LILYBAION
(Marsala) Trapani, Sicily.
On
the extreme W tip of Sicily stood a well-fortified outpost
of Carthaginian power in Sicily. It was the only city
which Pyrrhos could not conquer when, in 267 B.C., he
had succeeded in invading all of Punic Sicily, including
Panormos. It was founded after the destruction of Motya
in 397-396 B.C. Although there is some slight evidence
that the territory of Lilybaion was inhabited in prehistoric times, there is no indication of a regularly established settlement until after the above-mentioned date. It
was conquered by the Romans after the battle of the
Egadi islands in 241 B.C.; even during the Roman period
its importance, both military and commercial, was so
considerable, that it was made the seat of one of the
two quaestores of Sicily.
Exploration of the ancient habitation center is difficult
because it lies under the modern city. The site was surrounded by substantial walls except for the side along
the seashore, and a wide moat was part of the fortification system. The cemeteries (4th c. B.C.-2d c. A.D.) which
lie to the W of the city have been thoroughly explored.
The typical rock-cut Punic graves either have a vertical
shaft leading into one or more funerary chambers, or
consist of a rectangular cist. For cremation, amphoras
of various shapes were used or urns made of local stone
called
lattimusa; and for burial, limestone sarcophagi.
The grave goods included vases of various types and
periods, often undecorated, some Hellenistic pottery, and
considerable Punic ware. Stelai, some of typical and traditional shape and others in the shape of naiskoi, have
been found and display features clearly Punic within a
context not unfamiliar with Classical motifs. The later
stelai, probably to be dated to the 1st-2d c. A.D. on the
basis of the epigraphical data, are more properly defined
as funerary aediculae in the shape of small buildings
with small pediments and columns either prostyle or in
antis, often in the round, or with pillars and antae. They
are carved out of limestone often coated with a thick
layer of white stucco on which vivid colors are applied;
the paintings depict banquet scenes, flower garlands, inscriptions in Greek, and finally the symbol of Tanit with
the caduceus.
At the extreme W tip, called Capo Boeo, a part of the
ancient city has been uncovered which in its latest phase
belongs to the 3d-4th c. A.D.; it represents a rich and
elegant complex including a small bath. Some rooms of
this insula are decorated with polychrome mosaics that
seem to reflect motifs and influences from nearby N
Africa and its mosaic repertoire. In other parts of the
city mosaics include one with Theseus and the Minotaur
(1st c. A.D.) and one with the Four Seasons (2d c. A.D.).
The city had its own mint after the Roman occupation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Marconi-Bovio, “Marsala: Villa romana,”
Le Arti 2 (1940) 389-90; id., “Origine della città
di Lilibeo,”
Lumen 2.2-3 (1949) 1ff; G. Schmiedt, “Contributo della fotografia aerea alla ricostruzione della
topografia antica di Lilibeo,”
Kokalos 9 (1963) 49ff
MPI;
A. M. Bisi, “La cultura antica di Lilibeo nel periodo
punico,”
Oriens Antiquus (1968) 95ff; id., “Ricerche
sulle fortificazioni puniche di Lilibeo,”
ArchCl 20 (1968)
259ff.
V. TUSA
