#  Morgantina Studies Vol. VIII: The Theater, City Walls, and Roman Market  

 



Located roughly 60 km from the Ionian coast of Sicily, Morgantina (37.4310° N, 14.4791° E) was an inland settlement of moderate size and proportionately modest importance when it came to broader geopolitical events unfolding in the western Mediterranean during the 1st millennium BCE. Yet, the ancient city occupies an outsized place in the archaeology of Sicily because of the exceptional scale and continuity of research at the site. Since 1955, members of the American Excavations at Morgantina (AEM) have conducted sustained, systematic fieldwork across the urban center and its hinterland, producing a uniquely rich body of evidence spanning from prehistory through the Early Roman Imperial period.

This project, *Morgantina Studies* Vol. VIII: *The Theater, City Walls, and Roman Market*, will serve as the final excavation report of three major civic monuments excavated during the Princeton-led campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s. The volume, edited by [**D. Alex Walthall**](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/people/d-walthall) (also the recipient of this White Levy Program grant), brings together studies by John J. Dobbins on the mid-third-century BCE Theater of Dionysos, by Henry K. Sharp on the *macellum* (Roman market building) in the upper agora, and by Lars Karlsson on the city's fortification walls. Together, these contributions address topics of civic architecture, elite benefaction, and urban investment during the Hellenistic and Roman Republican periods. In addition to serving at the volume editor, Alex Walthall will contribute an introductory chapter that situates Morgantina’s urban development in the Early Hellenistic and Roman Republican periods within the wider political, economic, and architectural transformations unfolding across Sicily from the late fourth through the first century BCE.



 

 [   ![Location of Morgantina](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Location%20of%20Morgantina.jpeg?itok=2Rtdzk4J) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Location of Morgantina</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>Location of Morgantina</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Location%20of%20Morgantina.jpeg) Location of Morgantina

 



 [   ![Agora of Morgantina with macellum (A), theater (F), and city walls indicated](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Agora%20of%20Morgantina%20with%20macellum%20%28A%29%2C%20theater%20%28F%29%2C%20and%20city%20walls%20indicated.jpeg?itok=ihvkJPAD) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Agora of Morgantina </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>Agora of Morgantina with macellum (A), theater (F), and city walls indicated</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Agora%20of%20Morgantina%20with%20macellum%20%28A%29%2C%20theater%20%28F%29%2C%20and%20city%20walls%20indicated.jpeg) Agora of Morgantina

 



 [   ![View of Morgantina’s agora with the Theater of Dionysus in the foreground](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/View%20of%20Morgantina%E2%80%99s%20agora%20with%20the%20Theater%20of%20Dionysus%20in%20the%20foreground.jpeg?itok=0Y_ssT2k) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">View of Morgantina’s agora with the Theater of Dionysus in the foreground</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>View of Morgantina’s agora with the Theater of Dionysus in the foreground</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/View%20of%20Morgantina%E2%80%99s%20agora%20with%20the%20Theater%20of%20Dionysus%20in%20the%20foreground.jpeg) View of Morgantina’s agora with the Theater of Dionysus in the foreground

 



 [   ![Reconstruction of Theater (Phase II) to appear in Morgantina Studies VIII; drawing by J. Blid](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Reconstruction%20of%20Theater%20%28Phase%20II%29%20to%20appear%20in%20Morgantina%20Studies%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid.jpeg?itok=560iMxVq) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Reconstruction of Theater </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>Reconstruction of Theater (Phase II) to appear in Morgantina Studies VIII; drawing by J. Blid</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Reconstruction%20of%20Theater%20%28Phase%20II%29%20to%20appear%20in%20Morgantina%20Studies%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid.jpeg) Reconstruction of Theater

 



 [   ![Reconstructed elevation of the western facade of the macellum to appear in MS VIII; drawing by J. Blid](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Reconstructed%20elevation%20of%20the%20western%20facade%20of%20the%20macellum%20to%20appear%20in%20MS%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid.jpeg?itok=bCd8KhlL) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Reconstructed elevation of the western facade of the macellum</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>Reconstructed elevation of the western facade of the macellum to appear in MS VIII; drawing by J. Blid</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Reconstructed%20elevation%20of%20the%20western%20facade%20of%20the%20macellum%20to%20appear%20in%20MS%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid.jpeg) Reconstructed elevation of the western facade of the macellum

 



 [   ![Reconstruction of Morgantina’s city walls ca. 230 BCE along the southern edge of the city. *This will appear as a fold-out in MS VIII; drawing by J. Blid at a 1-250 scale](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Reconstruction%20of%20Morgantina%E2%80%99s%20city%20walls%20ca.%20230%20BCE%20along%20the%20southern%20edge%20of%20the%20city.%20%2AThis%20will%20appear%20as%20a%20fold-out%20in%20MS%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid%20at%20a%201-250%20scale.jpeg?itok=7ISk_0ZP) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Reconstruction of Morgantina’s city walls </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p>Reconstruction of Morgantina’s city walls ca. 230 BCE along the southern edge of the city. \*This will appear as a fold-out in MS VIII; drawing by J. Blid at a 1-250 scale</p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Reconstruction%20of%20Morgantina%E2%80%99s%20city%20walls%20ca.%20230%20BCE%20along%20the%20southern%20edge%20of%20the%20city.%20%2AThis%20will%20appear%20as%20a%20fold-out%20in%20MS%20VIII%3B%20drawing%20by%20J.%20Blid%20at%20a%201-250%20scale.jpeg) Reconstruction of Morgantina’s city walls

 



 

 



 



 

 See also:- [ 2026 Sponsored Projects ](/sponsored-projects-year/2026-sponsored-projects)
- [ Mediterranean ](/sponsored-projects-area/mediterranean)