in Sicily to be exact.

The temple came to light last year after a portion of a lagoon surrounding the Phoenician city of Motya (present-day Mozia) was drained .

The pool began to fill up again and a fresh-water spring was found – a fact Nigro believes proves it was used as a holy place .

“The Phoenicians placed their cities on the coast near water springs, which for them meant that there was a divine presence there.” Digs at the site, on the westernmost tip of Sicily near Marsala, have brought to light the ruins of a “monumental” temple including columns of a type used by the Phoenicians on Cyprus – as well as fragments of an obelisk .

“The similarity with the Temple of the Obelisks at Byblos, Lebanon, is clear,” Nigro said .

Nigro believes the pool flanking the temple was used for water rituals and offerings to Baal, the Phoenician god of the sea and the underworld .

Useful to know for Dielli.