Lilybaeum – Punic Harbour of Marsala
Lilibeo · Lilybaion Punic Naval Harbour
Punic to Medieval (396 BCE – 1200 CE)·Carthaginian / Greek / Roman·🇮🇹 Sicily, Trapani, Italy
About
About Lilybaeum – Punic Harbour of Marsala
Lilybaeum, Carthage's impregnable Punic naval harbour (396 BCE) at Marsala's Capo Boeo, preserves two harbour basins: the southern fishing harbour with Punic ashlar mole now 1 m submerged, and the western naval harbour (Stagnone-side) with slipways for quadriremes. Di Vita, Giglio and Tusa mapped mole blocks at –1 m, 150 m offshore, and underwater kothon-like shallows with mooring stones. Harbour mud cores (Arnaud) contain Punic 4th c. BCE amphorae and Roman Republican ballast sealed under 1 m medieval silt after harbour shifted to modern marina. Roman decumanus excavations show warehouse horrea aligned to harbour. The harbour's 250-year Punic stratigraphy survived Roman siege of 241 BCE.
Why it mattersOnly intact Punic naval harbour in Sicily; mole and slipways anchor Punic naval architecture and First Punic War siege archaeology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether western harbour had roofed ship-sheds like Carthage
- 02Extent of Punic vs. Roman rebuild of mole after 241 BCE
Theories
- 01Southern basin mole reused Greek ashlar from Motya spolia after 396 BCE
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 396 BCE (Himilco foundation after Motya fall); mole 4th c. BCE
- Period
- Punic to Medieval (396 BCE – 1200 CE)
- Culture
- Carthaginian / Greek / Roman
- Purpose
- Carthaginian naval base for western Sicily – 200 warships, grain and salt depot
- Abandoned
- c. 1200 CE (harbour silting and Norman shift to Trapani)
- Rediscovered
- 1899 Salinas notes; 1968 Di Vita causeway; 2006 Tusa mole diving; 2010 Isic decumanus
- Excavation
- Submerged
396 BCE
Himilco founds Lilybaeum after Motya destroyed
241 BCE
Roman siege ends First Punic War; harbour taken intact
2006
Tusa maps Punic mole offshore Capo Boeo
On the ground
Structures & features
37.8000° N · 12.4333° E · -1 m · 3 mapped features
Southern Fishing Harbour Mole
mole150 m Punic ashlar mole at –1 m off Capo Boeo – fishing harbour arm
37.7990° N · 12.4340° EWestern Naval Harbour Slipways
harbourRock-cut quadrireme slipways at –1 m – naval harbour on Stagnone side
37.8015° N · 12.4310° EDecumanus Horrea Warehouses
structureHorrea warehouses on decumanus maximus aligned to harbour – ashlar base
37.8027° N · 12.4294° E
Gallery