Three temples and a Greek theatre are the most important discoveries of the excavation campaigns underway, also this year, at the site of the city of Halaesa Archonidea, near Tusa in the Sicilian province of Messina.
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| Credit: La Repubblica |
Archaeologists from the Universities of Amiens, Sorbonne and the Ecole du Louvre, directed by Michela Costanzi are working on the site of the ancient theatre, while a second mission from the Universities of Messina and Oxford, led by Lorenzo Campagna and Jonathan Prag with the scientific coordination of Alessio Raffa del Cnr Ibam who, for the third year, are excavating in the area of the sanctuary of Apollo. Here a monumental block of over 45 metres in length, 25 metres wide and 4 metres high was brought to light: a stepped podium on which the three temples stood.
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| Credit: La Repubblica |
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| Credit: La Repubblica |
"This is the heart of the sanctuary," says Raphael, "where there were two lateral temple buildings and a larger one probably dedicated to Apollo, named by Diodorus Siculus and two inscriptions from Halaesa. Apollo was the patron god of the city, as evidenced by the coinage of Halaesa with the head of Apollo and the cithara."
The foundations of three Hellenistic-era temples, of which little is preserved, have been identified by the Superintendence of Messina and the City of Tusa. The Italo-French excavation continues on the site where a theatre was found last year.
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| Credit: La Repubblica |
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| Credit: La Repubblica |
"We work south of the agora," explains Michela Costanzi, "in the area of the southern acropolis and under the buttressed wall, and this is the area that continues to offer surprises: last year, elements were discovered that unequivocally prove the existence of an ancient theatre buried under several metres of earth: steps cut into the rock and stone seats. This year we found the remains of the wall that closed the cavea on which the spectators sat and that of the corridors. Elements that each day are enriching our understanding of the urban layout of this city that Cicero had called one of the most beautiful in Sicily"
Source: La Repubblica [trsl. TANN, July 22, 2019]
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