The Submerged Causeway

The climax of the story was the invasion of the island of Motya by the Greeks from Siracusa, led by the tyrant Dionysius, in 397 BC. I was particularly interested in the role a causeway running from the island to the shore played in the battle. Yesterday I decided to take a trip to the island again to investigate…

‍The Phoenicians living on the island of Motya believed it to be impregnable. Surrounded by the sea and a high fortified wall protecting the entire coast line, it was hard to believe that an army could approach let alone breach the island's defences.
Unfortunately for them they had decided to build a causeway from the island across the lagoon to the shore. This causeway was submerged. Lying perhaps 50 cm below the surface of the lagoon. The Phoenicians used the causeway to bring goods into and out of the island. We are told it was built submerged to allow boats with a shallow draft to sail over it. Also perhaps to hide it from invaders. In 397 BC, a large Greek invasion force set out from Siracusa intent on taking the island of Motya. The Phoenicians, realising that the causeway built by previous generations left them vulnerable, made desperate attempts to destroy the causeway, However, on arrival the Greeks decided to rebuild the portions destroyed by the Phoenicians. It took them six months to complete the task. Then they were able to use it to bring their siege engines and catapults up to the islands walls. It was only a matter of time before these walls were breached and the island was invaded.

I decided to take a trip to the island to investigate what remains of the causeway. I really wanted to see if enough remained of the causeway for me to walk on it now, 2500 years later.
I chatted with one of the boatmen who take tourists from the shore across to Motya. Yes, he knew where the causeway was! Yes he would take me out in his boat to see it!
And there it was just beneath the waves. You can see the video the boatman took of me. I spent a few minutes walking along it imagining I was a Phoenician trundling along in my wagon bringing supplies over to the island. An amazing experience!
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Maybe the causeway merits further investigation. Was it submerged at the time of the invasion? Or has the sea level changed? Is the story that Dionysius hung all the Greeks who had fought on the Phoenician side from gibbets erected the length of the causeway really true?

If you think we should investigate further and make a film. Drop us a line.