Agrigento, a district of Akragas destroyed in 406 BC resurfaces

In the area between the Montana houses and the Kolymbethra garden, remains of buildings and large masonry structures have emerged, belonging to an urban district erased by the Carthaginian siege of 406 BC, according to AgrigentoNotizie.

The research is being carried out by a team from the Università degli Studi di Milano, now in its third excavation season in this area of the Valley of the Temples. Coordination is entrusted to Professor Claudia Lambrugo, who is working in collaboration with Maria Concetta Parello, archaeologist at the Archaeological Park. The excavation site will remain open until October 24, by which date the team expects to complete the surveys begun this year.

A second set of findings concerns the Montana houses plateau, where archaeologists have identified facilities originally built to collect groundwater and later converted, in a subsequent era, into shelters for animals. This dual life of the structures — first hydraulic technology, then agro-pastoral use — tells the story of an area that was not abandoned after the destruction of the fifth century BC, but reused for centuries with functions different from the original ones.

The ongoing work is part of a multi-year excavation program on ancient Akragas, of which the Valley of the Temples today preserves the best-known monumental evidence. Each campaign adds pieces to the reconstruction of the urban layout that existed before the siege, progressively clarifying how the city was organized prior to its destruction. The results of the third campaign, once the excavation season concludes on October 24, will need to be compared with those of the previous two in order to define the overall extent of the district brought to light.