A “PHOENICIAN LIGHTHOUSE” AT CAPO GALLO (PALERMO)?

Abstract

Capo Gallo, a promontory a few miles north of Palermo, is an archaeologically significant site, hosting caves frequented since Palaeolithic times. Around the modern lighthouse, set on the tip of the cape, there are three large boulders of carbonate rock tumbled down from Mount Gallo, which appear to be placed there on purpose. We found that their alignments point toward the islands of Lipari and Ustica, which have been inhabited since Neolithic times. Being at different heights, the boulders constitute a practical orientation aid to set the routes towards the two islands. Seen from the sea, when two rocks appear one above the other, they precisely indicate the route for one of the two islands (normally invisible from the coast). Surmounted by fires, they could perform this function even at night, identifying the constellations to follow through the journey. During the Bronze Age Lipari and Ustica were part of a flourishing trading network with Sicily. At a certain epoch Lipari was even frequented by Mycenaeans, as testified by the finding of Late Helladic pottery at the site of Castello. The phase of frequent maritime exchanges ended traumatically in the 13th century BC when the Ausonians invaded the north of Sicily and the settlements of Lipari and Ustica were abandoned. A few centuries later Capo Gallo became a Punic outpost. Given the renowned Phoenician ability to navigate at night, guided by the Ursa Minor, the boulders could have then constitute a sort of "Phoenician lighthouse" to head to the islands, since not only Lipari (a base for Hannibal during the Punic Wars until about 260 BC), but also Ustica stood in the Punic range for a significant period of time.