Tourism and tourist places in Sambuca di Sicilia: The excavations of Mount Adranone

The excavations started in 1968, and they brought to light a Greek town founded by Selinus settlers, in the the second half of the 6th century BC above the ruins of a local protohistoric settlement.

The town is probably Adranon, the settlement mentioned by Diodoro Siculo, levelled in 250 BC, during the first Punic war.

From the entrance of the archeological site you reach the necropolis, formed by hypogeum room tombs: amongst them we mention the "tomb of the Queen", and the chest tombs whose walls were built with small blocks of stone. There are also superimposed older tombs.

Going on, you reach the perimetral walls and an extra-urban complex including protohistoric huts, some houses (6th-5th century BC), a sacred area and a farm (4th century BC).

The town was built on a triangular terrace, defended North-east by a cliff and all around by imposing walls made in the 6th-5th century BC, and reinforced in the 4th century BC.

You can see some private houses, public facilities and then you reach the acropolis where there is the Punic temple, a rectangular structure with three not communicating rooms.

Beneath the acropolis there is a monumental complex including a wonderful Punic sanctuary.