La gestione delle acque nelle città fenicio-puniche della Sicilia: riflessioni e prospettive a partire dalle evidenze di Mozia, Solunto e Palermo

Abstract

The study of the hydraulic preparations of Phoenician-Punic Sicily constitutes a field of investigation alas problematic, especially with regard to the evidence related to the archaic-classical period. Not we know, for example, hydraulic works of a certain engineering commitment comparable to the oldest aqueducts of Tyre known from the sources 2 or the great Greek hydraulic infrastructures of the archaic era 3. The problem of water management in Sicily has, in recent years, received a considerable pulso and concerned especially the evidence of the Greek colonial foundation4 cities. Such "abundance" of data is not yet appreciable for Phoenician foundations, except, as we shall see, of Motya, nor for those cities that were part of the Punic eparchy from the beginning of the fourth century. a.c. Apart from mentions of hydraulic structures in monographic works or articles on the various Punic centers, especially related to the High Hellenistic era, few studies are entirely dedicated to the study of water resources. In relation to the Punic world in Sicily, we know how to supply Selinunte, where part of the work on Punic housing contexts is dedicated to the system of storage and disposal of water5. The same can be said for Pantelleria, where the excavations of the University of Tübingen have revealed a widespread use of the tanks biabsidate6; for the city of Lilibeo, we know that it was served by cisterns and wells that easily reached the underground ground7; just at a well called "Lilibeo", landed Hannibal in 4098; less numerous evidence of Palermo, dating mostly to Roman times. In the stately homes of Piazza della Vittoria, for example, there is a system of pools and a fountain that document a decorative use of the water element in the Romans9 era. As a result, therefore, a very fragmented framework, dotted with specific approaches to individual contexts, which lacks a systematic vision. In such a situation, however, it is possible to recognize an adherence to the typical dictates of the Punic culture for some infrastructures, such as the biabsidate or "carafe" tanks, and a general adhesion the techniques of water management and redistribution found also in the Greek world. This synthesis takes into account the data published on the evidence of the three main Phoenician-Punic cities of Sicily, Motya, Solunto and Palermo, through which we will try to understand what were the hydraulic strategies of the Phoenician-Punic culture of Sicily and which were, if there were, the points in common with the Semitic, Greek or Etruscan culture. This review does not claim to be exhaustive, but it is the starting point for a diachronic reflection on the evolution of the solutions adopted in the hydraulic field starting from the most ancient phases of the Phoenician frequenting of the island.