Italy

Monte Polizzo

Elymian hilltop settlement, 9th–4th centuries BC

Location

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Historical Context

About

Monte Polizzo (today Mount Polizo) is an archaeological site located 6 km northwest of the town of Salemi, in the province of Trapani, western Sicily, southern Italy. It occupies an easily defended hilltop, from which a vast area of western Sicily can be seen, and consists of an interconnected group of ridges, the highest point of which is 725.9 m (2359 feet) above sea level. The settlement has been dated to c. 9th - 4th centuries BC. The Monte Polizzo Project is a group of international scholars who are interested in the ancient Elymians of western Sicily, and their Early Iron Age origins, development and eventual collapse. It also aims to investigate the process of Hellenisation and the influence of Phoenician and Greek occupations of western Sicily during the archaic period.

Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Chalcolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Classical Period
Post-Classical Period
Early Modern Period
Industrial Period
Contemporary Period
Temporal Epochs

Historical Timeline

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Settlement occupation

9th–4th centuries BC

1970 trial excavations

1970

1996 international project established

1996

House 1 excavation

1998–2001

Michael Kolb regional survey begins

1998

1998 Sicilian-Scandinavian project launched

1998

Stanford involvement and acropolis work

1999–2002

Western excavations reveal more houses

2002

Fieldwork drawn to a close

2006

Classification

Archaeological Features

Unique architectural and cultural elements found at this historical site

category

Miscellaneous Features

Town dumpAcropolis
category

Domestic and Habitation Structures

HousesHouse complexesTowns
category

Environmental and Natural Features

HilltopRidges
Knowledge Base

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Reference

Details

Country

Italy

Coordinates

37.86° N, 12.79° E