Sapienza investigations at Motya, resumed in 2002 (Great Excavation since 2010), with systematic excavations in 7 areas have provided decisive data for the study of ancient Mediterranean.Motya was a major prehistoric settlement (2nd mill. BC) and a flourishing Phoenician harbour-city (8th-4th cent BC).
In the light of achieved results, the new excavation permit (2017-2022) extended Sapienza excavation areas to the Cappiddazzu, Casa dei Mosaici and Casermetta. This brought to 10 the areas under exploration offering new important opportunities to ongoing research.
With the publication of the report volume Landing on Motya (2017) the first step towards the investigation of the earliest Phoenician colony was accomplished and the Expedition scientific goals were refined:
1. PREHISTORY in 2nd Mill. BC: the role of Motya in Mediterranean interconnections (sea-routes, population, exchange and imports)
2. THE EARLIEST PHOENICIAN COLONY: modes, components and chronology of Phoenician colony as reflected in the "Cappiddazzu"
3. TEMPLES as PLACES of CULTURAL MEDIATION in the Sacred Area of the Kothon with Temples of Baal and of Astarte compared with the Temple of Herakles/Melqart in "Cappiddazzu" area
4. THE CITY-WALLS why and when Motya was given a monumental fortification line? Which are the main architectural and poliorcetic features of its city-walls? Excavations between the East Tower and the North Gate aim at answering these questions
5. THE TOPHET: exact and life sciences approaches (aDNA) to the Tophet enlighten religious ideology and the creation of a new cultural identity
6. CULTURAL and TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS and HYBRIDIZATION in materials and tools, traced by petrographic, SEM, XRD, Photosensors, isotope and anthracological analyses
7. ANCIENT SOCIETY (DEMOGRAPHIC MODEL) by means of an integrated study of archaeological data from the site and its necropolises
ANALYSES in specialized LABS will provide necessary data to deepen archaeological investigations
BEYOND THE STATE OF ART
Motya is an almost unique archaeological site, concealing large amount of fresh information on the history of ancient Mediterranean. NOVEL APPROACHES AND NEW SCIENTIFIC TOOLS (aDNA, 3D Optical Scan, PhSDAM, statistics, chemometrics, radiometric measurements, chemo-physical analyses [CNIS]) will grasp data enlightening many aspects of ancient life:
1. ENHANCING EXCAVATION & DATA COLLECTION
1.1 Floating NODE-SENSORS in a monitored network allow to study tides and waterbeds as well as springing up freshwater in ancient landscape - C Petrioli
1.2 Reconstruction of stratigraphy with an updated GPR, at different depths - a non-invasive tool for the identification of underground features - P Lombardo
1.3 Micromorphology of selected MICROSTRATIGRAPHY contexts for reconstructing ancient climate, macro-events (destructions, etc.) MVOEM - D Montanari
1.4 DRONE AIDED SURVEYING (also infrared): with its high-resolution camera, Phantom4 Drone traces the aerial mapping of archaeological areas and ortho-photographs for careful survey and architecture study (city-walls) - P Izzo M Crespi
2. RECORDING & PROCESSING
2.1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WEBSTORAGE: Records of layers, pottery, small finds, samples etc. are INTEGRATED into a GIS SYSTEM, an on-line platform filled up by team members also on the field - S Sabatini
2.2 PENGUIN is an advanced 3D Optical Scanner DEVELOPED BY THE EXPEDITION that enables to realize 3D MODELS of both monuments and finds with a high degree of accuracy - M Crespi L Fattore M Tamburrini M De Marco
2.3 BIOSENSORS for identification of organic stuffs originally contained into pottery vases, in collaboration with the Dept. of Chemistry and Tech of Drugs - R Ragno T Rinaldi
2.4 TRACKING RED-SLIP Project: characterization of RED-SLIP Pottery in order to distinguish importations from local productions - C De Vito L Fabrizi
2.5 ELECTRONIC MICROSCOPE petrographic tracing of pottery wares in fractures L Fabrizi
3. DATING & CHRONOLOGY FOR MEDITERRANEAN SYNCHRONIZATION
3.1 RADIOCARBON DATING CALIBRATION (AMS-RC): systematic collection of stratified samples for radiocarbon dating and creation of a grid: University of Salento CEDAD L Calcagnile E Gallo
3.2 Thermoluminescence measured on pottery to obtain data for calibration both of Radiocarbon and PhSDAM dates: Aegaeum Univ. Rhodes I Liritzis
3.3 PHOTOSENSOR DATING ANALYTICAL METHOD (PhSDAM) is an innovative method which provides a range of absolute datings for selected pottery fragments. PhSDAM, DEVELOPED IN SAPIENZA, is based on the chemical-physical degradation in time of pottery during underground deposition - R Ragno M Sabatino
Integration of the three methods will offer a more precise and accurate chronological grid to pinpoint cultural horizons across the Mediterranean and to pitch the role of MOTYA between 2nd and 1st millennium BC.
4. ENVIRONMENT & HUMAN STUDIES
4.1 ANCIENT HUMAN DNA & FAMILY CLUSTERS: characterization of aDNA of Motya's population with samples from the Tophet (infants) and Necropolis (adults) - P Zalloua - L Matisoo-Smith
4.2 ANCIENT LANDSCAPE & HUMAN IMPACT after Phoenician landing in Motya PLANTS AND ANIMALS DNA EXTRACTION M Bou Dagher Kharrat - Sadori
4.3 ANCIENT DEASEAS tracing and models of diffusion are studied basing on human remains and through statistic models - A Guari
4.4 DEMOGRAPHIC MODEL of the Phoenician city of Motya, population, resources, land use and progressive growth giving back a figure to double-check archaeological reconstruction - L Benvenuti L Farina A Catastini
5. MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES FOR RESTORATION
5.1 Experimental techniques for MUDBRICK restoration with ancient mortars in collaboration with ISCR of Rome - S Ferrari
5.2 METALLURGICAL ANALYSES for study and restoration of artifacts: collection of minute samples and thin and ultra-thin cross-sections for composition and the micro-structure metal analysis - S Mignardi
5.3 CHEMO-PHYSICAL ANALYSES on archaeological materials (XRF, XRD, SEM) - F Mura CNIS/Nanolab
6. DISSEMINATION & OUTREACH
6.1 Open access resources in the Motya Expedition Database - P Bigini
6.2 Excavation results available online - download from www.lasapienzamozia.it and academia.edu and coursera.org for individual scholars F Micale
6.3 Reports publication in Vicino Oriente and QAFP/CM C Fiaccavento
7. TOURISM, MANAGEMENT & VALORIZATION
7.1 MOTYA MOBILE OUTDOOR GUIDE WITH AUGMENTED REALITY: free-downloadable App for mobile archaeo-tour guide - R Ravanelli
7.2 VIDEO RECONSTRUCTION / DOCUMFILM on monuments and events of Motya's history for tourist exploitation - L De Vito
7.3. MANAGEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES for FUND RAISING at Motya - A Billi