Cave di Cusa or Rocche di Cusa was an ancient stone quarry in Sicily. It is located 3 kilometers south of the town Campobello di Mazara in the province of Trapani, Italy. It is 1.8 kilometer long and is on a ridge that spans from east to west.
This site was quarried beginning in the first half of the 6th century BC and its stone was used to construct the temples. It was abandoned in 409 BC when the city was captured by the Carthaginians.
This visit broke out into a war between the opposing forces, and ultimately Selinunte was defeated. The town was destroyed after the defeat, and no work ever occurred at the quarry again. The slaves and laborers fled the scene and escaped to safety. The blocks of stone that were currently being worked on were completely left alone and have formed the geography of the site today. In its day, Cave di Cusa was very efficient, so one might wonder how this site would have transformed throughout history if it had not been for its abandonment.
The site itself is covered in 60 blocks of rock, many of them cylindrical in nature, in various stages of carving, strewn haphazardly around the site (some in situ) that were originally intended for the construction of the temple. The stone from this site was used for columns at the temple, and many columns still exist at the site today. The rock is in different stages of being quarried, so it is evident that the abandonment of the site occurred rather quickly.
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