Mura Elimo-Puniche - Erice

The Elymo-Punic Walls of Erice are an exceptional historical testimony of the 7th century BC. They are also called Cyclopean walls because , according to legend, it was the Cyclopes who built the imposing city walls by placing the large megalithic boulders on top of each other.

Today this beautiful city wall extends for a length of 700 meters around the village, but once it included the entire urban territory in itself, making it inaccessible to enemies.

The layering of the limestone blocks helps us distinguish the different historical periods in which the walls were built.

The large blocks at the base are of Elysian origin, the smaller ones are of Punic construction, with subsequent Roman and Norman modifications.
The city walls were sometimes crossed by small openings for the passage of inhabitants and supplies.

The best preserved part is that of the Via dell'Addolorata from the Porta Carmine to the Porta Spada.

The following testimonies can be seen along the city walls:

- Three gates: Porta Trapani (so named because it faces Trapani), Porta Carmine (because it is in front of the Carmine Church and Porta Spada (so named after the Anjou massacre)
- Sixteen towers
- Six pusterles , small openings used as emergency exits or for the supply of food.

Carvings were found nearby. Some of them have the letters of the Punic alphabet engraved on them:

“beth” which is equivalent to “home”

'Ain' means 'eye'

'phe' means 'mouth'.

These letters could contain the meaning of: "The walls have eyes to see the enemy, a mouth to eat him in case of aggression and they are the safe home for the inhabitants".

Willem Vandenameele