TrapaniMozia.
This is one ofthe most ancient of the Phoenician foundations (late 8th c. BC), together with Panormus and Solunto. Motya very soon became one of the most important trading stations in the ancient world. After the Carthaginians were defeated in the Battle of Himera (480 BC) it went through a moment of decline but prospered again at the end of the same century when the boundary wall which already surrounded the whole island was strengthened. When hostilities again broke out between Greeks and Carthaginians, Motya was attacked by Dionysius I of Syracuse, who conquered and destroyed the city. The inhabitants fled to the mainland of Sicily and founded the city of Lilybaeum, the modern Marsala. Motya was never rebuilt, and it therefore constitutes a rare testimony of a Phoenician-Punic settlement that has come down to us almost complete, without any superimpositions. The first excavations were directed by Giuseppe Whitaker, the owner of the island, who in the early years of 20th c. initiated the exploration of the soil, bringing to light items of the archaic age. Today Motya belongs to the Whitaker Foundation, and archaeologically speaking is administered by the Trapani Antiquities Service.

We reach the island by boat, from a canal running alongside the salt-pans. We arrive after a few minutes and begin our visit, turning right or left along the walls which have been brought to light in many places. The original wall dates from the early 6th c. BC; it was rebuilt at the end of the same century and again in the 5th. It was constructed using various techniques and above alI the style known as emplecton, which is characterized by blocks placed opposite each other, the gap between being filled with fragmented material and gravel. Motya probably had four gates. The North Gate and the South Gate were at opposite ends of the island. Along the walls there were a number of postern-gates and 20 square towers. If we decide to go right, towards the N part of the island, we will pass through the N gate, with its crooked comer towers in the manner of the Scaean gates. But before entering, we must admire an extremely interesting work of man that can be clearly seen at low tide: this is a road built on the shallow, muddy seabed joining the island to the mainland, in the territory of Birgi where the new acropolis was created, with new graves, when the archaic necropolis was abandoned. As we enter the city , just inside the N Gate, we come to a very interesting monumental sanctuary called the Cappiddazzu. This is built with regular blocks and surrounded by a temenos (boundary wall) enclosing a vast rectangular building (probably used for religious purposes) and numerous utility rooms. This must have been the most important place of worship on the island. The superb 6th c. BC statue of the Young Man of Motya on display in the Museum was found not far away, near a pottery kiln. Continuing W we come first to the archaic necropolis (with cinerary tombs which consist simply of covered vases) and then to the Tophet, a vast, triangular sacred precinct, where the cults of the Phoenician gods, including Baal and Astarte, were celebrated. A large number of sacrificial cinerary urns have been found here (said to be those of children, later replaced by animals), together with about a thousand votive stelae (7th-4th c.). The more ancient of these are aniconic and the more recent decorated: they constitute an indispensable heritage for our understanding of the Punic world. A temenos bounds the Tophet on two sides while the third abuts on the city walls. We continue W and then E, either following the walls or by way of the little lanes across the fields, and we reach the S part of the island, where we see the South Gate and the Kothon. This is an extraordinary artificial port or a kind of shipyard constructed according to the typical techniques of the Phoenicio-Punic world: dating from the 6th c., it is regular in shape, the base is cut out of the natural rock and smoothed out, and the edges are made of dressed squared blocks. Sea water entered, and still enters, along a narrow canal which is marked by along groove used for hauling ships up into drydock. The sides were used for mooring the craft and for maintenance work. From here, proceeding E, we come to the Casa dei Mosàici (House of Mosaics), a splendid dwelling whose peristyle, characterized by Doric columns, bears a refined mosaic made of sea pebbles, showing animals and decorative pattems. The refined quality of the decorations and the general architectural structure suggest that this mosaic must predate 397 BC (the year Motya was destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse), even if the House of Mosaics and the mosaic itself may have belonged to a rich inhabitant of Motya who retumed after the terrible destructions. A few steps away is the island's little Museum, which was rearranged to make way for the retum of the famous statue of the Young Man of Motya or the Charioteer of Motya, as others like to call it. The Museum displays material found on the island during the various excavations. The most interesting items are a sculpture group of two lions attacking a bull, numerous stelae from the Tophet, tomb furnishings, pottery, and little glass pots for perfumes and ointments. The presence of Greek and Punic material together proves the close cultural contacts between the two peoples. The Young Charioteer - whose elegant pleated tunic gracefully covers his body -presents both Punic and Hellenized features.