Montagna di Marzo
A city 44 km from Piazza Armerina, dating to the 6th c. B.C. A stretch of the walls is still visible on the E side, preserved to a height of several meters for a length of 107 m. It is built with dry masonry of small, uncut stones; a postern gate remains. On the acropolis is a shrine of which only the perimeter is preserved; it belongs to the Hellenistic period and shows traces of destruction by fire. To the same period belong remains of houses, with traces of plaster, arranged according to a grid system. At a distance of 400 m from the hill is a sacred area dating from the time of Hieron; it contains remains of an altar surrounded by votive deposits, and is enclosed by a wall. The necropolis (dating from the 6th c. B.C. to the late Roman period) lay all around the city. Notable among the grave goods are vases with Sikel inscriptions written in Greek script.
BIBLIOGRAPHYA. W. Van Buren, “Newsletter from Rome,” AJA 67 (1963) 397-409; L. Mussinano, “Montagna di Marzo: Relazione preliminare,” Cronache Arch. Storia d'Arte 5 (1966) 55-66.
A. CURCIO