Excavations in Field A have revealed three rooms and courtyard of a large “villa rustica” or a farm house. The large central room was entered via a marble threshold and had a fireplace or hearth against its east wall; another room had a stone bin, animal bones and an iron knife and served as a pantry/kitchen. This “villa” seems to have been built in the early 5^th century, was destroyed in the second half of the 5^th century, then rebuilt and destroyed a final time in the mid-7^th century. The dates for the 5^th century destruction was determined by ceramic chronology. The final destruction was confirmed by crushed amphorae and two coins of Constans II. The latest coins dated to about 652 CE, suggesting the destruction was shortly thereafter. The town’s destruction may be have been a Muslim raid, a conclusion supported by both Byzantine Christian and Muslim documents.

Excavations in Field B occurred around all four sides of the basilica. To our surprise, we discovered that Salinas’ assumption that there was one church with three phases (based on three superimposed mosaic floors) was wrong; there were actually two churches. The first church had two floor phases, the first built in the mid-4^th century (just after 360 CE based on the discovery of several coins of Constantine II (son of Constantine the Great) found immediately below the foundation stones. Then, 50 years or so later (beginning of the 5^th century) the parishioners of the first church remodeled their floor. This church continued in use until it was completely destroyed in the late 5^th century or early 6^th century CE. We suspect the destruction may have occurred during either one of the late Vandal invasions or the subsequent Ostrogoth invasion – both these tribes were Arian Christians, while most people in Sicily, including San Miceli, were Trinitarian Christians.

Aerial of Field A

 

Aerial of Fields B and C

 

In the 6^th century a church was completely rebuilt over the ruins but with exterior walls inside the wall lines of the first church, and a new mosaic floor of smaller, finer tesserae was constructed. We were able to find an additional patch of the mosaic of this last church in the north nave (a beautiful bird made of red, white, and blue tesserae). This new church survived until the final destruction of the entire site. This occurred in the mid-7^th century after 652 CE, possibly by Muslim raiders.

Significant elements found within the church included the apse on the west end of the basilica, indicating the church was build prior to the period when the Roman church decided the position of the apse was in the east. The apse would be remodeled and reused until the church’s final destruction in the mid-7^th century.

We also found a baptistery immediately outside and west of the apse. While the stratigraphy was heavily disturbed by later building activity in antiquity and by Salinas’ excavations in 1893, it appears that the baptistery was constructed when the first church was originally built in the mid-4^th century.

Top plan of the two basilicas (first in light grey, second in dark grey)

 

Three stone-lined tombs were found in the church compound, all covered with large limestone slabs, similar to what Salinas described for the 58 tombs he excavated. Two of the tombs were found in the courtyard at the entry of the church on the east side, while the third was found under the west end of the north nave (near the front of the church). As for the two tombs in the courtyard, one contained a male and female adult, and the other only a male adult. The female in the double burial had silver loop earrings with dangles. A ceramic jug, a finger ring and a coin (possibly a pagan rite still in use by the first Christians to cross the River Styx) were also found in this tomb. The second tomb with the male had no grave goods. In the tomb of the female burial in the north nave near the front of the church were two silver loop earrings with more elaborate dangles. Based on jewelry typology, many scholars have wanted to date the San Miceli tombs to the time of the last church (6^th-7^th centuries), but our excavations showed that these tombs were stratigraphically connected with the first church and cannot date later than the 5^th century. Some may even date as early as the end of the 4^th century.

Detail of new bird mosaic in north aisle

 

Aerial of Fields B and C showing north walls of the two basilicas and mosaic in north aisle of last phase floor

 

Tomb One before excavation

 

Tomb One after opening

 

Earrings from Tomb Four

 

Also in the north nave were found two shallow burials (not tombs) just under the surface of the second church (destroyed in the mid-7^th century). One contained the remains of two very young children (2-3 years old). We assume that these were hasty burials by the survivors of the 7^th century destruction, who quickly buried their children and then relocated to a new settlement.

North of the Church our team uncovered five rooms of a building (the North Building) built up against the north wall of the earliest church. These continued in use through the entire existence of the first church and reflected the destruction attested elsewhere on the site in the late 5^th century/early 6^th century. While we are not yet certain of the activities and purposes of these rooms, several were used for storage. Numerous large amphorae were found in situ under destruction debris that included burnt wood, nails, and ceramic roof tiles.

By utilizing all of the data we have collected so far, we can offer the following tentative historical reconstruction. San Miceli was originally a Roman farmhouse or a waystation between the port of Lilybaeum to the west and Segesta to the north, initially founded in the 3^rd century BCE. It then grew into a small village. We estimate that it reached a population of about 495 people by the 1^st century CE and maintained this level for the next few centuries. Sometime around 250 CE, Christianity penetrated inland to San Miceli – probably via a family or small group of around 10 persons. Using demographic formulas that suggest about 56% of the Roman Empire had converted to Christianity by 350, we estimate that the Christian population of San Miceli around this time reached about 280 out of 495 citizens at this time.

Some of these residents, like the wealthy lady buried near the altar in the church, were patrons of the Christian population and likely took the lead in constructing the first Christian basilica in San Miceli. This church survived until the mid-7^th century when, after a devastating raid which destroyed the church and most of the village, the survivors left San Miceli and established a new home elsewhere, possible at the small Late Roman settlement of Segesta, which resisted until the end of the 7^th century, or at Alicia which became Salām under the Muslims (today’s Salemi). Future seasons will hopefully both confirm this broad outline and fill in additional details.

Randall W. Younker is Professor of Archaeology and History of Antiquity at Andrews University. Élisabeth Lesnes is Research Associate in Medieval and Classical Archaeology and Professor at ITT Marco Polo in Palermo.