The archaeology and history of Selinus from its origins to the reign of Diocletian

Abstract

The archaeology and history of the less important centers of antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean has been a subject that has been generally neglected by modern scholarship. Until recently much study in the field of archaeology has concentrated on the larger more urban centers. However much information about life in the past can be gleaned from such 'less important' places. This work hopes to begin to fill the gap in such scholarship. The site covered here is only one of many which could benefit from similar treatment and much more work needs to be done before adequate comparisons can be drawn and a suitably complex picture of the character of such sites can be made. We do not know when the origin of settlement began at Selin us, but it is referred to as early as the 6th century BC. From there the settlement and the region it is located in receive scant mention. By the pt century AD Selinus had reached what is perhaps the apex of its development. Urbanisation under the Romans rendered many improvements to the city and a majority of the materials remaining on the site reflect this. This work will summarise the history and archaeology of Selinus until the reign of the emperor Diocletian and will hopefully serve as an example of the character of small-scale settlement in Classical antiquity.