Investigating Mokarta, a Bronze Age hilltop settlement in western Sicily.
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The settlement at Mokarta is one of the most significant later Bronze Age sites so far discovered in western Sicily. Located on a prominent hilltop range near modern-day Salemi in the Trapani district, the settlement forms part of an area of habitation and mortuary activity that extends across approximately 30 hectares (300 000 m³ or 0.3 km³. The westernmost settlement area, located near the ruins of the medieval Castello di Mokarta, probably covered an area of at least 5 hectares at the time of its destruction and abandonment at the end of the Bronze Age. While the extent of the settlement has been inferred from the presence of surface artefacts, only a comparatively small part of the site has so far been excavated, revealing circular huts and quadrangular structures with dry-stone wall foundations. Today, the excavated areas and the Castello form an archaeological park, established on the western tip of the plateau after excavations in the 1970s and 1990s. The upslope area adjacent to the excavations and the wider area of the hilltop (including the Cresta di Gallo) are still predominantly private land, protected by applicable heritage laws.Although previous excavation and survey provide detailed insights into the lives of the Late Bronze Age inhabitants of Mokarta, the extent and layout of the settlement have not been securely established. Mokarta is therefore an ideal candidate for integrated prospection approaches designed to gain further information about the site and provide the basis for re-visiting earlier interpretations.