Cave di Cusa served as a monumental stone quarry for the ancient Greek city of Selinunte, providing the essential building materials for its sacred temples. Its stone was a favorite choice for its unique texture and tufa material, making it ideal for constructing the local Greek temple. This site, located approximately 3 kilometers south of Campobello di Mazara, was mined for about 150 years. It is believed that at one time, 150 people worked on the site, and many of them were slave laborers.
However, in 409 BC, the quarry was abruptly abandoned due to the arrival of the Carthaginian invader Hannibal Mago, leading to the eventual defeat of Selinunte. Today, Cave di Cusa is an official Sicilian archaeological zone and a tourist attraction. It is located on a ridge that spans from east to west, measuring 1.8 kilometers in length. Upon arrival, visitors can observe 60 blocks of rock, many of them cylindrical in nature, strewn haphazardly around the site in various stages of carving.
The rock is in different stages of being quarried, which shows that the abandonment of the site occurred rather quickly. Evidence of pick marks on the rocks from various stone tools shows the methods used to quarry the stone. Some rocks show grooves and holes put on architraves that allowed ropes and beams to be threaded through them to aid in lifting the rock. Cave di Cusa is a testament to how crafty and intelligent ancient peoples were in working on this site.
Today, the site remains a popular tourist destination, where visitors can marvel at the educational and beautiful pillar components that have been well preserved. The site is said to be beautiful in the spring due to its array of flowers and pillars.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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