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M. Trümper – G. Adornato – T. Lappi (Hrsg.), Cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily. Proceedings of a Conference of the Excellence Cluster Topoi. The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations, Held at Berlin, 15–18 June 2017 (Rom 2019), 2019
Urban plans and cityscapes of Hellenistic Sicily have received significant attention in scholarship in the recent 20 years. The aim of this paper is to discuss the formation, characteristics and socio-cultural context of settlements in the period before the Second Punic War. Focus is on inland settlements of indigenous tradition in western Sicily and their development in the period of the 4th and first half of the 3rd c BC. Detailed examination of the archaeological evidence in Monte Adranone shows that its assessment has so far been marred by two methodological problems: the reconstruction of a questionable “historical biography” and the use of Hellenizing or Punicizing models of cityscaping. A different approach is suggested here that focuses on the urban processes, forms and structures developed independently by the inhabitants of indigenous settlements like Monte Adranone. A brief comparison with Entella and Monte Iato supports the heuristic value of this approach.