According to Licofrone of Alexandria, an unknown scholar who set up the library of Alexandria in the third century B.C., there was a village called Longuro on Mount Bonifato of Alcamo in ancient times. This settlement had been founded by a colony of Greeks who had escaped from Troy.[1]
The archeological site was probably inhabited from the 7th century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. Longuro was also the name of Mount Bonifato, which – according to some other scholars - was also named "Aereo" and "Longarico" (the Latin name for Longuro).
During the Roman period, the inhabitants moved to the slopes of the mount, so that they could devote themselves to farming.
Excavations
Since the second half of the 16th century, several scholars have identified some localities of archeological interest on this mount, such as the remains of the old village, which were identified by Tommaso Fazello.
Later, the archaeological ruins became subjects of research by historians from Alcamo, such as Ignazio De Blasi in the 18th century and Vincenzo di Giovanni in the 19th century. In the Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas there are some lanterns and stamps of bricks dating back to the Roman period, found by Pietro Maria Rocca (a historian of Alcamo) during the 19th century.[2]
The first excavations have brought to light some cave tombs. These produced no finds inside them, because they had been reused by farmers in the following periods.[3] Later investigations have uncovered artefacts and remains of very ancient settlements,[4] including a house dating back to the 6th-7th centuries B.C.,[4] and bronze and ceramic fragments which are preserved at the Museo Baglio Anselmi in Marsala.[4] In recent years the excavations have been conducted within the work of the field schools organized by Legambiente (1996), Archeoclub of Trapani-Erice (2000), LIPU (2001) and Gruppo Archeologico Drepanon (from 2007 to 2010), within the initiative called "Progetto Bunifat".
Settlements
Following the excavations made in 2014, and the restoration interventions of the two cisterns, carried out by the Libero Consorzio Comunale di Trapani under the scientific supervision of the Soprintendenza dei Beni Culturali of Trapani, dottoressa Rossella Giglio and the archeologist Giuseppina Mammina, and directed by the archeologist Antonina Stellino, the first scientific grounds have been laid to gain a more clear understanding of the settlements.
The excavations have brought to light an outlying urban district, providing evidence of activity from the 8th century B.C. to the 13th century A.D. The urban district of the medieval period (13th century A.D.) shows the last phase of the settlement. This persisted as late as 1396, when the site on the mountain was abandoned after the restoration of the Castle of Ventimiglia. Following these excavations eight houses were discovered, with their doors: four are located on the mountain side, and four on the down side, separated by the street leading to the village. In addition, backing onto the unicellular houses a retaining wall was discovered, about 20 metres long, where traces of rooms, probably for sentinels, can be seen. These walls were built using the dry-stone technique, with squared blocks of local limestone.
From the 6th century B.C. Mount Bonifato very probably had the status of a satellite to the nearby town of Segesta. Further, the site shows unusual traces of human settlement during the period of the Roman Empire. After the 3rd-2nd century B.C. the Romans directed their interest towards the vale of the mount and along the coast of the gulf of Castellammare, to the west along the valley of the Fiume Freddo (later Fiume Caldo), and to the east to the valley of the Finocchio and Calatubo torrents.
The walls brought to light testify to a continuous presence from the 9th century on. When the Arabs came to Mount Bonifato, they chose to build their houses in the same place where those of former periods had stood. Moreover they found a safe place here, and adequate resources for a lifestyle suited to their family units, thanks to the presence of water.
The cisterns
The cisterns of the medieval era (termed A and B) date back to the 13th century A.D. The date is confirmed by the construction techniques used and by the finding of green glazed ceramics of that period. The work on their recovery and restoration involved the removal of the humus and other material which completely filled both cisterns. Cistern A, about 4 metres high and 6 metres long, was used by various unicellular houses. Cistern B, which is smaller than the other, is about 2.85 metres by 4.30 metres.
Cistern A, which dates to the medieval period, has been exposed entirely: it is formed of squared blocks, and its interior and floor are plastered. In the northern side there is a trapdoor from which water was drawn, while on the side of the mountain is found the channelling for the inflow of water. An inscription was found inside Cistern B, with the date 1264. The other inscriptions may indicate mathematical calculations for the construction of the cistern, or relating to its capacity.
Finds
The finds material recovered from the "urban district" includes above all ceramics, and also some fragments in bronze and iron, stone bullets, a chopper, organic material of animal origin, and millstones. Among the most ancient materials found are some specimens handmade from paste, but also items made on the wheel. The types of ceramics discovered can be distinguished chronologically, beginning in the 7th century B.C. These include discoveries which can be assigned to the proto-Elymus, indigenous, Attic, Ionic and Hellenistic periods. This confirms that there was continuous contact with Segesta and with other Elymus centres of western Sicily.
Among the undecorated ceramics are some fragments of large containers used for the storage of victuals (pithoi), mortars, pans and dishes. Specimens of ceramics with geometrical decoration were also discovered, both hand-formed and wheel-made, including bowls, amphoras and jugs. The materials found inside the houses (including filters, commonly-used ceramics and, above all, glazed pottery), as concerning the clay, show that there was an evolution of refinement in production, fictile material and firing, leading to more elegant types of vases, even though the aesthetics of the ceramics were not especially important to those who used them, their rural life being mainly concerned with purely essential matters.
The site today
The site, dating back to the Iron Age, was opened to the public on 15 December 2015. The excavations were financed by the ex Province of Trapani; after these public works, the Archeoclub d’Italia Calatub, as a group of volunteers, has dealt with its clearing, monitoring, safeguarding, protection, promotion and the diffusion of popular knowledge about it. Since 2014, the archaeologistAntonina Stellino, from Alcamo, has been engaged with the fixing and classification of the finds discovered in this site, in anticipation of the creation of an Antiquarium in Alcamo.
Alcamo is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani.
Scopello is a coastal village, in the municipality of Castellammare del Golfo in the province of Trapani in Italy.
The Calatubo Castle is a fortress located near the town of Alcamo, Sicily, southern Italy.
The castle of Ventimiglia is an ancient four towers castle which was built at the end of the 14th century by the Ventimiglia family on the top of Mount Bonifato near Alcamo, Sicily, southern Italy.
The Nature Reserve Bosco di Alcamo is a natural protected area of Regione Siciliana established in 1984, and located on the top of monte Bonifato, which dominates the town of Alcamo.
Mount Bonifato is a mountain in north western Sicilly in the province of Trapani.
The Roman furnaces in Alcamo are part of the archaeological complex of Alcamo Marina and were discovered in 2000.
The Sanctuary of the Most Holy Mary of the Height is a place of Marian devotion, located on the top of Mount Bonifato, in Alcamo in the province of Trapani, Italy.
Madonna del Riposo is a Catholic church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Madonna del Ladro Buono is a Catholic church in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Ignazio De Blasi was an Italian historian. He was the first scholar who wrote a history of his town providing documentary evidence on it.
Carlo Cataldo was an Italian historian, poet, and teacher.
Nino Navarra was an Italian poet, writer and orator.
Monsignor Vincenzo Regina was an Italian presbyter and historian.
The Tower Calandrino is located in the old town of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
The Geosite Travertino della Cava Cappuccini is located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, in Sicily.
The building of the ex Loggia Comunale is located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
The Arab fountain of Alcamo is very ancient, and is still functional: it was built during the period of the Arab domination of the town. It is located in the lower part of Alcamo, at about 300 metres from the Sanctuary of Madonna of Miracles.
Piazza Ciullo is the main square of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy. Being located in the very town centre, it is a meeting place for people and an attraction for important events, especially for teenagers.
Andrea Carrera or Carreca was an Italian Baroque painter mainly active in Sicily. He was born in Trapani and died in Palermo.
References
↑ Orlandi, Cesare (1770). 'Alcamo, citta della Sicilia nella valle di Mazara', in Delle città d'Italia e sue isole adjacenti compendiose notizie, 5 volumes (Stamperia Augusta, Presso Mario Riginaldi, Perugia 1770-1774, con licenza dei superiori), I, p. 203 ff.
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