of the ancient settlement that goes back to the 6^th century BC. It was surrounded by shops and houses, revealing that the city traded goods with the entire Mediterranean. So far, only one archaeological feature was discovered under the agora: an empty tomb in the middle of the square, perhaps belonging to its founder. 

During the pandemic, all activities had stopped, but the archaeologists resumed digging in the area of the Acropolis in June 2022. 

The excavations started at the southern end and were centered on two temples defined as A and O. In my earlier blog Selinunte died tragically not unlike Pompeii, I explained that temples in Selinunte were named using a letter since they had not been closely identified. 

For many years, it was believed that temples A and O had been built at the same time, i.e., between 490 and 460 BC. They were, in fact, almost identical to each other. Both were 40.20 meters long and 16.20 meters wide, with columns rising up to 6.23 meters. They were tentatively attributed to the Dioscuri and Poseidon. New excavations provided evidence that Temple A is actually older than Temple O. Besides, Temple O was never finished because a landslide interrupted its construction. Interestingly, the pronaos of Temple A yielded Punic statuettes, such as that of the goddess Tanit. 

Back in 2018, the plans were to re-erect the first columns of Temple G, which is situated further east and outside the precinct of the Acropolis. The temple is tentatively attributed to Zeus because of its imposing size: 109 meters long and 45 meters wide. The huge drums of the columns lie around randomly, and the cost of repositioning one column is estimated at 180,000 euros. I have no idea whether this operation was successful. 

Temple R (also known as E) from the 6^th century, possibly rebuilt after being destroyed by the Carthaginians in 409 BC, yielded one-half of a sizable stone mold used to create a bronze scepter. This is an exciting find because ten years ago, the other half of this mold was found nearby. It appears that, being such a precious artifact, the two halves were buried in a different location to avoid replication. Other discoveries were an amulet in the shape of a falcon representing Horus made of Egyptian blue and arriving from Egypt in the 7^th century BC, and the refined miniature of an ivory siren, probably from the 6^th century BC from Greece since its quality is comparable to similar finds at the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi. 

[Picture from Ansa Italia]

Further excavations around Temple R exposed remains of a boundary wall from 610 BC, i.e., not long after the first colonists’ arrival. 

More importantly, is the discovery of an underground aquifer under the foundations of Temple A. It confirms that the initial Greek colonists settled precisely south of the Acropolis, meaning that ancient Selinunte was born here. 

On the other hand, thermal images have revealed an original water system running from Temple M on the west bank of the Selino River down to the harbor, supplying water to the houses of the early Greek settlers.  The Greeks certainly knew how to divert water courses. The thermal scans also exposed the ancient shoreline, placing Greek Selinunte between two ports located immediately east and west of the city’s Acropolis. 

Selinunte was a true megalopolis in western Sicily that flourished from the 7^th century BC until the end of the 3^rd century BC. It was known for the richness of its farmlands and majestic temples, which we can only remotely imagine. Water management most certainly contributed to its wealth.

About Greek/Roman columns and capitals

Well, this is not so much about columns which are the apparent eye-catcher generally drawing our attention toward the remains of a temple, an agora, or a stoa. Capitals are more challenging to pinpoint as they often toppled down after warfare, earthquakes, or other destruction. Although the casual visitor will inevitably notice the columns, he seldom pays attention to the capitals. These, however, tell a story of their own.

We are most familiar with the Doric and Ionic columns and capitals. The Doric order is the oldest one and is found in archaic architecture. It was, in fact, a logical evolution when stone replaced the original wooden beams in the construction of sanctuaries. The stones were cut into drums that could be handled readily and piled one atop the other to the desired height.

We have many temples built in the Doric style, and the highest concentration may be found in places such as Agrigento, Segesta, and Selinunte in Sicily.

Remains of this stone-cutting process are clearly visible at the ancient quarry of Cava di Cusa in Sicily. Since the site was abruptly abandoned, the quarried and half-quarried drums have been left unfinished. Seeing them from so close up and realizing how big such a drum truly was was pretty amazing.

The slim Ionic columns and capitals are generally tied to the Hellenistic period. They are higher and carry their typical elegant curly capital. Once again, it pays off to carefully look at a capital lying on the ground, as is the case in Didyma, Turkey, for instance. Spotting such capital on top of a 20-meter-high column is one thing, but quite another experience to match it to your stature.

Once the drums were stacked, the columns were usually fluted, but not always. In some cases, we find monolithic columns made of more noble materials like marble. They always seem to make a statement.

The Romans favored the Corinthian order, whose capitals were more elaborate. They came in endless variations of acanthus leaves, sometimes mingled with flowers to turn into delicate high-reliefs, almost like lace. It is remarkable to learn that in Gerasa (modern Jerash), Jordan, the Romans removed all the Ionic capitals from the columns on the Cardo and replaced them with Corinthian ones.

By the second century AD, we start seeing the heads of gods and goddesses emerging from among the foliage of the Corinthian acanthus. The first such elaborate examples that struck me were those from the Palazzo delle Colonne in Ptolemais, Libya, with the heads of Jupiter and Mars. There must be many more such examples, of course.

The Greeks and Romans' primary architectural orders are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian capitals. Other countries and other civilizations had their own versions. The Egyptians loved their papyrus capitals, and the Persians the double bull or lion heads.

Yet, I was very much surprised to see the Pergamene capital as I was strolling through the widespread ruins of Leptis Magna in Libya. Why had I not seen any in Pergamon, Turkey? Did I miss them altogether? I returned to my pictures of Pergamon but found mainly Ionic capitals, besides some Doric and Corinthian. Even the famous Altar of Zeus displayed only Ionic columns. However, the temple of Athena has used Pergamene capitals. 

Otherwise, even after searching the internet, I found only rare examples of this capital inspired by the Egyptian palm columns. Yet, they were all over Leptis Magna, and I feel privileged to have seen them in such large numbers with my own eyes!

In the end, looking at the top of the many columns that still fill our archaeological sites clearly pays off. We may be in for more surprises than expected. 

Selinunte died tragically not unlike Pompeii

It is common knowledge that Pompeii was razed from the earth's surface following the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Still, the sudden end of Selinunte in Sicily is no less spectacular, yet unknown till now.

Selinunte initially was allied with Carthage, but after the battle of Himera (see: The Battle of Himera, a significant confrontation) in 480 BC, they sought the protection of Syracuse. Yet the situation in Sicily was never stable, and like Selinunte, other cities kept changing sides, at times with the Carthaginians and against them. One such case developed in the late 5^th century BC. After a nine-day siege, Hannibal utterly destroyed Selinunte, slaughtering 16,000 inhabitants and soldiers and enslaving the 5,000 male survivors and thousands of women and children. From one day to the next, the thriving city was entirely deserted.

Recent excavations have shed some light on Selinunte's sudden disappearance. Archaeologists have found half-eaten remains of meals abandoned by the people, as bowls with food residues were unearthed. Besides, they discovered dozens of unfired ceramic tiles and pots abandoned by the terrified workers before they could put them in the kilns. Whereas the city of Pompeii disappeared nearly overnight under a thick layer of volcanic ash, Selinunte was gradually covered beneath a thick coat of dust and earth.

Thanks to the wonders of modern geophysical techniques, it was possible to investigate the terrain. So far, 2,500 of Selinunte's houses have been identified, lining up alongside its streets, around its harbor, and even inside its busy industrial zone. What's more, we are able, for the first time, to have a detailed, comprehensive plan of a Greek city from the classical era, where until now, we only had scant and fragmentary impressions. Thanks to this study, scholars have counted the number of houses in the city, which has led to determining its population. Since even the industrial zone has been preserved, deciding on its interaction with the residential area is now possible.

So far, fewer than eighty kilns have been located, including huge ones with thousands of roof tiles and large ceramic amphorae. Another dozen kilns were dedicated to producing giant ceramic food vessels and ceramic coffins. The smaller kilns were used to make smaller pieces like tableware, loom weights, and statuettes of the gods. Among some of the pottery-making tools, traces of paint were also identified. It has been established that the potters had a place of worship for their own gods like Athena, who protected the workers, Artemis, who assisted in childbirth, Demeter as the goddess of fertility and harvest, and even mighty Zeus.

It is hard to imagine the hustle and bustle of Selinunte's harbor and industrial zone. Special attention will now be turned toward exposing the foundations of the large warehouses that once stood there. Excavations of the shops and the houses around the agora revealed that ships and goods from all over the Mediterranean moored here. So far, pottery, glass, and bronze ware from Egypt, Turkey, southern France, and northern Italy have been found. For instance, Selinunte's production in 409 BC is estimated to have reached 300,000 ceramic artifacts annually. It has been calculated that the citizens used less than 20% of these vessels. The remainder was destined to ship their rich harvests of agricultural produce, like wheat and olives.

In my earlier blog about Selinunte (see: More temples in Sicily to be proud of), I only spoke about the temples, which, since they had not been closely identified, were simply referred to by a letter. These temples were mainly disturbed by successive earthquakes or partially plundered as their building stones were reused for other structures over the centuries. There was indeed a lot of rubble lying around, although a first effort was made to clear the layout of the city and its main street, now revealing several shops (in 2014).

Basically, 15% of the city surface is being exposed, i.e., primarily temples and Selinunte's acropolis. All the rest is still hidden from view. Selinunte has become Europe's most important archaeological park despite this meager percentage!  

The Battle of Himera, a major confrontation

The history of Sicily is a very complicated one. To simplify things, I like to state that the Greeks colonized the island starting as early as the 8th century BC and that their success was such that it raised the envy and jealousy of the Carthaginians, which led to repeated quarrels and battles. Of course, this is a very simplistic explanation because “the Greeks” came from different cities and city-states in the motherland, where they fought among themselves: Corinth, Athens, and Sparta, or from the islands of Rhodes and Crete. By the fifth century BC, mainland Greece suffered from two nearly consecutive invasions by the mighty Persian army, the first in 492-490 BC, which ended with the Battle of Marathon under Darius I, and the second led by King Xerxes I in 480-479 BC, which was settled with the Battle of Plataea and the naval Battle of Mycale. At the same time, the Carthaginians had reached an agreement with the Persians to reduce the Greeks in Sicily, meaning that Persia was, although indirectly, attacking simultaneously on two fronts.

The Carthaginians may have seized the opportune moment now that Sicily was divided among their allies (Selinus (Selinunte) and Himera) and their enemies (Syracuse and Akragas (Agrigento)). They had already conquered several cities on the west and north coasts of the island, like Motya and Panormos (Palermo), and now saw their chance to extend their power further eastward. Carthage had a powerful general Hamilcar, who led both military and naval forces on his warships across the Libyan Sea.

Terillos of Himera was his ally against Syracuse, a tyrant who lacked popular support. In 483 BC, the situation changed as Theron, tyrant of Akragas, deposed Terillos and added Himera to his own realm. Himera was now in the adverse camp, and it is not surprising that Terillos asked the Carthaginians for help to fight against his enemies. He had, however, to wait almost three years before Hamilcar decided to organize an expedition against Sicily.

I am being taken to the very heart of this decisive battle by Michael Metcalfe as I am travelling around Sicily on a tour organized by Peter Sommer Travels “Exploring Sicily”. Before arriving at Himera, I was captivated by Michael’s lively re-enactment of entering the Castle of Eurialo, and I took in the reasons for the solid defenses against the Carthaginians at Motya and Gela. As the tour moved on, the rich historical remains of Syracuse and the sacred area around the sanctuaries of Agrigento, Selinunte, and Segesta have all been mentally reconstructed – even the quarry of Cave di Cusa abandoned since the Carthaginian invasion, looked very real. With my fellow-aficionados, we now flock around Michael to hear how this major battle between the Sicilian allies and Carthage evolved.

As so many times before, Michael is quoting from Diodorus Siculus, a Sicilian historian who lived in the first century BC, and he is voicing the full action. We are actually standing opposite Himera inside the remains of a Doric temple, believed to be the Temple of Victory, built as a celebration just after the war. On the left was the encampment of the Carthagian navy, and on the right the one reserved for their landforces. As always, the figures in antiquity were very much inflated, and Diodorus is no exception when he mentions that 300,000 men and 200 warships went underway together with a fleet of 3,000 and more merchantmen to transport the supplies. Modern historians have calculated that 200 ships is a fair amount, and since they could never have held 1,500 men each, they concluded that 150 men per vessel is about right. This would bring the total number of soldiers to 30,000, i.e., 1/10th of what is being reported. The same logic can be applied to the merchantmen, which would reach 300 instead of 3,000.

Holding Diodorus’ account in hand, Michael tells us how the army had suffered badly from a storm during which Hamilcar lost the vessels carrying his horses and chariots. He first made a halt in the harbor of Panormos (modern Palermo), where he spent three days repairing the storm damage and resting his troops. From here, he marched towards Himera, with the fleet escorting him along the way. Here, the warships were hauled ashore, and the encampments were surrounded by a deep ditch and wooden palisade. After the army supplies were unloaded, the merchants were sent back with orders to bring in more grain and other goods from Libya and Sardinia. Hamilcar then marched on Himera, located on the slope ahead of us, with the pick of his troops, killing many of the Himerans who had ventured out of the city walls. Hamilcar’s daring action scared Theron, the ruler of Akragas, whose role it was to protect Himera, and he decided to send an urgent message to Syracuse for help. Gelon of Syracuse had a huge army in readiness, and as soon as he received the call from Theron, he marched from Syracuse with 50,000 infantry and over 5,000 cavalry according to Diodorus, although 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry sounds more reasonable – a large force anyway. Watching the arrival of Gelon’s men must have been quite comforting to the Himerans, who I picture standing on the roofs of their houses or on a safe spot on the city walls.

While setting up his own encampment outside the city (and Michael points to the plain behind us), Theron sent his cavalry out against the Carthaginians, roaming the countryside in search of easy plunder. At least 1,000 men were rounded up and made prisoners. At this stage, and as strange as it may seem, the inhabitants of Himera came to respect Gelon and despise the Carthaginians.

Gelon, who by now was generally accepted as a man of outstanding generalship and clear insight, started to look for an easy way to outwit his enemy without having to sacrifice the lives of his own men. He knew that Hamilcar was preparing for a lavish sacrifice to the gods, and he felt that this was his chance to set the enemy’s fleet afire. Luck was on his side when horsemen reached him with a message that was intercepted from a courier on his way to deliver letters from the people of Selinus to the enemy camp. These letters mentioned that they would send their cavalry on the day Hamilcar had asked for them. A chance opportunity for Gelon since that day was the same as the one planned for the Carthaginian sacrifices. The tyrant of Syracuse sent out a cavalry of his own, ordering them to take a wide loop and making it look as if they were the couriers coming from Selinus. Once inside the Carthaginian stockade, their instructions were to kill Hamilcar and set his ships afire.

From our vantage point inside the temple, it feels as if we can overlook the entire operation, and we hold our breath together with the people of Himera, who are living between hope and fear. Scouts had been posted high up the surrounding hills, for they would signal when the horsemen arrived inside the enemy’s camp.

At sunrise, the fake friendly cavalry rode up to the Carthaginians and was admitted inside the camp by the guards as their supposed allies. They rode straight up to the place where Hamilcar was holding his sacrifice, killed the general, and set fire to the ships. At this point, the scouts in the hills gave the signal, and Gelon advanced with his entire army in close order. The Carthaginians were entirely taken by surprise, trumpets sounded the alarm, and a fierce battle developed. But when the flames of their burning ships rose high into the sky, and the news of Hamilcar’s death started to spread among his men, most Carthaginians got disheartened, and the Greeks took courage. Gelon had given instructions that no one should be taken alive, and the carnage of the fugitives must have been horrendous. Since the heat of the battle was probably fought at the very spot where we are listening to this vivid story, I stare at my feet, realizing the soil must have been soaked in blood – an uneasy feeling to say the least, even after so many centuries. Reasonable figures mention that 30,000 men were killed or wounded, and certainly not all casualties fell in the enemy camp. Wow, what a place to be standing!

The temple that is our vantage point was, in fact, built by the Carthaginians taken captive on the orders of Gelon of Syracuse. Its dedication to Niké/Victory is uncertain, for it may as well have been built in honor of Athena. In any case, it was destroyed and burnt to the ground soon after its completion, and most likely in 409 BC when the Carthaginians attacked the city of Himera again.

After his victory, Gelon rewarded the brave cavalry that had killed Hamilcar and gave out decorations to other valorous combatants. The prisoners were shared proportionally among his allies, who employed them as laborers on public works. Akragas got most of the workforce, mainly because many of the Carthaginian soldiers had fled into the interior, inside Akragas’ territory in particular. They were the men who quarried the stones (like at Cave di Cusa) and who worked on the construction of many temples, the biggest being the Temple of Zeus (see: The Valley of the Temples at Akragas, Sicily). They were also forced to dig out the extravagant swimming pool in Akragas, which served as a water reservoir and a pond for fresh fish. This pond did not last long since it was drained approximately one century later to eventually become a garden where the Arabs cultivated their oranges, the Kolymbetra Garden.

Peace had returned to Himera, but it was short-lived. The Carthaginians had not forgotten their bitter defeat, and they attacked again in 409 BC when Sicily was torn apart by internal conflicts. This time, Himera was razed to the ground and never rebuilt.

So much for the proud city of Himera and so much for this unique experience: Thank you, Michael!

More temples in Sicily to be proud of

Because of its high concentration of temples, the Valley of Temples in Agrigento is the most striking and best-known collection in Sicily. But obviously, there are many more temples on other sites, which leads to confusion and often makes it difficult to pinpoint which temple is standing where. They all belong to the sixth and fifth centuries BC, the heyday of Magna Graecia, yet each is unique.

Take, for instance, Segesta, located inland in northwestern Sicily, beautifully nestled amid the rolling hills covered with olive trees and vineyards. It is one of those places you could say was chosen by the gods - that is, Greek gods, of course!

This temple definitely fits my earlier description of The perfection of a Greek temple. Yet the strangest thing about this temple is that it was built only to show off; it was never finished and never used. It seems it was constructed in a hurry to impress the Athenian ambassadors, on whom the inhabitants counted for support in their war against Selinunte and Syracuse. All they wanted was the Athenians’ support. Today, many tourists are still impressed!

The temple lies on a low hill on the loveliest spot you can imagine, amidst the spring flowers set against the darker wooded hill in the background. Although we do not know to which god or goddess it was dedicated, it is generally assumed to be the work of a great Athenian master. Dating from between 426-416 BC, it is one of the grandest monuments in the Doric style, covering a surface of 58 x 23meters. The 9-meter-high columns with a base of two meters in diameter were never fluted. However, one hardly notices this detail when admiring the still-standing 36 columns with the entire entablature and pediments. It could have been built just yesterday, mainly since the bosses meant to lift the stone blocks have not been removed. Sadly, the temple has been fenced off for security reasons, for it adds so much to the general atmosphere to actually walk inside its walls.

On the other hand, the picture of Selinunte is entirely different as this city counts two separate groups of temples dating from the same period but still unidentified and, for that reason, simply referred to by a letter. Most sanctuaries have collapsed due to repeated earthquakes or have been handily plundered for reuse in other structures.

Temple E, probably dedicated to Hera, is the first one I see. It looks pretty much complete, for at least all the columns of this Doric building of 490-480 BC are standing (re-erected in 1958). Parts of the entablature and the inner cella walls have also been preserved. Just behind Temple E, Temple F is the oldest one on this hill, dating from circa 560-540 BC, and was probably dedicated to Aphrodite. Next is Temple G, perhaps dedicated to Zeus and with its 110x50m hardly smaller than its namesake in Agrigento (110x53m). This Temple of Zeus has more columns, i.e., 8x17, which is the same number of columns present at the Parthenon in Athens. It was left unfinished when Hannibal destroyed Selinunte in 409 BC. It was of colossal proportions, for the columns were 16 meters high, and the diameter at the base was 3.4 meters. And if that is not enough to convince you of the sheer size, each drum weighs about 100 tons! How the craftsmen in those days were able to move and hoist such blocks is baffling.

On top of the Acropolis is another group of much smaller temples, of which less remains. Temples A and O have the same size and count the same number of columns (6x15), although the layout is hard to figure out. The much larger Temple C, with colossal monolithic columns, is no more than a heap of rubble piled on top of the crepidoma. This situation also applies to the other Temples B and D. All in all, the Temple of Hera (E) is the most representative and best preserved here at Selinunte.

As I said above, it is challenging to imagine the procedure and process of temple building. So I am thrilled to visit the quarries of Cave di Cusa, roughly 18 kilometers away from Selinunte. 

This is not just any quarry but one where work was unexpectedly interrupted the day Selinunte was attacked by the Carthaginians in 409 BC. This is a unique opportunity to follow the entire cutting procedure since nothing has been touched or moved since that date, some 2,500 years ago! The whole process of quarrying can be tracked here, from the initial vertical drills in the rock along the previously drawn circle that was a little larger than the final diameter of the drum to the round column drums still attached to their base. There is a space of just half a meter for the stonemason to move around the cut the column. It is believed that the largest drums, measuring 3m x 2m, were intended for Temple G, which was probably dedicated to Zeus. In any case, I am dwarfed next to any of these drums. Some have rolled downhill and lie where they were stranded so many centuries ago, and never were taken to the construction site where they would have been adjusted and hoisted into position. What a way to visualize this backbreaking work!