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   Lecture Announcement: Space and Identity in Ancient Motya 

Jason Herrmann (University of Pennsylvania) will join us to speak on “Space and Identity in Ancient Motya (Sicily)”. Refreshments will be available from noon to 12:30 p.m., and the lecture will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Join us in person or!

Lecture Abstract:

Originally conceived as a project to document domestic spaces away from the monumental buildings of Motya, the urban plan documented as part of the Space and Identity at Ancient Motya project comprises a new line of evidence for understanding identity and socio-political organization within Phoenecian-Punic polities in the central Mediterranean. This project, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Palermo, has taken a landscape approach to this important node in western Sicily, integrating extensive archaeogeophysical surveys, surface collection, and test excavations to track how space was shaped and re-shaped over time. In this presentation, we will discuss the configuration and timing of Motya’s urban elements that were revealed through this research, with an emphasis on the city as it appeared at its height in the 5th century BCE. We will then consider varied cultural and political influences that informed urban organization and how they reflect the perspectives of the city’s architects and the people who lived there.