The Italian Studies program is so pleased to announce this year’s Luigi and Anita Traverso Endowment of Italian Studies Lecture, which will be a fascinating presentation of the latest archaeological discoveries at the ancient Greek colony of Selinunte by Dr. Clemente Marconi of New York University on Thursday, March 7th at 7 PM in LC 104.
Dr. Marconi’s talk, “Toward an Archaeology of Cult in a Greek Colony in the West: New Excavations in the Main Urban Sanctuary of Selinunte,” presents some of the most significant finds from his exploration of the site over the past decade on the city’s acropolis. Although investigations in this area date back to the early nineteenth century, his new excavations have brought to light a wealth of new data, including a complete stratigraphic sequence from the late fourth century BCE all the way down to Prehistory. Of particular significance are the finds in Temple R, built for a goddess ca. 570 BCE. Sealed by a thick layer of fill in ca. 300 BCE, the temple is entirely preserved in its original phases, including the previous use of the area for an open-air cult around the time of Greek settlement, the phase of construction with a rich foundation deposit, partial burning and looting on the occasion of the Carthaginian conquest of Selinus in 409 BCE, and a restoration by the Selinuntine exiles returning home a few years later. These finds make it possible to fully reconstruct, for the first time, the biography of a temple in Selinunte. More important, the fully preserved, rich assemblage of faunal remains and artifacts allows us to reconstruct a significant part of the ritual activities in this area of the sanctuary.
Professor Marconi’s remarks will be followed by a reception in his honor. All are welcome to attend the talk, and we hope that you will share this announcement with your students and all those in our broader SUNY New Paltz communitiy whom you feel would enjoy this event.
If you have any questions or need accommodations, please do not hesitate to contact me at heuerk@newpaltz.edu or at (845) 257-3829. We hope to see you at this fascinating exploration of ancient Sicily!
