Selinunte was one of the most important and prosperous colonies of Magna Graecia, the name given to the coastal areas of Southern Italy and Sicily that were colonized by the Greeks from the 8th to the 3rd century BC.
At that time, this region was inhabited mainly by Greeks and the stones from this quarry were used in particular for the construction of a Greek temple in the nearby city of Selinunte.
The quarry was active for about 150 years, from the first half of the 6th century BC to 409 BC, when Selinunte was attacked and destroyed by the Carthaginians led by Hannibal Mago. The workers and slaves who were carving the stones at Cave di Cusa fled in panic, leaving behind their tools and unfinished blocks.
The site was never used again and remained frozen in time for over two millennia.
Today, visitors can admire the impressive remains of the quarrying process, which reveal the techniques and skills of the ancient Greek stonecutters. The site is 1.8 km long and covers an area of about 12 hectares. It is divided into several sectors, each corresponding to a different phase of production.
Archaeologists regularly excavate here, and this place is also very popular among tourists, as massive stone blocks in various stages of processing are lying around here. But the most interesting are the remains of the columns.
Fans of historical secrets and mysteries have been arguing about these columns for many years, because some of them look like they were carved out of the rock with the help of some huge and precise tool like a drill.
It is believed that no such drilling machines existed in
those ancient times, and that if it had been done by hand, it would have
been an unusually costly and difficult production....<<<Read More>>>....
