2022/03/17 by Lorenzo Nigro · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Maritime and Coastal Archaeology #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History #Historical and Architectural Studies #Reinterpretation #Phoenician #Harbour #Archaeology #Statue #Analogy #Interpretation (philosophy) #Ancient history #Feature (linguistics) #Shore #History #Geography #Geology #Art #Oceanography #Philosophy
paper · pdf · doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.8
openalex publication_date 2022/03/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The Phoenician island-city of Motya, off the west coast of Sicily, has long been a focus of archaeological research. Earlier excavations identified a large rectangular basin interpreted, by analogy with Carthage, as a ‘ kothon ’ or artificial inner harbour. Recent investigations of this feature, however, lead the author to a new interpretation. Rather than a harbour, the so-called ‘Kothon’ is revealed as a sacred freshwater pool at the centre of a monumental circular sanctuary hosting three large temples. The pool, watched over by a statue of Ba'al, also served as a surface for observing and mapping the movement of stars, as emphasised by the alignment of structures and features positioned around the sacred enclosure.