Lilybaeum (today’s Marsala) was an ancient city founded on the initiative of Carthaginians, who considered the southwestern coast of Sicily as their base of operations on the island. The walls were connected in a straight line and separated a fragment of the area with the fortress.
The walls were 7 meters wide and consisted of earth and stone. The walls were separated by rectangular towers. The fortifications were built in the first half of the 4th century BCE. In 279 BCE the second line of walls was created, 10 meters from the existing one. Thanks to its imposing walls, the Lilybaeum resisted Pyrrhus’s invasion of Sicily.
In 241 BCE, after the Romans won the First Punic War, Lilybaeum passed into their hands and the city became an important Roman centre in the area. In the 4th century CE, the fortifications were abandoned and houses were built in place of the walls.
The model of the walls is located in the Parco Archeologico di Lilibeo in Marsala (Sicily).
