Morgantina
Morgantina is an ancient city in Sicily in the territory of the municipality of Aidone in the Free Municipal Consortium Enna . It was an important place in Sicily from prehistoric to Roman times.
Location and excavations
The excavation sites are in the area of the municipality of Aidone , 5 km east of the town center and about 35 km southeast of Enna . The city was thus easily accessible from Syracuse , Gela , Enna and Catania . Piazza Armerina is located 15 km southwest of Morgantina. The ancient city is located in the Monti Erei on a three-kilometer-long plateau interspersed with hills, the highest point of which is the citadel hill with the acropolis .
The excavations are being carried out by an American team from Princeton University . The excavations began in 1955 and continue to this day.
One of the most important finds associated with Morgantina is the statue of Aphrodite of Morgantina . It was exhibited at the J. Paul Getty Museum until 2010 , when it returned to Italy. It is now on display in the regional museum on site.
history
The oldest traces of settlement in the area date from the Paleolithic , the earliest finds in the area of Morgantina itself possibly from the Neolithic . Settlement has been assured since the early Bronze Age ( Castelluccio culture ), from the 3rd millennium BC. Around 1100 BC New population immigrated to the BC, which was probably the Sikeler ancient sources, which were probably around the middle of the 13th century BC. Immigrated from Italy to northeast Sicily and spread further and further west in the following centuries. Finds from that time, the late Bronze Age of Sicily, show, as well as some sites in northeastern Sicily, strong parallels to the Ausonian culture of the Aeolian Islands. In the 6th century BC Greeks settled on the citadel hill and lived peacefully with the locals. 459 BC Morgantina was conquered by the Sicilian king Duketios ( Diodor 11, 78, 5), who destroyed the Greek settlement. The rectangular layout of the city is ascribed to Duketios. Around 450 BC The city was conquered by Akragas and Syracuse and then became the property of Syracuse. This occurred to Morgantina in 424 BC. At the congress of Gela to Kamarina from ( Thucydides 4, 65, 1). 396 BC Dionysius of Syracuse conquered the city. The city experienced an upswing at the time of Timoleon , as archaeological finds prove. However, Morgantina had its greatest heyday in the time of Agathocles and Hieron II. In the 2nd Punic War , the Romans conquered Morgantina. They handed the city over in 212 BC. The Spaniards as a reward for faithful service.
construction
Morgantina is divided into two districts. The facility in the east is called the Citadel, the facility in the west is on the Serra Orlando hill.
The citadel
The residential town of Morgantina was in this district. Various living rooms and public buildings have been excavated here. There was also a necropolis here , which was built between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Was used, discovered.
Regional archaeological museum
In Aidone is the Archaeological Regional Museum where the finds of the excavations are on display. For a few years now, it has also been home to the famous Aphrodite von Morgantina, La dea di Morgantina .
literature
- Robert Leighton: Morgantina Studies, Volume IV: The Protohistoric Settlement on the Cittadella. Princeton University Press, 1st Edition 1993, ISBN 0-691-04015-X ; 2nd edition 2014, ISBN 978-1-4008-6334-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ La dea di Morgantina on the website of the Morgantinas Archaeological Park (Italian).
- ^ Looted art: Getty Museum returns 40 works to Italy. In: Spiegel Online . August 1, 2007, accessed June 10, 2018 .
Coordinates: 37 ° 25 ′ 51 ″ N , 14 ° 28 ′ 46 ″ E