About this course: Which are the deepest roots of that mix of cultures that we use to call ‘Mediterranean Civilization’? Which are comminglings and exchanges which produced its most complete fruit, i.e. the city, a place for landscape-modelling communities? And which elements did contribute to build up that baulk of customs, ideas, and innovations which compelled to confrontation and hybridizations different peoples for millennia? What did it made, from pottery to metallurgy, from gastronomy to architecture, from art to religion, of a sea a cradle of civilization? Archaeology may help in disentangling such questions, seeking unexpected answers , by tinkering what ancient Mediterranean peoples left buried in the ground. A privileged point of view of our course is the ancient Phoenician city of Motya, located exactly at the centre of the “sea in the middle”. Throughout the live experience of excavation, with images taken on the field, this course will let you touch the many tesserae of the great mosaic of the Mediterranean Civilization. The field diary of the archaeologist, and the handpick will be the two tools, which will lead us across the sea to discover what such early cities actually were, and how their contribute is still a major part of our shared memory.
Who is this class for: The course is offered to a general well educated public, basically interested in the history and archaeology of ancient Mediterranean, with a novel approach, inspired by most recent and updated results of field research.
Taught by: Lorenzo Nigro, Prof.
Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia
| Level | Beginner |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 1.1 On the routes of Phoenicians
- Video: 1.2 Crossing the Middle Sea
- Video: 1.3 Concept of the city
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 2.2 The Palace the heart of the city
- Video: 2.3 A society in a network
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 3.2 Prehistoric Motya from Levantines to Myceneans
- Video: 3.3 Phoenicians’ arrival
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 4.2 The sacred waters and the inferior world
- Video: 4.3 The Temple of the Kothon
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 5.2 Astarte: the thousand faces of the goddess
- Video: 5.3 The sacred precint
- Video: 5.4 Ancient anchors
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 6.2 The Tophet
- Video: 6.3 The Tophet and the city
- Reading: Suggested readings
- Video: 7.2: Finds and colour of the daily life
- Video: 7.3 Dwelling quarter
- Video: 8.2: War and defences
- Video: 8.3: Integration and destruction: the Motya charioteer
- Reading: Suggested readings
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Really interesting course! The quizz needs some improvements in terms of grammar (some questions/answers are difficult to understand). Thank you!!
Very informative and beautifully presented
This was a really interesting course with a very enthusiastic and inspiring lecturer.
I am completely amazed by what Professor Nigro and his teams and others have revealed about the beginning of Mediterranean civilization through excavation of the Phoenician settlement/city of Motya. The story was all here, buried! The story just took very careful excavation with archeology tools and ah-ha moments, like when Professor Nigro understood the connection of the Youth of Motya to Troy based on an inscription on a bowl! Wow! I am fascinated by the connection of the Sacred Pool to astronomy. I am horrified by the implications of the Tophet. I wonder if the tophet ritual was a form of birth control on an island of limited space. This course changed my view of the origins of civilization, not just all Greek and Egyptian, by Near-East and Phoenician. Each class was a mind-changer! I could still use more understanding of what life was like in the busy city - a day in the life of the many types of people there. Thank you Professor Nigro for making this available to a wider audience! I appreciate your completing this in English and I could understand you even when the words weren't exactly an interpretation. Many thanks. I will share your ideas with friends.