Morgantina (Modern Serra Orlando, Sicily, Italy)

325 BCE

Trapozoidal seating: c. 325 BCE; semicircular seating: c. 300 BCE; Morgantina destroyed in 211 BCE. Excavations and reconstructions 1963-67, 2003-2006 CE.

Cavea Width: 58 meters
Orchestra Width: 14 meters

Morgantina (modern Serra Orlando, Sicily, Italy). Cavea width: 57.5 meters; orchestra width: 14.4 meters; capacity: 2000-3000; earliest date: trapezoidal theatre,c.325 BCE; semicircular cavea,c.300–275 BCE; alterations to stage and extension of scene building cannot be dated; Morgantina destroyed 211 BCE. Excavations and reconstructions 1963-67, 2003-2006 CE.

The Theater at Morgantina (Serra Orlando)

 “On a windy Saturday morning, we visited the site of the Ancient Greek settlement of Morgantina in Sicily. The site contained many differences to most of the other Greek sites that we had visited, most noticeably its lack of a temple, a stereotypical building in the Ancient Greek World. However these differences went beyond just the superficial. Hidden away in the centre of Sicily, through a small town and down a cobbled back road, Morgantina was not the kind of place you would expect to find a very impressive site. However, there I was standing on a windswept hill overlooking the spectacular remains of the city, and provided an inspirational view. The beauty of Morgantina continued to be present inside the site, and was also far more appreciated when we were sheltered from the wind too. Looking out from a Greek town over the beautiful rolling hills and farms of central Sicily, you can easily imagine why ancient peoples would have settled this area. Furthermore, the city of Morgantina had a long settlement history, mainly as a Sicel site with many Greek elements – the Sicels were a native population of Sicily.”
— Author: Goodwin, Andrew. “Morgantina: A Very Different Site.” Australian National University. 5/24/2019.. https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/classical-studies/blog/morgantina-very-different-site, Accessed 5/10/2004.

Location and History: The Morgantina archaeological site lies sixty kilometers inland from the Ionian coast and two kilometers southwest of the small, modern town of Aidone in central Sicily. An Iron Age, pre-Greek settlement at the site dates from about 1000 BCE. In 396 B.C. Morgantina was captured by Dionysios of Syracuse, and for the next two centuries it remained in the Syracusan sphere of influence as an outpost of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syracuse under King Hieron II. It was during this period that Morgantina saw its greatest phase of prosperity and building. It was also during this period that Morgantina’s theatre was constructed. Unfortunately, Morgantina allied with the wrong side during Second Punic War and was sacked by Rome in 211 BCE. Following Rome’s invasion, the city began a slow decline and was abandoned by the first century CE. For a more detailed account of Mogantina’s history, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantina. Accessed 5/10/2024.

The Theater: 

The east-north-east facing theater of Morgantina was constructed ca. 250 BCE over the site of an earlier (c.325 BCE) and smaller, trapezoidal theatre. Unlike most Greek theatres, Morgantina’s theatre was not cut into living rock but was built on the slope (28°) of a hill over an understructure of sand and earth. Retaining walls (analemmata) made from roughly squared blocks of local limestone supported the earthen fill and limestone clad seating of the cavea. Engineering attempts to strengthened the analemmata using internal buttresses were later found inadequate as the northern wall eventually collapsed.

The Cavea: The koilon or cavea was constructed using roughly squared blocks of local limestone over earthen fill. It faces east-north-east, and has a maximum diameter of m 57.7 meters. The cavea seating earthen fill is supported by limestone retaining walls which run parallel to stage. The lower seating section (the ima cavea) is composed of sixteen rows of seats, which are divided horizontally into six wedge-shaped sections (kerkides) separated by seven rows of steps (klimakes), two of which are placed next to the analemmata. Above the ima cavea, spectators could watch from an earthen embankment which had no stone seating except for four straight seats behind the forth kerkis of the ima cavea.

Orchestra: The orchestra has a diameter of14.40 meters and is paved in beaten earth. A water conduit running across orchestra supplied a fountain built against north analemma as well as fountains south and east of theatre. No drainage channel (euripus) is found around the perimeter of the orchestra. No evidence is found that the orchestra was converted into an arena for gladiatorial games or animal hunts.

Stage and Scene Building: Only the foundations of the stage (pulpitum) and scene building (scaenae) survive. Frank Sear documents four unfluted columns that once served as stage supports, and a 16.9-meter long scene house foundation with evidence of a central stage door (regia). No further information on the scene building or stage specifications are available. Sear dates the earlier, trapezoidal theatre to c. 325 BCE, and the semicircular cavea to c. 300 BCE. – Specifications from: Sear, Frank. Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. p. 189.

Excavations and Restorations:

“Prof Erik Sjöqvist and Richard Stillwell of Princeton University jointly directed excavations at the site from 1955 to 1963 and again from 1966 to 1967, when Sjöqvist became ill and Stillwell retired. From 1968 to 1972, Hubert L. Allen, a former Princeton graduate student who was then professor at the University of Illinois, continued the excavations under the auspices of the jointly sponsored Illinois-Princeton Morgantina Expedition. William A. P. Childs, a professor in Princeton’s Department of Art and Archaeology, who had been a trench master at Morgantina, returned to the site in 1978 and 1979 as field director. Childs sought to record all the information needed for the final publication of the excavations. In 1980, Malcolm Bell III, professor of classical archaeology at the University of Virginia, took over the supervision of the excavations. Today Morgantina is under the direction of Bell, who is responsible for Serra Orlando, and Carla Antonaccio, professor of classical studies at Duke University, who directs work on Cittadella.” – From: “Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Morgantina 1955–1963 and 1966–1967.” Princeton University. 2024. https://researchphotographs.princeton.edu/morgantina/ Accessed 2/15/2019

A regional museum was opened in Aidone in 1980 to house finds from Morgantina. The building, dating from the 17th century, is a former Capuchin monastery. The museum is run by the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Enna.

In 1963 the northern analemma was restored (it had collapsed in antiquity). In 1966 the first two sections of seating were restored, the second two the following year. In 2003-2006, the southern analemma was partially disassembled, the two adjoining seating sections were removed, the earthen fill beneath was replaced with gravel to facilitate drainage, and the disassembled southern cavea was restored. The restoration project was under the direction of prof. Alberto Sposito.

Bibliography / Resources:

“American Journal of Archaeology” (AJA) 61 (1957) 152-153; 62 (1958) 162; 64 (1960) 129-130; 65 (1961) 279; 66 (1962) 137-138; 71 (1967) 245-246; 74 (1970) 359-366; 86 (1982) 584-585. KOKALOS 10-11 (1964-65) 579-588; 21 (1975) 226-230.

Goodwin, Andrew. “Morgantina: A Very Different Site.” Australian National University. 24, May,2019.. https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/classical-studies/blog/morgantina-very-different-site, Accessed May10, 2024.

 “The Hellenistic Theatre in Morgantina.” Journal Architettura di Pietra. Oct 11, 2008. <https://www.architetturadipietra.it/wp/?p=1946#:~:text=The%20new%20restoration,several%20probes%20were%20carried%20out> Accessed May 29, 2024.

“Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Morgantina 1955–1963 and 1966–1967.” Princeton University. 2024. https://researchphotographs.princeton.edu/morgantina/ Accessed May. 15, 2024.

Sear, Frank. Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. p. 189.