Motya

Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum and Lilybaeum [1]. Motya has become known for the marble statue of the Motya Charioteer [1]. The foundation of the settlement dates from the first half of the eighth century BC [1]. By 650 BC the settlement had grown into a busy port-city with maritime trade extending to the central and western Mediterranean [1]. Motya became one of the chief Carthaginian strongholds, as well as one of their most important commercial cities in Sicily due to its proximity to Carthage and its opportune situation for communication with North Africa [1]. The cothon at Motya is an artificial lake on an otherwise very dry island that had long puzzled archaeologists since the first excavations by Joseph Whitaker in 1906/07 [1].