 Remains of the ancient settlement | |
  Monte Bubbonia Shown within Sicily | |
| Location | Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°15′6.93″N14°20′25.25″E / 37.2519250°N 14.3403472°E /37.2519250; 14.3403472 |
| Altitude | 595 m (1,952 ft) |
| Type | settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | 6th century BC |
| Cultures | Sicans,Greeks |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Paolo Orsi,Piero Orlandini |
| Public access | yes |
Monte Bubbonìa[1] is a 595-metre-high (1,952 ft) hill located in thecomune ofMazzarino, about twenty kilometres from the city ofGela. It consists of three platforms, descending from west to east (i.e. the westernmost platform is also the highest).
The site is reached by travelling along the SS 117 Gela-Catania, taking the turn-off forPiazza Armerina, driving for 9-kilometre-high (5.6 mi), until a side road appears on the left, the old road to Mazzarino, marked by a sign which shows the street on an ancient Roman route map known as theItinerarium Antonini.[2]
The shape of the hill, from a geological point of view, is relatively recent, with theMiocene limestone base covered byPleistocenemarl withsilt andquartz grains, then finally by very red sand which is very crumbly and dusty. Below the curb of a dirt road which runs up the east side of the hill towards the acropolis, there is a 2.2-metre-long (7.2 ft) chamberdolmen, the shape of which has similarities to structures inSardinia andApulia.[3]
On the summit of the mountain,Paolo Orsi discovered an ancient city which the archaeologistPiero Orlandini later identified as theSican settlement ofMaktorion, known fromHerodotus 7.53.[4] However, the ruins do not seem to predate the 6th century BC, and this makes Orlandini's identification unlikely.[5]
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